Diffusion siliconizing benefits

Up to 750°C, the performance of all aluminium diffusion coatings is considered to be very good, but above this temperature the results appear to be dependent on the coating thickness, diffusion treatment and the specific service environment. Sprayed aluminium coatings can be used up to 900°C after diffusion treatment. Hot-dipped coatings also benefit from additional diffusion treatment, and omission of silicon from the coating alloy improves performance at the elevated temperatures. 

This can be accomplished by using materials between the metal lines that have a lower dielectric constant (also referred to as the k-value). Copper interconnect was first introduced with silicon oxide as the dielectric material, with a dielectric constant of about 4.0 (the value depends on the specifics of the deposition process, such as the precursor used, the temperature of deposition, plasma parameters, etc.). Substitution of some of oxygen atoms with fluorine in fluorinated silicon glass decreased the dielectric constant (with values about 3.7, depending on the fluorine content and process parameters). It should be noted that the incorporation of fluorine was not an unalloyed benefit, since the addition of greater amounts of fluorine can affect the moisture stability of the F-doped oxide films, and the F can attack Ta-based diffusion barriers. 

The electronic industry benefits from boron trichloride in many applications. It is used in the production of optical fibers, as a p-type dopant for thermal diffusion in silicon, and for ion implantation. 

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