Designing porous low-k dielectrics

The 100 nm device generation calls for low-k dielectrics below 2.5, which should soon be lowered to 2.0 or less for future technology nodes. The dielectric constant, of a given material can be reduced by decreasing polarizability and film density, but the most powerful synthetic method involves the introduction of porosity. A variety of pore generation methods are being used to create ultralow-k spin-on dielectrics with k values as low as 1.3.