Thickness dependence on electrical and reliability properties for dense and porous low dielectric constant materials

Thickness-dependent dielectric electrical and reliability characteristics of dense and porous low-k films were investigated in this study. Experimental results obtained using metal-insulator-silicon (MIS) structures reveal that the dielectric strength and dielectric breakdown time of low-k dielectric films are inversely proportional to the physical thickness of the dielectric film. An inverse power law combined with a critical thickness for dielectric breakdown characteristics is proposed and closely fitted to the experimental results. Additionally, the dense low-k films exhibited a higher critical thickness and a higher power law constant value, revealing that their breakdown behaviors are more strongly related to film thickness than those of porous low-k films.