Title of the presentation 

Challenges in the implementation of low-k dielectrics in advanced ULSI interconnects. 

Name /title of the speaker 

Mikhail R. Baklanov / Ph. D 

Affiliation

Leuven Instruments 

City/ Country

Leuven, Belgium 

Email 

Mikhail.baklanov@leuven-instruments.com 

Abstract of the presentation 

With the aggressive scaling of advanced integrated circuits to deep sub-micron levels, the signal delay caused by interconnects became increasingly significant compared to the delay caused by the gate. In addition, the cross talk noise and power dissipation became much more important in circuit performance. To reduce the resistance- capacitance (RC) delay, the industry has replaced the Al conductor by Cu (lowering resistance) and Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) by materials with a lower dielectric constant, low-k (lowering capacitance). In order to reduce the dielectric constant of a material, either atomic groups with a small polarizability can be inserted or the electronic density can be lowered. The density has a stronger effect on the k-value than the polarizability, since the density can be lowered till zero (air-gaps), achieving unity as k-value. The ultra low-k materials introduction in Cu technology has been much slower than anticipated in the ITRS Roadmap. The introduction of porosity in low-k materials has increased the level of complexity tremendously. In this presentation, the challenges appearing during the integration of ultra low-k dielectrics will be discussed, since a proper understanding of these issues is essential for downscaling of the interconnect system. The extreme vulnerability of porous low-k to processing - induced damage (accompanied with the loss of dielectric performance and reliability) demands a continuous innovation of materials, processes and integration approaches. Recently developed new materials and innovation solutions for low-k integration will also be discussed. 

Speaker’s photo

Brief biography of Speaker

Dr. Mikhail R. Baklanov graduated from Novosibirsk State University (Russia). He obtained his PhD degree in Chemical Sciences in 1976 and the Habilitation degree in 1991. In 1974 - 1995, he worked at the Institute Semiconductor Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences and successively held the positions of Researcher, Senior Researcher and Head of Laboratory. In 1995–2001, he worked at IMEC, Leuven, Belgium as a visiting Professor, and in 2001–2003 as R&D Director in XPEQT, Switzerland/ Belgium.

In 2003–2016 he was working as a Principal Scientist at IMEC, Belgium. Since 03.2016, he is working as a Visiting Professor at NCUT and CTO in Leuven instruments, Leuven, Belgium. He has been serving as a member of Organizing Committees of several international conferences. He has published more than 600 publications, including more than 300 papers in peer reviewed journals and >60 invited presentations at International conferences. He has granted more than 35 patents, and has been Editor and contributor of several books. The citation of his papers is higher than 6500.