UV-O3 treatment effects on structural changes of low-k thin films

The UV-O3 treatment effects on the structural properties of low-k films as a function of the treatment time were investigated in this study. The thickness of the samples proportionally decreased with the surface treatment time due to highly reactive ozone and the process gradually modified surface layer more SiO2-like. Excessive treatment of longer than 60 s adversely affected the low-k film, increasing the dielectric constant of underlying low-k film. After the UV-O3 treatment for the optimized treatment time of 60 s, the poor nucleation problem of Ru deposition was solved and fully-covered Ru film on low-k film was obtained.