Thickness dependent dielectric breakdown of PECVD low-k carbon doped silicon dioxide dielectric thin films:: modeling and experiments

The experimental results obtained on the dielectric strength E-B of carbon doped silicon dioxide thin films for various film thicknesses using I-V measurements with metal-insulator-semiconductor structures suggest a new relationship between the film thickness d and the dielectric strength E-B, i.e. E-B proportional to (d - d(c))(-n). This inverse power law relationship indicates the existence of a critical thickness d(c) which may correspond to an ultimate thickness limit below which the rate of detrapping of electron charges exceeds the rate of trapping and no dielectric breakdown can be observed. The newly obtained inverse power law relationship appears to be general since it is also supported by other published dielectric strength data for both amorphous and polycrystalline polymer thin films. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.