Low temperature semiconductor device fabrication (TEL.6358)

Project nummer: tel6358

Omschrijving van het onderzoek

Present-day semiconductor device manufacturing involves several hundred process steps. Many of these steps are carried out at high temperatures, between 400 and 1000 C. The most important of these steps are silicon oxidation, impurity activation, and thin film deposition. There is a great demand for lower temperature processing. A very wide range of electronic devices and MEMS/MOEMS can be improved significantly when lower temperatures (20-100 C) are applied in the manufacturing process. The motivation for lower temperature processing is threefold: 1)The highest temperature in the process constrains the range of materials that can be used for any solid-state creation, given by the melting points of these materials. 2) High temperature process steps automatically cause diffusion and other interactions of materials. The presence of diffusion conflicts with the need for compact structures. 3) High temperature processing is power consuming, potentially unsafe, and often slow. A room temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition normally leads to a snowfall type of deposition, resulting in a very irregular and rough surface and many voids. Recently developed techniques (such as ECR plasma deposition) enable surface migration and desorption at low temperatures by e.g. ion bombardment. Apart from the surface condition, high temperatures allow the formation of strong chemical bonds and high impurity activation. Alternative methods to achieve the same are UV curing, laser annealing, and solid phase epitaxy. A good understanding of the mechanisms (kinetics, chemistry) that govern layer formation, combined with experimental equipment offering many degrees of freedom, are necessary to conduct directed research towards room-temperature device manufacturing.
Low temperature manufacturing technologies can be enabling technologies for future devices and applications, as discussed above. The world market volume of high-tech devices is huge. A new low temperature manufacturing technique is therefore very suitable for patenting and can be marketed quickly and easily. Illustrative of the attractiveness of this topic and its potential commercial importance is the commitment to this project of the various industrial partners.

Gebruikers

Five companies are involved in this project.

Projectleider

Dr. J. Holleman

Universiteit Twente
Elektrotechniek Wiskunde en Informatica
MESA+ Research instituut

Postbus 217
7500 AE Enschede

Status van het project

Gestart	: 01-07-2004
Einddatum	: 01-10-2008

Trefwoorden

ALD, Dielectric, MEMS, MOSFET.

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