PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION

PART 2. BASIC FABRICATIONS (F)

KUO-SHEN CHEN
1999-2002 KUO-SHEN CHEN, ALL RIGHT RESERVED
Major references:
1. S. Wolf and R. N. Tauber, Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Vol. 1:
Process Technology, Lattice Press, 1986
2. R. C. Jeager, Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication, Addison-Wesley,
1988
3. S. K. Gandhi, VLSI Fabrication Principle, Willey, 1983
4. S. M. Sze, VLSI Technology, 2
nd
Ed. McGraw-Hill, 1988
5. S. A. Campbell, The Science and Engineering of Micro Electronics
Fabrication, Oxford, 1996
6. M. Madou, Fundamental of Microfabrication, CRC Press, 1997
7. , VLSI , , 2002
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.1 PROCESS OVERVIEW
Process overview
This part will address the basic microfabrication in microelectronics and MEMS
fabrication. From the wafer preparation to device packaging.
MEMS materials
MEMS materials must be micromachiningable. That is, etching, CVD, or PVD
compatible. Major MEMS materials are almost identical to these IC materials, that is,
silicon and oxide. Other MEMS materials are metals and refractory ceramics such as
silicon nitride.
Silicon
Atomic number 14
Crystalline structures: diamond cubic lattice
Properties:
Mechanical: brittle, strength is determined by flaw distribution, Young
modulus is between 190 - 130 GPa. Thermal conductivity is 200 - 50 W/m K.
Expansion coefficient ~ 2.6 10 -6 /K. Melting point ~ 1700 K
Chemical: inert to most chemicals. Can be etched with F- based chemicals such
as SF6. Can form solid solution with Au (fundamental of gold eutectic bond).
Electrical: semiconductor. The resistively is a function of doping.
Applications: Si based electronics, MEMS
Oxide
Chemical reaction: wet or dry oxidization from silicon
Crystalline structures: amorphous (fused silica), crystalline (quartz)
Properties:
Mechanical: Melting point ~ 2000 K, glassy temperature ~ 1100 K. Highly
brittle. Young modulus ~ 70 GPa. Strength ~ 100 MPa. Thermal
conductivity ~ 1 W/m K. Expansion coefficient ~ 0.5 10
-6
/K.
Chemical: can be etched by HF based chemical
Electrical: highly insulated. Break down voltage ~ 1 MV/m, relative dielectric
constant = 3.9
Applications: insulator, sacrificial layer in surface micromachining, etch stop, mask
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.2 CRYSTAL GROWTH
Czochralski growth
Setup
Start with ultra-pure polysilicon
Typical pull rate for 100 mm dia ~ 20 cm/hr
Problem with oxygen impurities from crucible. In addition, ~ 10
14
- 10
15
cm
-3
of
minority impurity concentration is intended to form the light doped silicon.
Basic principle
Starting with a single crystal seed, rotating and pulling to form ingots. The pulling is
controlled such that there is enough time for thermal equilibrium. That is, to avoid
thermal gradient and thermal activation process to form grain boundary.
Mechanical engineering challenge
As the required wafer diameter getting bigger, time for quasi-static heat transfer
increases. How to grow single silicon fast with no grain boundary forming.
Float-Zone crystal growth
This method eliminates oxygen impurities. Such ultra-pure silicon is used for detector
and power devices. (Minority concentration ~ 10
13
cm
-3
).
O
2
precipitation will result bad etch results.
Basic principle
Direct RF melting the polysilicon rods. No crucible.
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Other substrates
GaAs
Pyrex Glass (used for anodic bonding)
Ceramics (e.g., silicon carbide)
Wafer preparation
Will result ~ 50% material loss
1. Diameter sizing
2. Orientation (X-ray, 5%)
3. Slicing and laser marking
4. Lapping and edge treatment
5. Damage removal etch
6. Polishing
7. Cleaning
Typical specs (100 mm diameter wafer)
100 mm 1mm, 500 m 10 m, 1
Wafer orientations
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.3 LITHOGRAPHY
Pattern transfer
Pattern transfer from masks to thin films on planar substrate via lithographic process
Device fabrication accomplished by registration of successive patterns
Two-dimensional pattern transfer: limited tolerance for non-planar topography on wafer
2-D pattern transfer imposes a constraint on microsensor process design
Types of lithography:
Optical, electron beam, X-ray
Basic pattern transfer step:
Comment: lithography requires precise pattern transfer. As a
result, precision mechanical systems and optical systems are
required. The position control of the lithography machine needs 10
times better than the achieved electronic resolution level. E.g., 1
m technology requires 0.1 m position control accuracy.
Precision machine design strongly depends on semiconductor industry.
Photoresist (PR)
Optical resists: photosensitive polymers
Positive resist: PR will be removed after developing if it is exposure
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Negative resist: PR will be removed if it is not exposure
PR usually coated via spun-cast
Positive PR vs. negative PR
Exposure systems
Contact printing
High resolution ( 1m)
Mask deterioration
Proximity printing
10 - 25 m gap --> longer mask life
Diffraction effect --> 2 - 4 m resolution
Projection printing
Image of mask usually reduced
Scanning or stepping of small field (~ 1cm)
VLSI standard (0.25 m possible with deep-UV source)
However, all three methods have depth of focus limitations when working with high
aspect ratios (e.g., > 5m)
Trade-off minimum feature and depth
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Alignment Issues
Must be able to repeat the patterning process on the patterned wafers
Pattern transfer to the right locations
Methods
Design alignment marks
Front-back alignment
Some micro machining processes requires double side lithography
Front-back alignment is required
Typical options for front-back alignment
Pre-etched reference holes (undesirable)
Infrared aligner
Double-side aligner
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.4 OXIDATION
Basic thermal oxidation
Chemical reaction between oxidizing species and substrate
Substrate = silicon; oxidant = water or oxygen
Process involves:
Gas phase transport of oxidant to surface
Diffusion through existing oxide
Oxidation reaction
The ratio of silicon thickness converted, Xs, to resulting oxide thickness, Xox, is
proportional to their respective densities: Xs = 0.46 Xox
Dry oxidation (~950 C)
Si + O
2
---> SiO
2

