Effect of moisture on the Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) behavior in an ultra-low-k (ULK) dielectric

In a study of the TDDB performance of an ultra-low-k (ULK) dielectric (JSR 5537 k = 2.3) it was found that the presence of moisture significantly reduced the TDDB lifetime as well as increased leakage and capacitance. It was also observed that the field coefficient (/spl gamma/) in an "E" TDDB lifetime model was significantly larger in "dry" samples than in "wet" samples.