Comparative Effects of O2 Plasma and Thermal Annealing on the Physicochemical and Electrical Characteristics of iCVD pV3D3 Dielectric Films

Functional polymers are increasingly considered for semiconductor integration, but their properties may be altered by plasma and thermal processing. Here, 50 nm thick iCVD-grown pV3D3 dielectric films were subjected to O2 plasma treatment and thermal annealing at 250 and 300 °C, and the resulting physicochemical and electrical changes were comparatively investigated. O2 plasma treatment generated C–O and O–C=O surface bonding states and shifted the Si 2p spectrum toward higher binding energy, while the RMS roughness remained below 0.5 nm. In contrast, thermal annealing caused comparatively limited surface-chemical changes but substantially altered the electrical response. In particular, the 300 °C-annealed sample exhibited strongly suppressed capacitance and a pronounced deviation from the linear resistance–length relationship observed for the reference and lower-temperature conditions. These results indicate that plasma treatment predominantly modifies the near-surface chemistry of pV3D3, whereas elevated thermal processing can induce electrical changes that are not fully captured by surface-sensitive characterization. The combined analysis highlights the importance of thermal-budget control when integrating pV3D3 into semiconductor process flows.