Wet oxidation (1000 C)
Si + 2H
2
O ---> SiO
2
+ 2H
2
Deal and Grove law
X A
B
A
t
ox
= + + 05 1
4
1
2
. ( ( ) )
Where B/A is called the linear rate constant, B is called the parabolic rate constant, and
= +
X
B
X
B A
i i
2
/
. Where Xi is the initial oxide thickness.
Linear and parabolic oxide growth
Linear:
For thin oxides (short oxidation time) the process is reaction rate limited
X
B
A
t
ox
= + ( ) . This is referred to as the linear growth regime
Parabolic
For thick oxides (long oxidation times) the process is diffusion limited
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
X Bt
ox
= . This is referred to as the parabolic growth regime.
The rate constants are a function of oxidation ambient and
substrate orientation, and are strongly temperature dependent.
They can be represented using an Arrhenius relationship.
Oxidation equipment
Usually performed in a horizontal quartz tube, which is heated resistively.
Oxide thickness measurement
Usually performed by ellipsometer
The color of oxide can be used for quick thickness estimation.
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.5 ETCHING
Selectivity
Selectivity is defined as the ratio between the etch rate of two materials subject to a
particular etchant. Especially one is the thin film (or substrate); the other one is the
mask material.
Wet subtractive
Three step process
Reactant transport to surface
Surface reaction
Reaction product removal from surface
Common examples
Buffered HF: thermal oxide ~ 100 nm/min, LPCVD SiN ~ 1 nm/min, Si ~ 0
PAN: Aluminum ~ 100 nm/min, Si ~ 0
Piranha: attacks most organic films (as PR)
Advantages of wet subtractive
High selectivity
Inexpensive
Disadvantage of wet subtractive
Isotropic, loss of resolution through undercut
Temperature/agitation sensitivity
Surface tension, bubble formation, wetting, solution degradation
Waste disposal
Dry subtractive
Plasma-assisted etching: various techniques
Physical bombardment (sputtering)
Ion milling, sputter etching
Chemical reaction
Pure plasma etching
Dry equivalent of wet chemistry (e.g., SF6 etching for silicon)
Combination of physical and chemical mechanisms
Plasma etching: with bombardment
Reactive ion etching (RIE)
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Reactive ion beam etching
Bosch process (time-multiplexing)
Wet additive
Chemical or electrochemical deposition
LIGA
Thick ( > 100 m) resist
X-ray exposure
Electroplate Ni, Cu in developed image
Use metal structure as a mold insert for reproduction
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Dry additive
Lift-off
Advantages; limitations
No need for selective etching of metal
Film thickness << mask thickness (less than 20%)
Temperature control during deposition: avoid baking resist life-off mask
Contamination of film-substrate interface from mask layer
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.6 CVD/PVD PROCESS
PVD (physical vapor deposition)
Thermal evaporation
Material source is heated to sublimation temperature in a vacuum
Material is vapor transported to target in vacuum
Deposition is by line-of-sight (mean free path = 50m)
Sputtering
Material is removed from target by momentum transfer
Gas molecules are ionized in a glow discharge, ions strike target and remove mainly
