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Book Contents

Core Technology

Imbedded within chapters 1-9 is the prerequisite information that new employees in a semiconductor company or beginning students in SMT educational programs need to prepare them for reading chapters 10-20 (semiconductor manufacturing process).

  1. Semiconductor industry overview
  2. Semiconductor materials
  3. Device technologies—IC families
  4. Silicon and wafer preparation
  5. Chemicals in the industry
  6. Contamination control
  7. Process metrology
  8. Process gas controls
  9. IC fabrication overview

Process Technology

Chapters 10-18 of the SMT book focus on the physical and chemical requirements of the manufacturing processes, techniques, materials, and equipment needed for manufacturing integrated circuit structures from silicon wafers. Chapters 19 and 20 cover the backend of the overall integrated circuit manufacturing process.

  1. Oxidation
  2. Deposition
  3. Metallization
  4. Photoresist
  5. Exposure
  6. Develop
  7. Etch
  8. Ion implant
  9. Polish
  10. Test
  11. Assembly and packaging

Chapter Topics

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Semiconductor Industry

Objectives
Introduction
Development of an Industry
    Industry roots
    The solid state
Circuit integration
    Integration eras
IC Fabrication
    Wafer fab
    Stages of IC fabrication
Semiconductor trends
    Increase in chip performance
    Increase in chip reliability
    Reduction in chip price
The electronic era
    1950s: Transistor technology
    1960s: Process technology
    1970s: Competition
    1980s: Automation
    1990s: Volume production
Careers in Semiconductor Manufacturing
    Technician
    Job descriptions
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 2: Characteristics of Semiconductor Materials

Objectives
Introduction
Atomic structure
    Electrons
The periodic table
    Ionic bonds
    Covalent bonds
Classifying Materials
    Conductors
    Insulators
    Semiconductors
Silicon
    Pure silicon
    Why silicon?
    Doped silicon
    pn junctions
Alternative semiconductor materials
    Gallium arsenide (GaAs)
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
References

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Chapter 3: Device Technologies

Objectives
Introduction
Circuit types
    Analog circuits
    Digital circuits
Passive component structures
    IC resistor structures
    IC capacitor structures
Active component structures
    The pn junction diode
    The bipolar junction transistor
    Schottky diode
    Bipolar IC technology
    CMOS IC technology
    Enhancement and depletion mode MOSFETs
Latchup in CMOS devices
Integrated circuit products
    Linear IC product types
    Digital IC products
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 4: Silicon and Wafer Preparation

Objectives
Introduction
Semiconductor grade silicon
Crystal structure
    Amorphous materials
    Unit cells
    Polycrystal and monocrystal
Crystal orientation
Monocrystal silicon growth
    CZ method
    Float zone method
    Why larger ingot diameters?
Crystal defects in silicon
    Point defects
    Dislocations
    Gross defects
Wafer preparation
    Shaping operations
    Wafer slicing
    Wafer lapping and edge contour
    Etch
    Polish
    Cleaning
    Wafer evaluation
    Packaging
Quality measures
    Physical dimensions
    Flatness
    Microroughness
    Oxygen content
    Crystal defects
    Particles
    Bulk resistivity
Epitaxial layer
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 5: Chemicals in Semiconductor Fabrication

Objectives
Introduction
States of matter
Properties of materials
    Chemical properties for semiconductor manufacturing
Process chemicals
    Liquids
    Gases
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 6: Contamination Control in Wafer Fabs

Objectives
Introduction
Types of contamination
    Particles
    Metallic impurities
    Organic contamination
    Native oxides
    Electrostatic discharge
Sources and control of contamination
    Air
    Humans
    Facility
    Water
    Process chemicals
    Production equipment
    Workstation design
Wafer wet cleaning
    Wet cleaning overview
    Wet clean equipment
    Alternatives to RCA clean
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 7: Metrology and Defect Inspection

