US Patent:
20080182403, Jul 31, 2008
Inventors:
ATIF NOORI - Saratoga CA, US
Francimar Schmitt - Santa Clara CA, US
Annamalai Lakshmanan - Fremont CA, US
Bok Hoen Kim - San Jose CA, US
Reza Arghavani - Scotts Valley CA, US
International Classification:
H01L 21/768
Abstract:
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method of forming an air gap between conductive elements of a semiconductor device, wherein the air gap has a dielectric constant of approximately 1. The air gap may generally be formed by depositing a sacrificial material between the respective conductive elements, depositing a porous layer over the conductive elements and the sacrificial material, and then stripping the sacrificial material out of the space between the respective conductive elements through the porous layer, which leaves an air gap between the respective conductive elements. The sacrificial material may be, for example, a polymerized alpha terpinene layer, the porous layer may be, for example, a porous carbon doped oxide layer, and the stripping process may utilize a UV based curing process, for example.