Microelectronics fabrication

Campbell S A 1996 The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication (New York Oxford University Press)... 

A case study on the operational improvement of a plasma etching unit in microelectronics fabrication ends the section. This case study illustrates that if similar preference structures are used in both types of formulation, identical final solutions are found when either categorical or continuous performance evaluation modes are employed. 

In most microelectronics fabrication factories ( fabs ), LPCVD of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) is carried out by the decomposition silane... 

The U.S. - Australia Symposium on Radiation Effects on Polymeric Materials contained research presentations on fundamental radiation chemistry and physics as well as on technological applications of polymer irradiation. This paper represents a hybrid contribution of these two areas, examining a field of extensive technological importance. Spin casting of radiation sensitive polymer resists for microelectronic fabrication was studied using photophysical techniques that are sensitive to the fundamental radiation response in the ultraviolet range. 

Brewer, G. R. "Electron-Beam Technology in Microelectronic Fabrication" Academic Press New York, 1980, Chap. 1-4. 

Uses. Solvent for high-temperature resins petrochemical processing, in the microelectronics fabrication industry, dyes and pigments, industrial and domestic cleaning compounds agricultural and pharmaceutical formulations... 

Figure 7.43 Schematic diagram of a typical vapor phase epitaxy apparatus. Reprinted, by permission, from S. A. Campbell, The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication, p. 341. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.

Due to the historical importance of the initial stages of silicon oxidation to microelectronics fabrication, there has been a great deal of interest in the reaction of the water oxidant on the Si(100)-2 x 1 surface. A number of studies have shown that water adsorbs in a dissociated state consisting of OH(a) and H(a) species adsorbed on the Si surface dimer at room temperature [60-69]. More recent studies have closely investigated the mechanism of water oxidation. A series of density functional theory calculations (DFT) calculations by Konecny and Doren indicated that water first molecularly adsorbs through one of its lone pairs in a weakly bound precursor state, then transfers a proton to form OH(a) and H(a) species on the surface dimer [43]. The pathway to proton transfer is found to be unactivated with respect to the entrance channel, which suggests that OH(a) and H(a) are the dominant surface species at room temperature, in agreement with the previous experimental work [60-69]. 

Variations of semiconductor PL and EL intensities resulting from analyte adsorption are promising techniques for chemical sensing. When coupled with films such as MIPS, the selectivity of such structures may be improved. Integrated devices in which forward- and reverse-biased diodes are juxtaposed using microelectronics fabrication methods provide an opportunity to create completely integrated sensor structures on a single chip and to prepare arrays of such structures. 

Since this meta-substituted diamine was much more reactive than OFB, a variety of polyimides could be made, aUowing the synthesis of such structures as PMDA-PFMB, a polyimide with a very low thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) that may provide many advantages for microelectronic fabrication. Linear polyimide structures have generally been found to have low CTEs even when bulky groups were attached to the main chain. 

Chemical vapor deposition is a key process in microelectronics fabrication for the deposition of thin films of metals, semiconductors, and insulators on solid substrates. As the name indicates, chemically reacting gases are used to synthesize the thin solid films. The use of gases distinguishes chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from physical deposition processes such as sputtering and evaporation and imparts versatility to the deposition technique. 

The first representative of a potentiometric sensor was the pH-glass electrode invented in 1906 [35]. Decades of development resulted in the invention of many more ion-selective electrodes including more recently those based on neutral carrier membranes [36] and of the microelectronic fabricated ion selective field effect transistor (ISFET) [37]. 

Jaeger, R. C. Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1993, pp. 111-112. 

Surya Sekhar M, Ramanathan S. Characterization of copper chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) in nitric acid-hydrazine based slurry for microelectronic fabrication. Thin Solid Films 2006 504(l-2) 227-230. 

Electrochemical polishing, or electropolishing, is conventionally used for producing shiny surfaces where mechanical polishing is difficult to perform. Examples include components with complicated surfaces, decorative items, and other special applications. For microelectronic fabrication, planarization is emphasized in addition to surface smoothness. Hence, the term electrochemical planarization (ECP) is used throughout this chapter/book. 

The 64k, 80 pm x 80pm sized tilting mirrors are built on the top of a CMOS-based control ASIC. In order to reduce the topography of the underlying metallization/passivation structures, a 2.5pm-thick PECVD oxide film is first deposited on the ASIC. An ILD oxide CMP step based on Klebosol 30N50 colloidal silica slurry is used for planarization. In order to connect the ASIC with the deflection electrodes above (see Fig. 14.10), vias have to be etched into the planarized dielectric film. Then, a copper metal stack including a TaN barrier has to be deposited and a two-step Cu damascene CMP process has to be performed. As this process is equivalent to Cu damascene in microelectronics fabrication, standard Cu CMP slurries can be used. 

Cold wall reactors are the other major category of CVD reactors. In such systems, the substrates are heated but the walls are cooled. Figure 9 shows an example of a cold wall rotating disk CVD reactor.This system has water-cooled quartz walls, with a rotating holder for (silicon or compound semiconductor) wafers that is resistively heated from below. Other commercial cold-wall reactors include lamp heated single-wafer reactors that are widely used in microelectronics fabrication, and inductively heated horizontal flow reactors. Cold-wall reactors are often run at relatively high pressures, several hundred torr to atmospheric total... 

As mentioned in Chapter 1, a complete CMP process sequence will end with an effective cleaning process, leaving the planarized surface defect and contamination free and ready for the next step in the device/circuit fabrication sequence. By microelectronic fabrication standards, CMP is an inherently dirty process. Effective post-CMP cleaning is mandatory to achieve a high yield IC process. In this chapter we shall review the defect generation and cleaning. 

Britland S, Perez-Arnuad E, Clark P, McGinn B, Connolly P, Moores G. Micropatterning proteins and synthetic peptides on solid supports a novel application for microelectronics fabrication technology. Biotechnol. Prog. 1992 8 155-160. 

The reactor models developed for fixed-bed reactors have been exploited for use in other situations, for example, CVD reactors (see Vignette 6.4.2) for microelectronics fabrication. These models are applicable to reaction systems involving single fluid phases and nonmoving solids. There are numerous reaction systems that involve more than one fluid phase. Figure 10.4.3 illustrates various types of reactors... 

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