EC4120: Introduction to Microelectronics Technology

Processes in Semiconductor Industry

Wafer Preparation:

Silicon is the major semiconductor material used in solid state electronics. Silicon in the
form of a single crystal wafer is the basic building block for the integrated circuit (IC)
fabrication. Modern VLSI/ULSI technologies depend primarily on the availability of
highly perfect single Si crystals.


12 inch Silicon Wafer

Silicon was discovered relatively late, 1854, simply due to the very high chemical
reactivity of Si. Pure Si (not protected by a thin layer of very stable SiO
2
as all Si crystals
and wafers are) will react with anything, and that creates one of the problems in making it
and keeping it clean. Liquid Si indeed does react with all substances known to man
(woman!) - it is a universal solvent. This makes crystal growth from liquid Si somewhat
tricky, because how do you contain your liquid Si? Fortunately, some materials -
especially SiO
2
- dissolve only very slowly, so if you don't take too long in growing a
crystal, they will do as a vessel for the liquid Si. But there will always be some dissolved
SiO
2
and therefore oxygen in your liquid Si, and that makes it hard to produce Si crystals
with very low oxygen concentrations. What we need, of course, are Si crystals - in the
form of wafers - with extreme degrees of perfection.

What we have are inexhaustible resources of Silicondioxide, SiO
2
, fairly clean, if
obtained from the right source. Since there is no other material with properties so
precisely matched to the needs of the semiconductor industry, and therefore of the utmost
importance for our modern society.

MGS & SGS
Following oxygen (46%), silicon is the most abundant element in the earth's crust (28%).
However, silicon does not occur in its elemental form, but as its oxide (SiO2) or as
silicates. Sand, quartz,.. SiO
2
is known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most
commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, etc.

Abundant!



Steps to Obtaining Semiconductor Grade Silicon (SGS)
Step Description of Process Reaction
1
Produce metallurgical grade
silicon (MGS) by heating
silica with carbon (at ~1800C)
SiC (s) + SiO
2
(s) Si (l) + SiO(g) + CO (g)
2
Purify MG silicon through a
chemical reaction to produce
a silicon-bearing gas of
trichlorosilane (SiHCl
3
)
Si (s) + 3HCl (g) SiHCl
3
(g) + H
2
(g) + heat
3
SiHCl
3
and hydrogen react in
a process called Siemens
Process to obtain pure
semiconductor- grade silicon
(SGS)
2SiHCl
3
(g) + 2H
2
(g) 2Si (s) + 6HCl (g)



While 98% elemental silicon, known as metallurgical-grade silicon (MGS), is
readily produced on a large scale, the requirements of extreme purity for electronic
device fabrication require additional purification steps in order to produce electronic-
grade silicon (EGS). Electronic-grade silicon is also known as semiconductor-grade
silicon (SGS). In order for the purity levels to be acceptable for subsequent crystal
growth and device fabrication, SGS must have carbon and oxygen impurity levels less
than a few parts per million (ppm),

Most of the world production of raw Si still goes to the steel industry and only a small
part is diverted for the semiconductor trade, hence the "metallurgical grade".

The following table shows typical concentrations (in parts per billion) of impurities found
in MGS & SGS:

Iron Boron Chromium
MGS 4000 50 150
SGS 0.1 0.1 0.01

The MGS produced in step-1 is approximately 98-99% pure, with the major impurities
being aluminum and iron, however, obtaining low levels of boron impurities is of
particular importance, because it is difficult to remove and serves as a dopant for silicon.

Electronic (or Semiconductor) -grade silicon (EGS/SGS) is a polycrystalline material of
exceptionally high purity and is the raw material for the growth of single-crystal silicon.
EGS is one of the purest materials commonly available, see Table 2. The formation of
EGS from MGS is accomplished through chemical purification processes.

Trichlorosilane: the reasons for the predominant use of SiHCl
3
(silicon-bearing) in
the synthesis of SGS are as follows:

SiHCl
3
can be easily formed by the reaction of hydrogen chloride with MGS at
reasonably low temperatures (200 - 400 C);
it is liquid at room temperature so that purification can be accomplished using
standard distillation techniques;
it is easily handled and if dry can be stored in carbon steel tanks;
its liquid is easily vaporized and transported in steel lines without corrosion;
it can be reduced at atmospheric pressure in the presence of hydrogen;
its deposition can take place on heated silicon, thus eliminating contact with any
foreign surfaces that may contaminate the resulting silicon; and
it reacts at lower temperatures (1000 - 1200 C) and at faster rates than does SiCl4.


Siemens Process:
In the Siemens process, high-purity silicon rods are exposed to trichlorosilane at >
1150C. The trichlorosilane gas decomposes and deposits additional silicon onto the rods,
enlarging them:

The high-purity SiHCl
3
is vaporized, diluted with high-purity hydrogen, and introduced
into the Seimens deposition reactor, as shown below. Within the reactor, thin silicon rods
called slim rods (e.g 4 mm diameter) are supported by graphite electrodes. Resistance
heating of the slim rods causes the decomposition of the SiHCl
3
to yield silicon

The Si formed will adhere to the Si already present - the thin rods will grow as fresh Si is
produced. The incorporation of the dopants will produce doped polysilicon.

Silicon produced from this and similar processes is called polycrystalline silicon, or
polysilicon. Polycrystalline silicon typically has impurity levels of less than 10
9
.




Environmental issues:
The chemistry involved in above processes is extremely dangerous. There are many
impurities that are released during the process and these react to form different
compounds. AsH
3
and PH
3
are poisonous substances; PH
3
(Phosphine) was actually used
as a toxic gas in world war II with disastrous effects. H
2
and SiHCl
3
are easily
combustible if not outright explosive, and HCl (in gaseous form) is even more dangerous
than the liquid acid and extremely corrosive. Handling these chemicals, including the safe
and environmentally sound disposal, is neither easy nor cheap.