Objectives
Introduction
IC metrology
    Measurement equipment
    Yield
    Data management
Quality measures
    Film thickness
    Film stress
    Refractive index
    Dopant concentration
    Unpatterned surface defects
    Patterned surface defects
    Critical dimension (CD)
    Step coverage
    Overlay registration
    Capacitance-voltage (C-V) test
    Contact angle
Analytical equipment
    Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)
    Atomic force microscope (AFM)
    Auger electron spectroscope (AES)
    X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS)
    Transmission electron microscope (TEM)
    Energy and wavelength dispersive spectrometer (EDX and WDX)
    Focused ion beam (FIB)
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Metrology equipment suppliers
Web sites
References

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Chapter 8: Gas Control in the Process Chamber

Objectives
Introduction
Vacuum
    Vacuum ranges
    Mean free path
Vacuum pumps
    Roughing pump
    High vacuum pump
    Vacuum in integrated tools
Process chamber gas flow
    Mass flow controllers
Residual gas analyzer (RGA)
    RGA basics
    RGA as real-time monitor
Plasma
    Glow discharge
Process chamber contamination
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Vacuum equipment suppliers
Web sites
References

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Chapter 9: IC Fabrication Process Overview

Objectives
Introduction
CMOS process flow
    Overview of areas in wafer fab
CMOS manufacturing steps
    1. Twin-well implants
    2. Shallow trench isolation
    3. Gate structure
    4. Lightly doped drain (LDD) implants
    5. Side Wall spacer formation
    6. Source/Drain (S/D) Implants
    7. Contact formation
    8. Local interconnect (LI) process
    9. Via-1 and plug-1 formation
    10. Metal-1 interconnect formation
    11. Via-2 and plug-2 formation
    12. Metal-2 interconnect formation
    13. Metal-3 to pad etch and alloy
    14. Parametric testing
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
References

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Process Technology

Chapters 10-18 of the SMT book focus on the physical and chemical requirements of the manufacturing processes, techniques, materials, and equipment needed for manufacturing integrated circuit structures from silicon wafers. Chapters 19 and 20 cover the backend of the overall integrated circuit manufacturing process.

Chapter 10: Oxidation

Objectives
Introduction
Oxide film
    Nature of oxide film
    Uses of oxide film
Thermal oxidation growth
    Chemical reaction for oxidation
    Oxidation growth model
Furnace equipment
Horizontal vs. Vertical furnaces
    Vertical furnace
    Fast ramp vertical furnace
    Rapid thermal processor
Oxidation process
    Pre-oxidation cleaning
    Oxidation process recipe
Quality measurements
Oxidation troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 11: Deposition

Objectives
Introduction
    Film layering terminology
Film deposition
    Thin film characteristics
    Film growth
    Film deposition techniques
Chemical vapor deposition
    CVD chemical processes
    CVD reaction
CVD deposition systems
    CVD equipment design
    APCVD (atmospheric pressure CVD)
    LPCVD (low pressure CVD)
    Plasma assisted CVD
Dielectrics and performance
    Dielectric constant
    Device isolation
Spin-on-dielectrics
    Spin-on-glass (SOG)
    Spin-on-dielectric (SOD)
Epitaxy
    Epitaxy growth methods
CVD quality measures
CVD troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 12: Metallization

Objectives
Introduction
Types of metals
    Aluminum
    Aluminum-copper alloys
    Copper
    Barrier metals
    Silicides
    Metal plugs
Metal deposition systems
    Evaporation
    Sputtering
    Metal CVD
    Copper electroplate
Metallization schemes
    Traditional aluminum structure
    Copper damascene structure
Metallization quality measures
Metallization troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 13: Photolithography: Vapor Prime to Soft Bake

Objectives
Introduction
    Photolithography concepts
Photolithography processes
    Negative lithography
    Positive lithography
Eight basic steps of photolithography
    Step 1: vapor prime
    Step 2: spin coat
    Step 3: soft bake
    Step 4: alignment and exposure
    Step 5: post-exposure bake (PEB)
    Step 6: develop
    Step 7: hard bake
    Step 8: develop inspect
Vapor prime
    Wafer cleaning
    Dehydration bake
    Wafer priming
Spin coat
    Photoresist
    Photoresist physical properties
    Conventional i-line photoresist
    Deep UV (DUV) photoresists
    Photoresist dispensing methods
Soft bake
    Soft bake equipment
    Process characterization
Photoresist quality measures
Photoresist troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 14: Photolithography: Alignment and Exposure

