HMDS treatment of ordered mesoporous silica film for low dielectric application

In order to reduce signal delay in ULSI, an intermetal material of low dielectric constant is required. Ordered mesoporous silica film is proper to intermetal dielectric due to its low dielectric constant and superior mechanical properties. The ordered mesoporous silica film prepared by TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) / MTES (methyltriethoxysilane) mixed silica precursor and Brij-76 surfactant was surface-modified by HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) treatment to reduce its dielectric constant. HMDS can substitute -Si(CH₃) ₃ groups for OH groups on the surface of silica wall. In order to modify interior silica wall, HMDS was treated by two different processes except the conventional spin coating. One process is that film is dipped and stirred in HMDS/n-hexane solution, and the other process is that film is exposed to evaporated HMDS. Through the investigation with different HMDS treatment, it was concluded that surface modification in evaporated HMDS was more effective to modify interior silica wall of nano-sized pores.