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Stress Hysteresis and Mechanical Characterization of Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Dielectrics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Jeremy Thurn ,
Robert F. Cook ,
Mallika Kamarajugadda  and
Laura C. Stearns
Jeremy Thurn
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Mallika Kamarajugadda
Affiliation:
Wafer Process Development, Seagate Technology Bloomington, MN 55435, U.S.A.
Laura C. Stearns
Affiliation:
Wafer Process Development, Seagate Technology Bloomington, MN 55435, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Two plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) dielectric films pertinent to microelectronic-based applications were examined for thermo-mechanical stability. Both films–silicon nitride and silicon oxy-nitride–showed significant permanent non-equilibrium changes in film stress on thermal cycling and annealing. The linear relationship between stress and temperature changed after the films were annealed at 300°C, representing a structural change in the film resulting in a change in coefficient of thermal expansion and/or biaxial modulus. A double-substrate method was used to deduce both properties before and after the anneal of selected films and the results compared with the modulus deconvoluted from the load-displacement data from small-scale depth-sensing indentation experiments.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 695: Symposium L – Thin Films: Stresses and Mechanical Properties IX , 2001 , L3.9.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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