Effects of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on deposited and ultraviolet-cured low-k porous organosilicate glass

The authors compare the effects of vacuum ultraviolet VUV irradiation on pristine and UV-cured low-k porous organosilicate glass SiCOH . The authors find that during VUV irradiation, more trapped charges are generated in UV-cured SiCOH as compared to pristine SiCOH. VUV is also used as a tool to investigate effects of UV curing. From comparison of VUV spectroscopy and photoinjection current of the two samples, the authors find that UV curing reduces the number of defect states in SiCOH. The authors also find that UV-cured SiCOH has higher photoconductivity and intrinsic conductivity from VUV spectroscopy and trapped-charge decay rate, respectively. © 2011 American Vacuum Society. DOI: 10.1116/1.3570818