Porosity effect on the dielectric constant and thermomechanical properties of organosilicate films

This letter reports a study of the porosity effect on material properties of methylsilsesquioxane films, including the dielectric constant, thermal conductivity, and thermal stress behavior. In a porosity range from 0% to 50%, both the dielectric constant and thermal conductivity decreased with increasing porosity and no significant change was observed at the percolation point where pores became interconnected. In comparison, the stress–temperature slope also decreased with porosity, but as the porosity approached the percolation point, the slope showed a large drop of 40%, indicating a significant degradation of the thermomechanical properties due to percolation of pores. Assuming the coefficients of thermal expansion remain at 17 ppm/°C within the porosity range, the change in the stress–temperature slope corresponds to a decrease of the biaxial modulus from 7 to 5 GPa around the percolation point.