Deducing nanopore structure and growth mechanisms in porogen-templated silsesquioxane thin films

Adjusting the functional group of a porogen is found to have a tremendous effect on the pore structre of porous low dielectric constant films with silsesquioxane as the matrix precursor. The pore size and interconnection length measured by positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy can be used to deduce the pore shape and its evolution with porosity from templates of isolated porogen molecules through film percolation. Inert, self-linkable, and amphiphilic porogens are demonstrated to randomly aggregate three-dimensionally, linearly polymerize, and form micelles, respectively.