Resistor Fabrication

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MICROELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

Resistors
Dr. Robert Pearson

9-19-05 Resistor fabrication.ppt

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

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Resistor Fabrication

OUTLINE
Definitions
Resistor I-V Characteristics
The Semiconductor Resistor
Resistivity
Carrier Mobility
The Diffused Semiconductor Resistor
Resistor Design and Cross-Sections
Resistor Fabrication Sequence (micrographs)
Resistor Networks, Terminations

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

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Resistor Fabrication

DEFINITIONS
Voltage - The force applied between two points causing charged
particles (and hence current) to flow. Units - Volts, and the symbol
used is V. Sometimes called the potential
Current - A measure of the number of charged particles passing a
given point per unit time. Units - Amperes or Coulombs per second.
The symbol I is usually used to denote a current.
Resistance - A measure of the ability of a sample of a material to
allow a current to pass through it when an external force or potential is
applied. The units are Ohms and the symbol R is used for a resistance.
Ohms Law V = I (R)

or

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

R=V/I

or

I=V/R

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Resistor Fabrication

MEASURING RESISTOR I-V CHARACTERISTIC

variable Voltage Supply
5

10

control
knob

+ -

resistor

(Volts)
V

Ammeter (measures current)

5

10

Volts
V
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

(Amperes)
I

Amperes
I
-0.005
-0.004
-0.003
-0.002
-0.001
0
0.001

Data Table
Resistance
(V/I) in Ohms
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
?
1000

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Resistor Fabrication

PLOT OF I-V RESISTOR CHARACTERISTIC

I
R = V/I = 1/slope
V
Resistor a two terminal device that exhibits a
linear I-V characteristic that goes through the
origin. The inverse slope is the value of the
resistance.

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

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Resistor Fabrication

THE SEMICONDUCTOR RESISTOR

Resistance = R = L/Area = s L/w

ohms

Resistivity = = 1/( qnn + qpp)

ohm-cm

Sheet Resistance = s = 1/ ( q (N) N(x) dx) ~ 1/( q Dose) ohms/square

s = / t

integral
L

Area

w
t

Note: sheet resistance is convenient to

use when the resistors are made of thin
sheet of material, like in integrated
circuits.

R
q = 1.6E-19 coulombs
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Resistor Fabrication

RESISTIVITY OF SILICON
Impurity Concentration, N, cm-3

1021

= 1/(qN)

1020
1019

Because the carrier mobility,

is a function of N and N is the
doping, the relationship
between resistivity and N is
given in the figure shown to the
left, or calculated from
equations for as a function of
N (see next page)

1018

Boron doped silicon

1017
1016
1015

Phosphorous
Doped silicon

1014
1013
10-4

10-3

10-2

10-1 100

101

102

103

104

Resistivity, ohm-cm
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Resistor Fabrication

ELECTRON AND HOLE MOBILITY

Electron and hole mobilities in silicon at 300 K as functions of the total dopant
concentration (N). The values plotted on the next page are the results of the curve
fitting measurements from several sources. The mobility curves can be generated
using the equation below with the following parameter values:

(max-min)

(N) = min +
{1 + (N/Nref)}
Parameter
min
max
Nref

Arsenic
52.2
1417
9.68X10^16
0.680

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

Phosphorous
68.5
1414
9.20X10^16
0.711

Boron
44.9
470.5
2.23X10^17
0.719

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ELECTRON AND HOLE MOBILITY

Carrier Mobilities versus Doping Concentration
1.60E+03

Carrier Mobility (cm2/V-sec)

1.40E+03
1.20E+03
1.00E+03
mu_n
mu_p

8.00E+02
6.00E+02
4.00E+02
2.00E+02
0.00E+00
1.00E+14 1.00E+15 1.00E+16 1.00E+17 1.00E+18 1.00E+19
Doping Concentration (Na or Nd)

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DIFFUSED RESISTOR
Aluminum contacts

Silicon dioxide

n-wafer

Diffused p-type region

The n-type wafer is always biased positive with respect to the p-type
diffused region. This ensures that the pn junction that is formed is in
reverse bias, and there is no current leaking to the substrate. Current
will flow through the diffused resistor from one contact to the other.
The I-V characteristic follows Ohms Law: I = V/R

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Resistor Fabrication
Layout/Mask Layer 1 - Diffusion (green)
Top View
W

Resistor
termination

L
Side View
P type Diffusion

N wafer
The resistance, R = rhos (L/W)
The sheet resistance rhos, is the resistance of each square
L/W is the number of squares long the resistor is said to be.

5 squares in this case

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

If rhos is 100 ohms

per square,
R = 500 ohms
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Resistor Fabrication
Layout/Mask Layer 3 - Contacts (gray)
Top View
W

10 by 10 microns

Side View

Remember, inside the

green (diagonally shaded)
regions is p type silicon,
outside is n type

contact
openings
Oxide
Diffusion

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N wafer
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Resistor Fabrication
Top View

Layout/Mask Layer 4 - Metal (blue)

10 by 10 microns

Side View

Metal (Aluminum)

Oxide
Diffusion

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Resistor
Symbol
N wafer

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Resistor Fabrication

Metal (Aluminum) wiring to the Probe Pads

Probes

Aluminum Pads

5 squares

5 squares
resistor 10 squares

rhos for aluminum is

0.01 Ohms per square

rhos for diffusion = 100 Ohms per square

Rtotal = 10(100) + (5+5)(0.01) = 1000.1 Ohms, therefore
Metal wiring does not add very much to the resistance

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Resistor Fabrication

Wafer with silicon dioxide, patterned and etched

This end of the resistor loops were cut off in the picture

MASK # 1

20m
This resistor is
many, many
squares long

Green is oxide
(glass)
Gray is bare
silicon

Diffusion openings

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Resistor Fabrication

After dopants have been diffused in and a new oxide grown

Purple areas are
diffused and pink
areas are not (the
oxide in this area
did not allow the
dopant to diffuse
into the silicon)

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Resistor Fabrication

After thin oxide openings have been patterned and etched

The thin oxide
layer is actually
part of the
transistor
fabrication
sequence

MASK # 2

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

Bare Silicon

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Resistor Fabrication

After thin oxide growth (part of the transistor process)

1000 of SiO2

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Resistor Fabrication

After the contact openings have been patterned and etched

MASK # 3

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Contact opening
To bare silicon

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Resistor Fabrication

After Aluminum has been deposited

Aluminum short
circuits
everything at
this stage, until
it is patterned
and etched.

Particle on the
microscope
lens

Aluminum

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Resistor Fabrication

After aluminum is patterned and etched

Contact
Unused
Pad

Aluminum

Rochester Institute of Technology - MicroE REP 3/15/2007

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Resistor Fabrication

RESISTOR NETWORK
Desired resistor network
500

400

250

Layout

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Resistor Fabrication

VARIATIONS ON THE BASIC RESISTOR LAYOUT

R = s (10+0.5+0.5)

0.5

4 4.5
5.5
6.5

Corner squares count ~ 1/2

10
0.5

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Resistor Fabrication

RESISTOR TERMINATIONS

Field Mapping

~ 0 squares

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~ 0.5 squares

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