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Silicon Fabrication11

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28 views23 pages

Silicon Fabrication11

Uploaded by

Dharaneeshan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BASIC PLANER

PROCESS

Silicon Fabrication
Silicon planar
technology can be
categorized as follows:

• Silicon wafer preparation


• Epitaxial growth
• Oxidation
• Photolithography
• Diffusion
• Ion implantation
• Isolation techniques
• Metallization
• Assembly processing and packaging
• Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth’s crust
after oxygen. Its widespread availability makes it
an inexpensive choice for semiconductor manufacturing.
• Although pure silicon is rare, materials like silica (SiO2) are
readily available. You might recognize silica as the shiny grains
that sparkle when you handle beach sand on a sunny day.
Why silicon is However, beach sand contains impurities, so manufacturers
typically source silicon from specialized providers or quarry
used for areas with dense silica concentrations.
• The purification process is relatively straightforward: Introduce
semiconductor carbon to silica in a furnace heated to around 3,632°F
material ? (2,000°C). The heat breaks silicon and oxygen apart, leaving
highly concentrated, pure silicon.
• Silicon forms high-quality insulating oxide layers, which are
essential for semiconductor devices.
• It is compatible with various fabrication processes, allowing
manufacturers to create intricate circuits and integrate multiple
components on a single chip.
Silicon wafer
preparation
Silicon Crystal
Growth:

• The process begins with silicon crystal


growth. Scientists use techniques like
the Bridgman method to create a single
large crystal from molten silicon. This
crystal is then shaped into a cylindrical
ingot.
• The ingot is ground, etched, and cut into
blocks of specific length. Notches, primary
flats, and secondary flats are added to
ensure optimal conductivity and
orientation.
Silicon Ingot Formation:

• A single crystal silicon ingot is obtained from the cylindrical ingot. It


undergoes sintering, which can be automated using a wafer handling system.
• To create the silicon ingot:
• Polycrystalline silicon is purified to a high degree.
• The purified polysilicon is melted at 1420°F (770°C).
• Phosphorus and boron are added to balance the electrical resistance.
• A seed crystal silicon rod is placed over the molten silicon, and all the
semiconductor’s transistors form simultaneously.
• The finished silicon ingot is cut into chips for further processing.

Wafer Slicing:

• Typically, silicon wafers are formed by melting a single, large slab of silicon
material.
• These slabs are then sliced into smaller ingot blocks using a laser beam.
• The resulting wafers serve as the starting point for semiconductor fabrication.

Surface Treatment and Polishing:

• After slicing, the wafers undergo surface treatment.


• The destroyed surface layer is removed down to the undisturbed crystal lattice.
• The semiconductor material is etched back to the specified thickness.
• Finally, the crystal surface is polished.
Wafer • In the second step, known as wafer
Fabrication: fabrication, these wafers are
transformed into microchips.
• Various processes, including
photolithography, deposition, and
etching, are used to create intricate
patterns and structures on the wafer
surface.
Czochralski
process
Epitaxial Growth
• Epitaxial growth is a process used in silicon fabrication to
deposit a thin layer of single-crystal silicon on a silicon
wafer.
This technique is crucial for creating high-quality semiconduc
tor devices, as it allows for the growth of a crystal layer with f
ewer defects and higher purity compared to the substrate
1
.
• There are two main types of epitaxial growth:
• Homoepitaxy: Where the grown layer is of the same material
as the substrate.
• Heteroepitaxy
: Where the grown layer is of a different material than the sub
strate
2
.
Silicon epitaxial
films
• The basic chemical Reaction
used for epitaxial Growth of pure
silicon is the hydrogen reduction
of silicon tetrachloride.
The oxidation process in silicon fabrication is a critical step
that involves the formation of a silicon dioxide (SiO₂)
layer on the surface of a silicon wafer. This process is
Oxidation essential for various reasons, such as providing insulation,
acting as a diffusion mask, and serving as the gate oxide in
MOS devices1.

There are two primary methods of oxidation:

Dry Oxidation:
Involves oxidizing the silicon in a pure oxygen
atmosphere, typically at temperatures between 1000°C to
1200°C. This method produces a thin, high-quality oxide
layer with a high breakdown voltage2.

Wet Oxidation:
Uses water vapor in addition to oxygen, leading to a faster
growth rate of the oxide layer even at lower temperatures.
The process is usually carried out at temperatures between
Photolithography
Photographic mask and photo etching
Photolithography is a pivotal process in silicon fabrication, used to transfer intricate patterns onto a
silicon wafer. Here’s a high-level overview of the steps involved:

Substrate Cleaning:
The silicon wafer is thoroughly cleaned to remove any contaminants.
Photoresist Application: A photosensitive material, called photoresist, is applied to the wafer’s
surface.
Soft Bake:
The wafer undergoes a soft bake to remove solvent and solidify the photoresist.
Mask Alignment:
A photomask containing the desired pattern is aligned over the wafer.
Exposure:
Ultraviolet (UV) light is shone through the mask, causing a chemical change in the exposed
photoresist.
Development:
The exposed or unexposed photoresist is washed away, leaving the pattern
on the wafer.​
Hard Bake:
The wafer is baked to harden the remaining photoresist.​
Etching or Implantation:
The exposed areas of the wafer are then etched away or implanted with
ions to alter its properties.​
Photoresist Stripping:
Finally, the remaining photoresist is removed, leaving the desired pattern
etched into the wafer.​

This process is essential for creating the complex circuits found in integrated chips,
enabling the miniaturization and performance enhancements of modern electronics12.
Photolithography can create patterns down to a few nanometers in size, providing
precise control over the shape and size of the features on a wafer1. It’s a cornerstone
technique in semiconductor manufacturing, crucial for the development of devices we
use every day.​
Diffusion
• Purpose of Diffusion: • Diffusion Techniques:
• In bipolar device technology, diffusion • Chemical Source Diffusion: Impurities are
is employed to form critical regions such introduced into the silicon substrate from a
as bases, emitters, and collectors. chemical source at high
• In MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) temperatures (typically between 900°C and
device technology, it is used to create 1250°C).
the source and drain regions. • Doped Oxide Source Diffusion: Impurities
diffuse from a doped oxide layer.
• Ion-Implanted Diffusion: Impurities are
introduced through ion implantation
DIFFUSION PROCESS
Ion Implantation
• Ion implantation is the other technique
used to introduce impurities into a
silicon wafer.
• In this process, silicon wafers are
placed in a vacuum chamber and
scanned by a beam of high energy
dopant ions.
• N-Type(Boron)
• P-Type(Phosphorus)
Isolation Techniques:
Since a number of components are fabricated in a
same IC chip, it becomes necessary to provide
electrical isolation between different components and
interconnections.
1.p-n junction isolation
2.Dielectric isolation
P-N Junction isolation Dielectric
isolation
Metallization
• The purpose of this process is
to produce a thin metal film
layer that will serve to make
interconnections of the various
components on the chip.
• Aluminum is usually used for
the metallization of most IC'S.
Assembly Process and Packaging
For more
details about
Silicon
Fabrication:
THANKYOU

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