<s>
In	O
semiconductor	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
a	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
material	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
relative	O
dielectric	O
constant	O
( κ	O
,	O
kappa	O
)	O
relative	O
to	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Low-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
material	O
implementation	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
several	O
strategies	O
used	O
to	O
allow	O
continued	O
scaling	O
of	O
microelectronic	O
devices	O
,	O
colloquially	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
extending	O
Moore	O
's	O
law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
digital	O
circuits	O
,	O
insulating	O
dielectrics	O
separate	O
the	O
conducting	O
parts	O
(	O
wire	O
interconnects	B-General_Concept
and	O
transistors	B-Application
)	O
from	O
one	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
components	O
have	O
scaled	O
and	O
transistors	B-Application
have	O
gotten	O
closer	O
together	O
,	O
the	O
insulating	O
dielectrics	O
have	O
thinned	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
where	O
charge	O
build	O
up	O
and	O
crosstalk	O
adversely	O
affect	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Replacing	O
the	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
with	O
a	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
of	O
the	O
same	O
thickness	O
reduces	O
parasitic	O
capacitance	O
,	O
enabling	O
faster	O
switching	O
speeds	O
(	O
in	O
case	O
of	O
synchronous	B-Application
circuits	I-Application
)	O
and	O
lower	O
heat	O
dissipation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
conversation	O
such	O
materials	O
may	O
be	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
low-k	B-Algorithm
"	O
(	O
spoken	O
"	O
low-kay	O
"	O
)	O
rather	O
than	O
"	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
"	O
(	O
low-kappa	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
integrated	O
circuits	O
,	O
and	O
CMOS	B-Device
devices	O
,	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
can	O
readily	O
be	O
formed	O
on	O
surfaces	O
of	O
Si	O
through	O
thermal	B-Algorithm
oxidation	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
can	O
further	O
be	O
deposited	O
on	O
the	O
surfaces	O
of	O
conductors	O
using	O
chemical	B-Algorithm
vapor	I-Algorithm
deposition	I-Algorithm
or	O
various	O
other	O
thin	O
film	O
fabrication	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fluorine-doped	O
oxide	O
materials	O
were	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
180	B-Algorithm
nm	I-Algorithm
and	O
130	B-Algorithm
nm	I-Algorithm
technology	O
nodes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
second	O
step	O
,	O
the	O
organic	O
phase	O
is	O
decomposed	O
by	O
UV	O
curing	O
or	O
annealing	O
at	O
a	O
temperature	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
400°C	O
,	O
leaving	O
behind	O
pores	O
in	O
the	O
organosilicate	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Porous	O
organosilicate	O
glasses	O
have	O
been	O
employed	O
since	O
the	O
45	B-Algorithm
nm	I-Algorithm
technology	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Polymeric	O
dielectrics	O
are	O
generally	O
deposited	O
by	O
a	O
spin-on	O
approach	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
traditionally	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
deposition	O
of	O
photoresist	O
materials	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
chemical	B-Algorithm
vapor	I-Algorithm
deposition	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
examples	O
of	O
spin-on	O
organic	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
polymers	O
are	O
polyimide	O
,	O
polynorbornenes	O
,	O
benzocyclobutene	O
,	O
and	O
PTFE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ultimate	O
low-κ	B-Algorithm
material	O
is	O
air	O
with	O
a	O
relative	O
permittivity	O
value	O
of	O
~	O
1.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Intel	O
uses	O
air	O
gaps	O
for	O
two	O
interconnect	B-General_Concept
levels	O
in	O
its	O
14	B-Algorithm
nm	I-Algorithm
FinFET	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
