Quantification of processing damage in porous low dielectric constant films

A method for evaluation of degree of hydrophilization of low-k films occurred as a result of technological processing damage is reported. The evaluation is based on analysis of adsorption isotherms of water vapors. It is shown that the degree of hydrophilization is a qualitative measure of plasma damage that correlates with the carbon depletion measured by TOF-SIMS. The presented method gives also a unique possibility to calculate water contact angle of internal surface of low-k films that cannot be measured by other methods.