the nanoparticle material of the present invention which is well suited for forming electrical insulating layers in semiconductor integrated circuits comprises a refractory oxide core decorated with a precise amount of fullerene molecules ; the nanoparticles prepared in this way having an enhanced surface area , high thermal stability , and high chemical resistance . the nanoparticles prepared according to the present invention are monodisperse and are of a size that allows them to fill the topographical features of a patterned semiconductor wafer . the present invention also teaches methods for improving the adhesion and mechanical properties of the nanoparticles on said wafers by the use of appropriate binders . any preparative route that produces stable solutions or suspensions of solid particles of an appropriate size may be used , however the preferred method involves the hydrolysis and condensation of a metal or metalloid alkoxide . the preferred particle composition , which can be simply prepared as monodisperse spheres of the appropriate size , is silicon oxide ( sio 2 ). however , any solid composition that possesses certain desirable properties , notably a dielectric constant of 4 or less , and good thermal stability may be employed . the fullerenes added to the oxide particles serve several purposes ; they should ; provide a reactive site useful for binding the particles into an integrated unit , prevent undesirable consolidation of said particles thereby maintaining the desired porosity level in films made from said particles , and provide resistance to high temperatures . the preferred materials that meet the above requirements have the formulae c 60 , c 70 , c 72 , c 74 , c 76 , c 78 , c 84 , c 96 , and higher analogues up to , and beyond , c 184 . additionally , mixtures of any or all of these compounds may be used . these materials are available in commercial - scale quantities from ses research , inc . southern chemical group , llc , and dynamic enterprises ltd . mixtures commonly known as fullerite , or fullerene extract , which typically consist of 70 % c 60 , 28 % c 70 , and 2 % larger analogs , are especially desirable for the present invention due to their lower cost . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , the oxide cores of the nanoparticles are prepared by the hydrolysis and condensation of an alkoxide , preferably tetramethylorthosilicate , or more preferably , tetraethylorthosilicate ( teos ). the conditions for the hydrolysis and condensation of the alkoxide ( namely alkoxide concentration , water content , and ph ) are controlled such that the desired particle size of the resultant oxide is achieved and that the particles remain monodisperse and in solution . the solvent system used for the formation of the oxide cores includes an alcohol , preferably ethanol , and a second component in which fullerenes show a high solubility . the preferred co - solvent is toluene , but others such as , xylenes , carbon disulfide , or 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene may be used as well . additional solvents may be added that alter the deposition or drying behavior of the mixture . examples are higher - boiling alcohols , such as benzyl alcohol or tertiary butanol . in the preferred embodiment the volume ratios of the reagents , ethanol , toluene , water , teos , 30 % aqueous ammonia , and 0 . 1m nh 4 f are ; 200 . 0 : 100 . 0 : 2 . 38 : 5 . 0 : 0 . 115 : 0 . 115 . this results in a stable solution of silica particles with diameters of ˜ 6 - 7 nm . the silica particles thus prepared are then decorated with a specific amount of fullerenes . the exact amount of fullerene used plays a critical role in determining the overall porosity of the final film . fig1 a shows a sectional view of an oxide core , 10 , with a diameter of 6 nm that has been decorated with the maximum possible amount of fullerenes , 20 , equivalent to 100 % monolayer coverage . the dashed line shows the effective total occupied volume of the decorated particle , which in this case is 87 % of the theoretical maximum . fig1 b gives a similar view of a decorated particle with only 50 % monolayer coverage of fullerenes . in this case , the effective occupied volume is 68 % of the theoretical maximum . a final view is given in fig1 c , with 10 % monolayer coverage , with an effective occupied volume of 53 % of the theoretical maximum . fig2 a shows a sectional view of three plain particles with diameters of 6 nm . the dashed line shows the effective occupied volume , with the actual occupied volume being 53 % of the theoretical maximum . this is contrasted by fig2 b , which shows similar particles decorated with 10 % monolayer coverage of fullerenes , with an actual occupied volume of 42 % of the theoretical maximum . to provide a film with the lowest possible dielectric constant , the level of fullerenes decorated onto the oxide particles is kept to a minimum value , preferably less than 50 %, more preferably less than 25 %, and still more preferably 5 - 15 %. the binding of the fullerenes to the oxide particles is accomplished in the present invention through the use of organic coupling agents . these are small molecules which possess a functional group with a high affinity for fullerenes on one end , and a group which reacts with surface — oh groups on the opposite end . in the present invention , the preferred coupling agent is 3 - aminopropyltriethoxysilane . primary and secondary amines react readily with fullerenes by n — h addition across a c — c bond . other classes of coupling agents may be used , if desired , such as diamines , dienes , halogenated compounds , or azides . to effect the addition of the fullerene to the oxide surface , a second solution is prepared which consists of a saturated solution of fullerenes in toluene , to which 1 molar equivalent of 3 - aminopropyltriethoxysilane is added . after standing for 24 hours , an amount of said solution sufficient to provide the desired level of fullerene coverage is added to the solution of oxide particles . the final step in the preparation of the precursor solution is the addition of the soluble binder to the solution of decorated nanoparticles . the preferred binder for the present invention is 4 , 4 ′- diazidobenzophenone . this compound is stable under ordinary condition , but readily liberates two n 2 , molecules at elevated (& gt ; 100 ° c .) temperature , or upon exposure to ultraviolet , or other high - energy radiation . upon release of n 2 , a very highly reactive dinitrene intermediate is formed . these react with any adjacent molecules , especially the fullerenes , which show a high affinity for azide - derived nitrenes . other similar compounds such as 4 , 4 ′- diazidostilbene , 4 , 4 ′- diazidodiphenylethane , 4 , 4 ′- diazidodiphenylether , 2 , 6 - di -( p - azidobenzal )- cyclohexanone , or 2 , 6 - di -( p - azidobenzal )- 4 - methylcyclohexanone may be used , as well as other classes of compounds such as diaziridenes or dioxiranes . in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , the organic coupling agent is added to the oxide nanoparticles prior to reaction with the fullerenes . in this case , a specific amount of 3 - aminopropyltriethoxysilane is added directly to a solution of oxide particles prepared as in the above embodiment . the amount added is based on the known surface area of the oxide particles in solution and the desired amount of coverage of fullerenes . after this addition , a saturated solution containing 1 molar equivalent of fullerenes , relevant to the coupling agent , is added to the solution of said nanoparticles . in yet another embodiment , it may be desirable to derivatize any unreacted — oh groups on the surface of the nanoparticles not decorated with fullerenes with a suitable non - polar group . this may be desirable in cases where the amount of fullerene decoration is low , in order to decrease the absorption of moisture in the final film . this can be easily accomplished by the addition of a small amount of hexamethydisilazane , or other reagent useful for converting — oh to — or groups to the solution of decorated nanoparticle prepared as in the above embodiments . the solution of fullerene - decorated nanoparticles prepared according to the above embodiments is then ready for deposition onto the desired substrate . however , when a coating of nanoparticles is desired on a semiconductor wafer , a pretreatment step may be needed . typical semiconductor wafers possess thin coatings of metal oxides over the silicon , aluminum , tungsten , copper or other metals used in the device . these oxide layers commonly support a large number of hydroxyl groups at the exterior surface . these polar groups may show a low affinity for the fullerene component of the nanoparticles described in this invention . however , this surface is easily modified by simple soaking in , or exposure to vapors of , any of several common reagents , such as hexamethyldisilazane , phenyltriethoxysilane , or chlorotriphenylsilane . the solution of nanospheres is then applied to the untreated or treated wafer through any of several methods common to the art , including spin coating , spray coating , or dip coating . single coatings are preferable , but multiple coatings may be used to achieve a desired film thickness . the deposition method chosen would preferably deposit a dried film with a thickness between 0 . 1 and 2 . 0 μm , and more preferably between 0 . 5 and 1 . 5 μm , and still more preferably between 0 . 8 and 1 . 2 μm . the degree of disorder is affected by the initial concentration of the nanosphere solution , the evaporation rate of the solvents , the temperature of the deposition and other physical variables . the degree of disorder is critical to determining overall porosity and therefore , the final dielectric constant of the layer . fig3 shows a sectional view of a portion of a film formed from fullerene - decorated nanospheres on a solid substrate , 30 , ( not to scale ), the fullerene molecules can be seen to prevent consolidation within the film . the residue from the soluble binder is not visible at the scale shown in fig3 . the final process step in the present invention is the activation of the soluble binder and curing of the deposited film . the preferred method of curing initiates the decomposition of the diazide binder at a temperature between 250 and 450 ° c . other methods such as ultraviolet irradiation may be used alone , or in combination with thermal treatments . the preferred atmosphere for the curing step is nitrogen , however any inert atmosphere such as argon or helium may be used as well . the effectiveness of this curing process will be , in part , determined by amount of the soluble binder relative to the fullerene - decorated nanoparticles in the dried film . this may be adjusted up to a maximum level where the addition of further binder begins to fill the porosity of the film , thereby increasing its dielectric constant . the following non - limiting example demonstrates the experimental conditions needed to prepare fullerene - decorated nanoparticles and dielectric films prepared from fullerene - decorated nanoparticles prepared according to the methods described hereinabove . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , fullerene - decorated silica nanoparticles with a diameter of 6 - 7 nm , and a specific surface area of 430 m 2 / g , were prepared by the following procedure . fullerite ( 0 . 055 grams , 70 % c 60 , 28 % c 70 , 2 % higher ) was dissolved in 20 ml toluene , 0 . 020 ml of 3 - aminopropyltriethoxysilane was then added and the solution allowed to stand at 25 ° c . for 24 hours . a second mixture of 130 ml of ethanol , 65 ml toluene , 1 . 25 ml benzyl alcohol , 3 . 0 grams of teos , 1 . 55 grams of water , 0 . 075 ml of 30 % aqueous ammonia , and 0 . 075 ml of 0 . 1 m aqueous ammonium fluoride was then prepared and stirred at 25 ° c . for 4 hours . after which , the fullerite solution was filtered , and slowly added to the teos solution . the mixture was stirred for 24 hours followed by the addition of 0 . 115 grams of 4 , 4 ′- diazidobenzophenone . evaporating all solvents from this solution and heating the resulting solids under a nitrogen atmosphere to 450 ° c . for 10 minutes gave a black solid with a bulk density considerably less than 1 gram per cm 3 , and with a specific surface area of 430 m 2 / g ( corresponding to a particle diameter of 6 . 7 nm for spheres with a density of ˜ 2 g / cm 3 ). a small amount of the solution prepared according to the preferred embodiment described above was coated onto a silicon wafer . seven ml of said solution of fullerene - decorated nanoparticles was dispensed onto a wafer spinning at 50 rpm . after three seconds , the spin - rate of the wafer was increased to 150 rpm and held at that speed for 60 seconds , leaving a thin film of nanoparticles . the wafer was dried at 60 ° c . for 30 seconds , and then baked at 450 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere for 10 minutes to permanently cure the film . this results in a highly porous , crack - free film with a thickness of approximately 0 . 3 μm and a dielectric constant less than 2 . 4 . the invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular examples described herein , as these are illustrative rather than restrictive . the invention is intended to cover all processes and structures that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention . specifically the use of individual solid particles with a controllable size that can be decorated with a specific amount of fullerenes and then deposited and cured onto a substrate for use as an electrical insulator .