This study demonstrates that ultraviolet ͑UV͒ radiation curing can control depth profiles of organosilicate films. Striking differences between the effects of monochromatic and broadband UV irradiation were observed. For the same as-deposited organosilicate film and cure duration, monochromatic radiation has a greater impact on film structure, elastic modulus, and fracture resistance, but also results in a greater degree of depth dependent properties. Oscillating elastic modulus through the film thickness was observed with force modulation atomic force microscopy. We present a new standing wave model that accurately predicts the resulting depth dependent stiffness variations considering changes in film shrinkage and refractive index in terms of curing time, and can further be used to account for initial film thickness dependence of UV curing and film absorption. Promising applications of the depth dependent UV curing to produce multifunctional ultralow-k layers with a single postdeposition curing process are discussed.

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UV radiation curing has emerged as a promising postdeposition curing treatment to strengthen organosilicate interlayer dielectric thin films. We provide the evidence of film depth dependent UV curing which has important effects on through thickness mechanical and fracture properties. Force modulation atomic force microscopy measurements of the elastic modulus through the thickness of the films revealed evidence of periodic modulations of the glass stiffness which increased in magnitude with UV curing time. Furthermore, while significant increases in fracture energy were observed with UV curing time at the top of the organosilicate film, much lower increases were observed at the bottom. The increase in fracture energy with UV curing was film thickness dependent. The cohesive fracture resistance was less sensitive to UV curing. Possible explanations for the stiffness modulations through the film thickness involving UV light interference or phase separation by spinodal decomposition during the cure process are described.

We present the first dynamic study of damage mechanisms in nanosized on-chip Cu interconnects caused by stress-induced voiding in advanced integrated circuits. Synchrotron-based transmission x-ray microscopy is applied to visualize the void evolution and conical dark-field analysis in the transmission electron microscopy to characterize the Cu microstructure. Our x-ray microscopy measurements showed, in contradiction to electromigration studies, no void movement over large dimensions during the stress-induced void evolution. We observed in via/line Cu interconnect structures that voids are formed directly beneath the via, i.e., in the Cu wide line at the edge of the via bottom. It is concluded that voids are originally formed at the site where eventually the catastrophic failure occurs. During stress migration tests, Cu atoms migrate from regions of low stress to regions of high tensile stress, and simultaneously, vacancies migrate along the stress gradient (within a limited range of some microns) in the opposite direction to the location where small vias connect wide Cu lines. The stress distribution and the driving forces for atomic transport depend strongly on the particular geometry of the tested structure but also on interface bonding and metal microstructure. Vacancies form agglomerates and subsequently voids that grow further. The void growth rate depends on the Cu thin film material and its microstructure, particularly the grain size and the grain orientations. The Cu microstructure in the surroundings of the formed void shows that Cu grains are predominantly (111) oriented relatively to the wafer surface. Interfaces and grain boundaries, and particularly their orientation, determine the void evolution dynamics

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