Silane process:
An alternative process for the production of SGS that has begun to receive commercial
attention is the pyrolysis of silane (SiH
4
). The advantages of producing SGS from SiH
4

instead of SiHCl
3
are potentially lower costs associated with lower reaction temperatures,
and less harmful byproducts. Silane decomposes < 900 C to give silicon and hydrogen.

Silane may be prepared by a number of routes, each having advantages with respect to
purity and production cost. The simplest process involves the direct reaction of MGS
powders with magnesium at 500 C in a hydrogen atmosphere, to form magnesium
silicide (Mg
2
Si). The magnesium silicide is then reacted with ammonium chloride in
liquid ammonia below 0 C.


Crystal Growth Processes

Float Zone Silicon Growth
The oat zone method (FZ) is based on the zone-melting principle. A polysilicon rod is
mounted vertically inside a growth chamber under vacuum or an inert atmosphere. A
needle-eye coil provides radio frequency (RF) power to the rod causing it to melt and
maintain a narrow, stable molten zone by balancing the surface tension and gravitational
forces. The levitation effect of the RF eld helps to support a large molten zone. As the
molten zone is moved along upward the polysilicon rod, the molten silicon solidies into
a single crystal and, simultaneously, the material is puried. To initiate the growth, in the
bottom-seed FZ, the seed crystal (10 mm in diameter) is brought up from below to make
contact with the drop of melt formed at the tip of the poly rod. Current FZ technology can
produce a high quality FZ silicon up to 200 mm in diameter in production quantities.

Float zone crystals are doped by adding the doping gas phosphine (PH
3
) or diborane
(B
2
H
6
) to the inert gas for n - and p -type, respectively. Polysilicon rods for FZ growth
may also be doped in the gas phase and dopant redistribution by zone melting. Since the
doping is by gas phase interaction with the molten silicon, axial dopant uniformity is
achieved.
RF
Gas inlet (inert)
Molten zone
Traveling
RF coil
Polycrystalline
rod (silicon)
Seed crystal
Inert gas out
Chuck
Chuck

Czochralski Silicon Growth
The figure below shows a typical CRYSTAL FURNACE. The seed crystal is lowered
until it comes in contact with the molten material-silicon in this case. It is then rotated
and raised very slowly. The seed crystal is at a lower temperature than the molten
material. When the molten material is in contact with the seed, it solidifies around the
seed as the seed is lifted. This process continues until the grown crystal is of the desired
length. A typical crystal is about 2 inches in diameter and 10 to 12 inches long. Larger
diameter crystals can be grown to meet the needs of the industry. The purity of the
material is strictly controlled to maintain specific semiconductor properties. Depending
on the need, n or p impurities are added to produce the desired characteristics. Several
other methods of growing crystals exist, but the basic concept of crystal production is the
same.



Crystal seed
Molten
polysilicon
Heat shield
Water jacket
Single crystal
silicon
Quartz
crucible
Carbon heating
element
Crystal puller
and rotation
mechanism




Preparing the Wafers:
After the ingot is ground into the correct diameter for the wafers, the silicon ingot is
sliced into very thin wafers. This is usually done with a diamond saw. Each of these
wafers will then go through polishing until they are very smooth and just the right
thickness

Following slicing, silicon wafers are often sorted on an automated basis into batches of
uniform thickness to increase productivity in the next process step, lapping. During
thickness sorting, the wafer manufacturer can also identify defect trends resulting from
the slicing process


Slicing

Lapping & Etching Processes
Lapping removes the surface silicon which has been cracked or otherwise damaged by
the slicing process, and assures a flat surface. Wafers are then etched in a chemically
active reagent to remove any crystal damage remaining from the previous process step.

Crystal Growth
Shaping
Wafer Slicing
Wafer Lapping
and Edge Grind
Etching
Polishing
Cleaning
Inspection
Packaging
Basic Process Steps for Wafer Preparation



Polishing Process
Polishing is a chemical/mechanical process that smoothes the uneven surface left by the
lapping and etching processes and makes the wafer flat and smooth enough to support
optical photolithography.





A wafer polishing machine




Final Dimensional and Electrical Properties Qualification
The wafers undergo a final test, performed in order to demonstrate conformance with
customer specification for flatness, thickness, resistivity and type. Process induced defect
and defect trend information is used by the wafer manufacturer for yield and process
management of the immediately preceding steps. Information regarding surface defects,
such as scratches and particles, and defect trend information are used by the wafer
manufacturer for yield and process improvement.


Polysilicon vs Monosilicon:
In single crystal silicon, the crystalline framework is homogenous, which can be
recognized by an even external coloring. In single crystal silicon, also called
monocrystal, the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken with no
grain boundaries. Large single crystals are exceedingly rare in nature and can also be
difficult to produce in the laboratory (see also recrystallisation). In contrast, in an
amorphous structure the order in atomic positions is limited to short range.

Polycrystalline is composed of a number of smaller crystals or crystallites.
Polycrystalline silicon (or semicrystalline silicon, polysilicon, poly-Si, or simply "poly")
is a material consisting of multiple small silicon crystals.





Contamination:

Any particles that come into contact with the silicon wafer at any stage of preparation of
the device fabrication process can have catastrophic effects on the final devices.


Fabrication clean room (FAB LAB)

Different particles affect the semiconductor material in differing ways, according to the
chemistry and physiscs of the contaminant and the size of the particles.




The example below shows the effect of a human hair on a 0.18m technology transistors:
the cross-section only will destroy 500 transistors!!!!



A defect/contamination.