Enabled by the development and introduction of new materials, the semiconductor industry continues to follow Moore's law into 32nm and 22nm technologies. Advanced interconnect structures require the use of porous dielectrics with further reduced k-values and even weaker mechanical properties, as well as much thinner metallization liners. In addition, the increasing resistivity of Cu at decreasing dimensions must be addressed in order to maintain the performance of continuously shrinking devices. To deal with these issues, and to maintain the reliability of the interconnects, innovations in...