Ion Implantation

M.H.Nemati
Sabanci University

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Ion Implantation

• Introduction
• Safety
• Hardware
• Processes
• Summary

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 Introduction
• Dope semiconductor
• Two way to dope
– Diffusion
– Ion implantation
• Other application of ion implantation

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 Dope Semiconductor: Diffusion
• Isotropic process
• Can’t independently control dopant profile
and dopant concentration
• Replaced by ion implantation after its
introduction in mid-1970s.

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Dope Semiconductor: Ion Implantation
• Used for atomic and nuclear research
• Early idea introduced in 1950’s
• Introduced to semiconductor manufacturing
in mid-1970s.

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Dope Semiconductor: Ion Implantation
• Independently control dopant profile (ion
energy) and dopant concentration (ion
current times implantation time)
• Anisotropic dopant profile
• Easy to achieve high concentration dope of
heavy dopant atom such as phosphorus and
arsenic.

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Ion Implantation, Phosphorus

SiO2 Poly Si P+

n+ n+

P-type Silicon

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 Ion Implantation Control
• Beam current and implantation time control
dopant concentration
• Ion energy controls junction depth
• Dopant profile is anisotropic

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 Stopping Mechanism
• Ions penetrate into substrate
• Collide with lattice atoms
• Gradually lose their energy and stop
• Two stop mechanisms

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 Two Stopping Mechanism
• Nuclear stopping
– Collision with nuclei of the lattice atoms
– Scattered significantly
– Causes crystal structure damage.
• electronic stopping
– Collision with electrons of the lattice atoms
– Incident ion path is almost unchanged
– Energy transfer is very small
– Crystal structure damage is negligible
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Implantation Processes: Channeling
• If the incident angle is right, ion can travel long
distance without collision with lattice atoms
• It causes uncontrollable dopant profile

Lots of collisions

Very few collisions

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 Channeling Effect
Lattice Atoms

Channeling Ion

Collisional Ion

Wafer
Surface
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Implantation Processes: Channeling

• Ways to avoid channeling effect

– Tilt wafer, 7° is most commonly used
– Screen oxide
– Pre-amorphous implantation, Germanium
• Shadowing effect
– Ion blocked by structures
• Rotate wafer and post-implantation diffusion
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 Implantation Processes: Damage
• Ion collides with lattice atoms and knock them
out of lattice grid
• Implant area on substrate becomes amorphous
structure

Before Implantation After Implantation

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 Implantation Processes: Anneal

• Dopant atom must in single crystal structure

and bond with four silicon atoms to be
activated as donor (N-type) or acceptor (P-type)

• Thermal energy from high temperature helps

amorphous atoms to recover single crystal
structure.

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 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 16

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 17

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 18

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 19

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 20

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 21

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atom 22

 Thermal Annealing

Lattice Atoms Dopant Atoms 23

Implantation Processes: Annealing

Before Annealing After Annealing

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Ion Implantation: Hardware
• Gas system
• Electrical system
• Vacuum system
• Ion beamline

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 Implantation Process
Gases and Vapors:
P, B, BF3, PH3, and AsH3

Next Step
Implanter

Select Ion: Select Ion Select Beam

B, P, As Energy Current
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 Ion Implanter
Electrical
Gas Cabin System Analyzer
Magnet

Ion Vacuum Beam

Source Pump Line

Electrical Vacuum
System Pump
Plasma Flooding Wafers
System
End Analyzer
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Ion Implantation: Gas System
• Special gas deliver system to handle
hazardous gases
• Special training needed to change gases
bottles
• Argon is used for purge and beam
calibration

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Ion Implantation: Electrical System
• High voltage system
– Determine ion energy that controls junction depth
• High voltage system
– Determine ion energy that controls junction depth
• RF system
– Some ion sources use RF to generate ions

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Ion Implantation: Vacuum System
• Need high vacuum to accelerate ions and
reduce collision
• MFP >> beamline length
• 10-5 to 10-7 Torr
• Turbo pump and Cryo pump
• Exhaust system

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Ion Implantation: Control System
• Ion energy, beam current, and ion species.
• Mechanical parts for loading and unloading
• Wafer movement to get uniform beam scan
• CPU board control boards
– Control boards collect data from the systems,
send it to CPU board to process,
– CPU sends instructions back to the systems
through the control board.
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Ion Implantation: Beamline
• Ion source
• Extraction electrode
• Analyzer magnet
• Post acceleration
• Plasma flooding system
• End analyzer

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 Ion Beam Line
Suppression Electrode Analyzer
Magnet

Vacuum
Ion Beam
Pump
Source Line

Extraction Post Acceleration

Electrode Electrode Vacuum
Plasma Flooding Pump
System Wafers
End Analyzer
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 Ion implanter: Ion Source
• Hot tungsten filament emits thermal electron
• Electrons collide with source gas molecules
to dissociate and ionize
• Ions are extracted out of source chamber and
accelerated to the beamline
• RF and microwave power can also be used to
ionize source gas
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 Ion Implantation: Extraction

• Extraction electrode accelerates ions up to

50 keV
• High energy is required for analyzer magnet
to select right ion species.

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Ion Implantation: Analyzer Magnet
• Gyro radius of charge particle in magnetic field
relate with B-field and mass/charge ratio
• Used for isotope separation to get enriched U 235
• Only ions with right mass/charge ratio can go
through the slit
• Purified the implanting ion beam

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 Analyzer
Magnetic Field (Point Outward)

Ion Beam Larger m/q Ratio

Flight Tube

Smaller m/q Ratio

Right m/q Ratio

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 Ion Implantation: The Process
• CMOS applications
• CMOS ion implantation requirements
• Implantation process evaluations

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 Implantation Process: Well
Implantation
• High energy (to MeV), low current (1013/cm2)
P+

Photoresist
N-Well

P-Epi
P-Wafer

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Implantation Process: VT Adjust
Implantation
Low Energy , Low Current

B+
Photoresist
STI USG
P-Well N-Well
P-Epi
P-Wafer

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Lightly Doped Drain (LDD) Implantation

• Low energy (10 keV), low current (10 13/cm2)

P+

Photoresist

STI USG
P-Well N-Well
P-Epi
P-Wafer
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Implantation Process: S/D Implantation
• Low energy (20 keV), high current (>10 15/cm2)

P+
Photoresist

STI n+ n+ USG
P-Well N-Well
P-Epi
P-Wafer

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 Process Issues
• Wafer charging
• Particle contamination
• Elemental contamination
• Process evaluation

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 Ion Implantation: Safety
• One of most hazardous process tools in
semiconductor industry
• Chemical
• Electro-magnetic
• Mechanical

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 Summary of Ion Implantation
• Dope semiconductor
• Better doping method than diffusion
• Easy to control junction depth (by ion
energy) and dopant concentration ( by ion
current and implantation time).
• Anisotropic dopant profile.

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Summary of Ion Implantation
• Ion source
• Extraction
• Analyzer magnets
• Post acceleration
• Charge neutralization system
• Beam stop

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 Summary of Ion Implantation

• Well High energy, low current

• Source/Drain Low energy, high current
• Vt Adjust Low energy, low current
• LDD Low energy, low current

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