Integrated circuit devices fabrication

Although more than 100 individual process steps are used in the manufacture of even simple integrated circuits, the fabrication sequence invokes many of the same operations numerous times. A list of unit operations that compose the technological arsenal for the fabrication of solid-state materials and devices can be made. Clearly, these unit operations are distinctly different from those associated with traditional chemical manufacture. Nevertheless, the purpose of defining such a list is the same to establish the necessary chemical and physical operations so that a complicated process may be designed and carried out from individual, more easily controlled... 

A clean surface is essential for device reliability and performance [183], It becomes critical as the dimensions of devices become smaller and smaller as a result of ever-increasing integration and complexity. It has been estimated that over 50% of yield losses in integrated circuit (IC) fabrication are due to microcontamination [184], Today, a typical process flow for advanced ICs consists of 300 to 500 steps, 30% of which are wafer cleaning steps [185]. The need for wafer cleaning can be separated into three areas (1) preparation of the wafer surfaces for oxidation, diffusion, deposition, and... 

K. W. Guarini, et al.. Electrical integrity of state-of-the-art 0.13 mm SOI CMOS devices and circuits transferred for three-dimensional (3-D) integrated circuit (IC) fabrication. In Proc. IntT Electronic Device Meeting, 2002, pp. 943 - 945. 

For the fabrication of a further fine pattern, a high performance resist polymer must be developed. The primary demand for the high performance resists is, of course, to improve resolution. One of the important factors to improve resolution is the type of irradiation sources. In other words, a resist having a high sensitivity toward a shorter wavelength radiation (UV deep UV - X-ray, electron beam(EB)) is required for fabrication of future integrated circuit devices. 

Metallization. Integrated circuits require conductive layers to form electrical connections between contacts on a device, between devices on a chip, between metal layers on a chip, and between chips and higher levels of interconnections needed for packaging the chips. It is critical to the success of IC fabrication that the metallization be stable throughout the process sequence in order to maintain the correct physical and electrical properties of the circuit. It must also be possible to pattern the blanket deposition. 

The present chapter deals with the CVD of metals and some metal alloys and intermetallics. The metals are listed alphabetically. The range of applications is extensive as many of these materials play an important part in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in optoelectronic and optical applications, in corrosion protection, and in the design of structural parts. These applications are reviewed in greater depth in Chs. 13 to 19. 

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