Intrinsic stress fracture energy measurements for PECVD thin films in the SiOxCyNz:H system

The fracture energies of a series of tensile plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited low dielectric constant (low-k) SiO(x)C(y):H, SiO(x)N(y):H and SiN(x):H thin films were calculated by determining the critical thickness at which spontaneous cracking occurred. The fracture energies determined for the SiO(x)C(y):H films were in the range of 2-3 J/m(2), whereas for the SiO(x)N(y):H and SiN(x):H films, the calculated fracture energies were higher and ranged from 5 to 14 J/m(2). For the SiO(x)N(y):H and SiN(x):H films, the addition of nitrogen was not found to significantly increase the fracture energy of the SiON films relative to pure SiO(2). The fracture toughness, however, was improved due to the increase in modulus from the addition of nitrogen. Overall, the fracture energies determined by this method were found to be consistent with those determined by other techniques. Published by Elsevier Ltd.