Polymers in Microelectronics: Fundamentals and Applications

Polymers play a significant role in achieving the current state-of-the-art in microelectronics. They are not only found in final products such as housing of components, packaging of IC chips and intermetallic dielectric layers, but are also employed extensively in major processing steps such as resists in microlithography. Polymers even hold great potential for applications on the horizon, including optical storage media, semi-conducting substrates, and nonlinear optics. Such a plethora of usages dictates a firm grasp of the basic principles of polymers in order to comprehend the salient as well as subtle issues in their various applications. This book thus begins with an introduction to the essentials of microelectronics processing and products, paving the way for subsequent description of the role of polymers. A review of general polymer principles follows. A detailed survey of relevant phenomena and considerations leads to coverage, with examples, of some specialty polymers commonly used in microelectronics, their chemistry, physical properties, processing and performances.

Table of Contents:
1. Overview of Integrated Circuits and Packaging. Introduction. IC fabrication environment. IC fabrication. The role of polymers in microelectronics. References. 2. Fundamental Principles of Polymers. Basic concepts. Synthesis. Characterization. States of polymers. Engineering properties. Plasma processes. Interfacial phenomena. References. Appendix: Key polymers used in the electronics industry. 3. Resists in Microlithography. Introduction. Exposure techniques. Resist requirements. Resist characterization. Resist materials. Resist processing. Multi-level resist processes. Dry film resists. References. 4. Polyimide Use in IC Fabrication. Introduction. The role of polyimide in IC fabrication. Polyimide properties. Polyimide chemistry. Polyimide processing. Planarization. New materials. Polyimide reliability. Polyimide as an a-particle barrier. Additional polyimide IC uses. References. 5. Encapsulation and Packaging of Integrated Circuits. Introduction. Processes in packaging operations. Package types. Laminated ceramics. Current trends of packaging and interconnection. Material property considerations. Major polymers used in semiconductor packaging. Encapsulation. Printed circuit boards. References. 6. Emerging Technologies. Introduction. Magnetic media. Optical storage. Nonlinear optical materials. References. Appendix A: Physical constants. Appendix B: Integrated circuit related acronyms. Index.