Radiation effects in low dielectric constant methyl-silsesquioxane films

The use of state-of-the-art microelectronic devices in space radiation environments faces new challenges with the adoption of low dielectric constant (low-k) materials as interlevel dielectrics. This is demonstrated in a preliminary study of methyl-silsesquioxane low-k films. We report radiation damage, induced by a 2-kev low- current.density (∼ 2 × 106 s-1cm-2) positron beam, and observed by positron annihilation spectroscopy.