As semiconductor manufacturers implement copper conductors in advanced interconnect schemes, research and development efforts shift toward the selection of an insulator that can take maximum advantage of the lower power and faster signal propagation allowed by copper interconnects. One of the main challenges to integrating a low-dielectric constant (low-kappa) insulator as a replacement for silicon dioxide is the behavior of such materials during the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process used in Damascene patterning. Low-kappa dielectrics tend to be softer and less chemically...

As semiconductor manufacturers implement copper conductors in advanced interconnect schemes, research and development efforts shift toward the selection of an insulator that can take maximum advantage of the lower power and faster signal propagation allowed by copper interconnects. One of the main challenges to integrating a low-dielectric constant (low-kappa) insulator as a replacement for silicon dioxide is the behavior of such materials during the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process used in Damascene patterning. Low-kappa dielectrics tend to be softer and less chemically...