ELECTRON BEAM IMAGABLE POLYIMIDES

THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING POLYIMIDE PRECURSORS WHICH CANBE DIRECTLY IMAGED BY ELECTRON-BEAMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THESE DIELECTRICS WILL HAVE ALL OF THE ADVANTAGES OF POLYIMIDES, AND SAVE PROCESS STEPS BECAUSE THEY WILL BE DIRECTLY IMAGABLE. INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PROCESS TESTS WHICH INCLUDE THICKNESS AND UNIFORMITY OF COATINGS, ADHESION TESTS, AND THERMAL STABILITY WILL BE PERFORMED. THE SENSITIVITY OF THE POLYIMIDE PRECURSORS TO ELECTRON BEAMS, AND THEIR RESOLUTION WILL BE TESTED. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THESE TWO IMPORTANT PROPERTIES WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN SO PERFORMANCE GOALS HAVE BEEN SET TO DETERMINE FEASIBILITY. GPC, NMR AND IR CHEMICAL ANALYSES WILL BE DONE ON THE MOST PROMISING POLYMERS. BECAUSE THE POLYIMIDE REMAINS ON THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT ITS ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES MUST MEET CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS. RESISTIVITY WILL BE TESTED. THIS PROPERTY SHOULD ALSO MEET A PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE FOR THE PROGRAM TO BE FEASIBLE FOR PHASE II FUNDING. THE RESISTIVITY OF E-BEAM EXPOSED POLYIMIDE WILL BE MEASURED ALSO TO ENSURE THAT EXPOSURE DOES NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ITS PERFORMANCE AS A DIELECTRIC.