Novel organosiloxane vapor annealing process for improving properties of porous low-k films

A novel 1,3,5,7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS)-vapor annealing method was developed for improving the mechanical strength of porous silica films with a low dielectric constant. TMCTS molecules react with Si–OH groups on the pore wall surfaces to form the polymer network which results in the high hydrophobicity and reinforcement of the silica wall. This method can be used to recover plasma damages induced by etching and ashing in fabricating Cu/low-k interconnects.