Addition of Surfactant Tween 80 in Coating Solutions for Making Mesoporous Pure Silica Zeolite MFI Low-k Films

A mesoporous pure-silica-zeolite (PSZ) MFI low dielectric (k) film with smooth surface morphology was successfully synthesized using a centrifuged coating solution composed of a solution with PSZ MFI nanoparticles and surfactant Tween 80. The zeolite nanoparticles were prepared using TEOS as the silica source through a two-stage hydrothermal process. Both the k value and the mechanical strength of the film were strongly affected by the weight ratio of Tween 80 to TEOS and by the hydrothermal period of the second stage. When a higher weight ratio of Tween 80 to TEOS was employed, a lower k value and mechanical strength were obtained. A film coated from a solution prepared under optimal experimental conditions possessed an ultra low k value of 1.83, a hardness of 1.39 GPa, an elastic module of 12.3 GPa, and a leakage current of 1.35 × 10−7 A/cm2, all of which met the needs of the integrated circuits (IC) industry. Moreover, the occurrence of electrical degradation of electronic devices could be minimized be...