Method of forming foamed polymeric material for an integrated circuit

A method of fabricating an interconnect for an integrated circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate that includes an active area of the integrated circuit;
• forming a polymeric material on the substrate;
• converting at least a portion of the polymeric material formed on the substrate to a foamed polymeric material, wherein the step of converting the polymeric material comprises exposing at least a portion of the polymeric material to a supercritical fluid;
• defining at least one contact hole in the foamed polymeric material to the active area of the integrated circuit;
• and
• filling the contact hole with a conductive material.

A method of fabricating an interconnect for an integrated circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate that includes a conductive layer;
• forming a polymeric material on the conductive layer;
• converting at least a portion of the polymeric material formed on the conductive layer to a foamed polymeric material, wherein the step of converting the polymeric material comprises exposing at least a portion of the polymeric material to a supercritical fluid;
• defining at least one via in the foamed polymeric material;
• and
• filling the via with a conductive material.

A method of forming an insulating material for use in an integrated circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate of the integrated circuit;
• forming a layer of Type I polyimide on the substrate;
• and
• converting at least a portion of the Type I polyimide formed on the substrate to a foamed Type I polyimide, wherein the step of converting to a foamed Type I polyimide comprises exposing the Type I polyimide to a supercritical fluid.

A method of forming an insulating material for use in an integrated circuit, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate of the integrated circuit;
• forming a layer of fluorinated polymer on the substrate;
• and
• converting at least a portion of the fluorinated polymer formed on the substrate to a foamed fluorinated polymer, wherein the step of converting to a foamed fluorinated polymer comprises exposing the fluorinated polymer to a supercritical fluid.