neutral atoms
Atoms condense on the substrate
Vacuum level ~ 10 mtorr --> mean free path ~ 5 mm
Easy to deposit alloys
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Epitaxy
The growth of a thin, crystalline layers on a crystalline substrate, where the substrate
acts as a seed crystal
Homogeneous epitaxy is the process of growing a crystalline film of one material on a
substrate of the same material. Example: Silicon on Silicon
Heterogeneous epitaxy is the process of growing a crystalline film of one material on a
substrate of another, usually of closely matched lattice spacing and thermal expansion.
Examples of Hetro Epitaxy: Gallium Phosphide on GaAs, Si on Sapphires
Vapor phase epitaxy (VPE)
Material transport in vapor phase
Example: silicon epitaxy @T=1200 C
SiCl
4
(g) + 2H
2
(g) <--> Si(s) + 4HCl (g)
CVD (Chemical vapor deposition)
Deposition of amorphous or polycrystalline films from the vapor phase
Similar to VPE, but substrate acts only as surface for reaction
Energy for reaction is supplied thermally, by photons, and/or by glow discharge.
Introduction examples
CVD of silicon: SiH
4
--> Si + 2H
2
(600 -650 C LP)
CVD of oxide: SiH
4
+ O
2
--> SiO
2
+ 2H
2
(400 - 450 C AP)
Deposition variables
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
Substrate temperature
Pressure / gas flow rate
Gas composition
Deposition techniques
APCVD: atmospheric pressure
LPCVD: low pressure
PECVD: plasma enhanced
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2.7 OTHER PROCESSES
Ion implantation
A beam of energetic ions implants dopants into the substrate
Depth and dopant concentration are controlled by the acceleration energy and beam
current
For p+: boron
For n-: phosphorus
Stopping mechanisms:
Nuclear collisions >> predominant at low E
Electronic interactions >> predominant at high E
Terminology:
Projected range, R
P
: average distance traveled by ion, parallel to beam
Projected straggle: R
P
: fluctuation in the projected range
Lateral straggle: R

: fluctuation in the final rest position, perpendicular to

beam
Peak concentration: N
P
: concentration of implanted ion at R
p
.
Masking
Since the dopant introduction take place at near room temperature. Photo resist can be
used as a mask, as well as oxide, nitride, polysilicon.
Concentration profile:
Gaussian Distribution: N x N x R R N
Q
R
p p p p
p
( ) exp[ ( ) / ( ) ], = =
2 2
2
2

Range is determined by acceleration energy, ion mass, and the stopping power of the
material
Dose is determined by the charge per ion, zq, the implanted area, A, and the charge per
unit time (I) arriving at the substrate
PART II: BASIC MICRO FABRICATION
2
; / ( / ) idt Q Q zqA Dose atoms cm = =

Thermal annealing at T > 900 C is required to remove damage to the silicon lattice and
activate the implanted impurities.
For deep diffusion ( > 1m), implantation is used to create a dose of dopants, and
thermal diffusion (limited source) is used to drive in the dopant.
Diffusion of dopant (drive-in)
Following the introduction of a dose, Q, at the surface. The dopant must be driven in to
the desired depth.
The ion concentration profile before drive-in
Process examples:
Diode: this example required only ion-implantation process
N-MOS process