Objectives
Introduction
    Importance of alignment and exposure
Optical lithography
    Light
    Exposure sources
    Optics
    Resolution
Photolithography equipment
    Contact aligner
    Proximity aligner
    Scanning projection aligner
    Step-and-repeat aligner (stepper)
    Step-and-scan system
    Reticles
    Optical enhancement techniques
    Alignment
    Environmental conditions
    Comparison of photo tools
Mix and match
Align and expose quality measures
Align and expose troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 15: Photolithography: Resist Development and Advanced Lithography

Objectives
Introduction
    Advanced lithography
Post-exposure bake
    DUV post-exposure bake (PEB)
    Conventional i-line PEB
Develop
    Negative resist
    Positive resist
    Development methods
    Resist development parameters
Hard bake
Develop inspect
Advanced lithography
    Next-generation lithography
    Advanced resist processing
Develop quality measures
Develop troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 16: Etch

Objectives
Introduction
    Etch processes
Etch parameters
    Etch rate
    Etch profile
    Etch bias
    Selectivity
    Uniformity
    Residues
    Polymer formation
    Plasma-induced damage
    Particle contamination
Dry etch
    Etching action
    Plasma voltage potential
Plasma etch reactors
    Barrel plasma etcher
    Parallel plate (planar) reactor
    Downstream etch systems
    Triode planar reactor
    Ion beam milling
    Reactive ion etch (RIE)
    High-density plasma etchers
    Etch system review
    Endpoint detection
    Vacuum for etch chambers
Dry etch applications
    Dielectric dry etch
    Silicon dry etch
    Metal dry etch
Wet etch
    Types of wet etch
Historical perspective
Photoresist removal
    Plasma ashing
Etch inspection
Etch inspection quality measures
Dry etch troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 17: Ion Implant

Objectives
Introduction
    Doped regions
Diffusion
    Diffusion principles
    Diffusion process
Ion implantation
    Overview
    Ion implant parameters
Ion implanters
    Ion source
    Extraction and ion analyzer
    Accelerator and post-accelerator
    Scanning system
    Process chamber
    Annealing
    Channeling
    Particles
Ion implant design trends
    Deep buried layers
    Retrograde wells
    Punchthrough stoppers
    Threshold voltage adjustment
    Lightly doped drain (LDD)
    Source/drain implants
    Polysilicon gate
    Trench capacitors
    Ultra-shallow junctions
    SIMOX
Ion implant quality measures
Ion implant troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 18: Chemical Mechanical Planarization

Objectives
Introduction
Traditional planarization
    Etchback
    Glass reflow
    Spin on films
Chemical mechanical planarization
    CMP planarity
    Advantages of CMP
    CMP mechanisms
    CMP slurry and pad
    CMP equipment
    CMP clean
    CMP equipment manufacturers
CMP applications
    STI oxide polish
    LI oxide polish
    LI tungsten polish
    ILD oxide polish
    Tungsten plug polish
    Dual damascene copper polish
CMP quality measures
CMP troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 19: Wafer Test

Objectives
Introduction
    IC electrical tests
Wafer test
    In-line parametric test
    Wafer sort
    Yield
    Wafer sort yield models
Test quality measures
Test troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Chapter 20: Assembly and Packaging

Objectives
Introduction
    Packaging options
Traditional assembly
    Backgrind
    Die separation
    Die attach
    Wirebonding
Traditional packaging
    Plastic packaging
    Ceramic packaging
    Final test
Advanced assembly and packaging
    Flip chip
    Ball grid array (BGA)
    Chip on board (COB)
    Tape automated bonding (TAB)
    Multichip modules (MCM)
    Chip scale packaging (CSP)
    Wafer-level packaging
Assembly and packaging quality measures
IC packaging troubleshooting
Summary
Key terms
Review questions
Web sites
References

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Appendices

Appendix A: Chemicals and safety
Appendix B: Contamination controls in cleanrooms
Appendix C: Units
Appendix D: Color as a function of oxide thickness
Appendix E: Overview of photoresist chemistry
Appendix F: Etch chemistry

Glossary

Index

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    © Michael Quirk and Julian Serda