Sealing porous dielectric materials
First Claim
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1. A method to seal a porous dielectric material comprising:
- forming a porous dielectric layer adjacent the substrate layer with an exposed pore having an opening, wherein the exposed pore is disposed on at least one of a surface of the porous dielectric layer and a sidewall of a trench disposed within the porous dielectric layer; and
forming a barrier across the opening of the exposed pore, wherein the barrier comprises a first barrier molecule with a silicon atom coupled to a surface of one side of the exposed pore, a sulfur atom, and a flexible chain between the silicon atom and the sulfur atom, wherein the flexible chain comprises a portion of a bridge structure that is capable of sealing the surface of the exposed pore, and a second barrier molecule with a silicon atom coupled to a surface of an opposite side of the exposed pore, wherein the first and second barrier molecules are connected to each other across the surface of the exposed pore.
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Abstract
Method and structure for minimizing the downsides associated with microelectronic device processing adjacent porous dielectric materials are disclosed. In particular, chemical protocols are disclosed wherein porous dielectric materials may be sealed by attaching coupling agents to the surfaces of pores. The coupling agents may form all or part of caps on reactive groups in the dielectric surface or may crosslink to seal pores in the dielectric.
27 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method to seal a porous dielectric material comprising:
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forming a porous dielectric layer adjacent the substrate layer with an exposed pore having an opening, wherein the exposed pore is disposed on at least one of a surface of the porous dielectric layer and a sidewall of a trench disposed within the porous dielectric layer; and forming a barrier across the opening of the exposed pore, wherein the barrier comprises a first barrier molecule with a silicon atom coupled to a surface of one side of the exposed pore, a sulfur atom, and a flexible chain between the silicon atom and the sulfur atom, wherein the flexible chain comprises a portion of a bridge structure that is capable of sealing the surface of the exposed pore, and a second barrier molecule with a silicon atom coupled to a surface of an opposite side of the exposed pore, wherein the first and second barrier molecules are connected to each other across the surface of the exposed pore.
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2. A method to seal a pore in a dielectric material structure comprising:
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introducing a silane coupling reagent comprising a thiol end cap and at least one alkoxy side group reactive to SiOH at the surface of a pore, wherein a silicon atom of the silane coupling reagent is coupled to a sulfur atom of the thiol end cap, and a flexible chain is between the silicon atom and the sulfur atom, and wherein the at least one alkoxy side group reacts with SiOH at the surface of the pore to form coupling structures linked to the pore; and introducing an oxidizing agent to form a disulfide bonds between two or more molecules of the silane coupling reagent that are linked to the surface of the pore to form a bridge structure that is disposed across the opening of the exposed pore. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method to seal an exposed pore in a dielectric material comprising:
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exposing the exposed pore to a coupling agent; forming links coupling the coupling agent to a surface of the pore; exposing the exposed pore and the coupling agent linked to the surface of the pore to an oxidizing agent; and forming a disulfide bond between two or more molecules of the coupling agent that are linked to the surface of the pore to form a bridge structure that is disposed across the opening of the exposed pore. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification