Frank Palmieri
|
 |
Title: Graduate
Student - Chemical
Engineering
Office: 3.154
Phone: (512)-471-6364
Email:
frank@che.utexas.edu
|
|
|
|
Frank Palmieri earned his undergraduate Degree in Chemical
Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 2002.
He has been a member of the Willson Research Group since 2002.
Research Interests: Functional Materials for SFIL a.k.a.
Directly Patternable Dielectrics
The Back End of Line (BEOL) electrical
connectivity in a modern integrated circuit (IC) may contain as
many as ten levels of wiring and associated vias. The dual
damascene process used to generate these copper interconnects
requires many difficult processing steps. BEOL processing using
Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (SFIL) with a directly
patternable dielectric material can dramatically reduce the
number of processing steps. A single SFIL imprint can
simultaneously generate both the via and the trench with a
single alignment and lithography step. By directly patterning a
dielectric material instead of a sacrificial resist material,
many hardmask materials and pattern transfer processes are
eliminated.
Microelectronic dielectric material
requirements are both numerous and demanding. SFIL also
requires properties not found in standard semiconductor
dielectric materials. SFIL requires low viscosity monomers
which undergo rapid photo-induced polymerization with minimal
shrinkage. A set of materials that are compatible with SFIL
processing has been examined for use as a dielectric material.
Inorganic/organic hybrid materials derived from polyhedral
oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) structures with various
polymerizable organic pendant moieties show promise as DPDs. A
two stage processing technique is used to control material
properties of the DPD. Stage one utilizes the standard SFIL
process to generate a patterned thin film. After pattern
generation, the polymeric DPD film is heated to generate
crosslinks and improve mechanical and thermal properties.
The structure to function relationship of various POSS materials
is being examined. Material properties of the precursor liquid
such as viscosity, contact angle, and rate of polymerization are
being collected. Properties of the UV cured films such as
pattern resolution and elastic modulus, and properties of the
fully cured resin such as thermal stability, dielectric
constant, thermal shrinkage, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio,
CTE, and water sorption are being examined as well.
Full Resume'(Word)
|
