UV-Induced Modification of Fluorocarbon Polymer: Effect of Treatment Atmosphere and Aging on Dissolution in Organic Solvent

Abstract

In back-end of line (BEOL), the use of fluorocarbon-containing plasmas such as CF4 and C4F8 for patterning of low-k dielectrics with k-value ~2.3-2.5 can result in the presence of a highly fluorinated layer, deposited on the sidewalls and bottom of the trenches [1,. This polymer layer must be removed prior to subsequent processing steps to achieve good adhesion and coverage of materials (metals) deposited in the etched features. However, it is known that this type of fluorocarbon polymer is chemically inert to many existing wet clean solutions, including aqueous solutions such as fluoride ion-containing or highly alkaline solutions, and solvent mixtures [2]. Exposure of the polymer to UV irradiation (λ 200 nm) with doses 3 J/cm2 significantly modifies the polymer film, which results in substantial removal ability in a subsequent wet clean process. Polymer film modification was shown to be efficient either by using a narrow band single wavelength source with λ = 254 nm [ or by a broad band UV source with λ~200-300 nm [.