Lithography &

Dielectric and
Polysilicon Film
Deposition
Contents

 Introduction
 Optical Lithography
 Electron Beam Lithography
 Photo Masks
 Wet Chemical Etching
Introduction

 Lithography, as used in the manufacture of ICs, is the process

of transferring geometric shapes on a mask to the surface of a
silicon wafer. These shapes make up the parts of the circuit,
such as gate electrodes, contact windows, metal
interconnections, and so on.
Introduction

 In the IC lithographic process, a photosensitive polymer film is

applied to the silicon wafer, dried, and then exposed with the proper
geometrical patterns through a photomask to ultraviolet (UV) light
or other radiation.
 After exposure, the wafer is soaked in a solution that develops the
images in the photosensitive material. Depending on the type of
polymer used, either exposed or non exposed areas of film are
removed in the developing process. The wafer is then placed in an
ambient that etches surface areas not protected by polymer patterns.
 Because the polymeric materials resist the etching process, they are
called resists; if light is used to expose the IC pattern, they are called
photoresists. Resists are made that are sensitive to UV light, electron
beams, x-rays, or ion beams.
Exposure tools do several jobs

 First, they rigidly hold the wafer and mask in place after the
mask pattern is aligned to a previous pattern already processed
into the wafer.--- aligners,
 Second, they provide a source of exposing radiation for the
resist.
 Some exposure tools, such as the e-beam machine, provide a
third function; they allow the silicon wafer to be exposed
directly without requiring a mask.
Exposure tool performance
parameters: Resolution, Registration,
and Throughput
 Resolution is defined in terms of the minimum feature that can
be repeatedly exposed and developed in at least 1 µm of resist.
 Registration is a measure of how closely successive mask
levels can be overlaid,
 Throughput is defined as the number of silicon wafers that can
be exposed per hour.
OPTICAL LITHOGRAPHY: Types
contact printing

 In contact printing, shown in Fig. 7a, a resist-coated silicon

wafer is brought into physical contact with the glass
photomask. The wafer is held on a vacuum chuck, and the
whole assembly rises until the wafer and mask contact each
other with a few kilograms of force.(0.05atm-0.3atm)
contact printing

 To align the photomask pattern to a previously etched silicon

pattern, the mask and wafer are separated by about 25 µm,
 A high- powered pair of objectives are brought in behind the
mask to view both the mask and wafer patterns at two
positions simultaneously.
 The objectives are connected to a split-field microscope so that
the right eye sees a spot on the right side of the mask and
wafer, and the left eye sees a spot on the left.
contact printing

 The mask and wafer are aligned by mechanically translating

and rotating the vacuum chuck assembly until the patterns on
the mask and wafer are aligned.
 At this point, the wafer is brought into contact with the mask
and reexamined for alignment
 When the expose button on the machine is pushed, the split-
field
 microscope is automatically withdrawn and a collimated beam
of UV light illuminates the entire mask for a fixed exposure
time.
Prons and cons

 The exposure intensity (in mW/cm^2-) at the wafer surface

times the exposure time (in seconds) gives the exposure energy
(mJ/cm^2), or dose, received by the resist.
 Because of the intimate contact between resist and mask, very
high resolution is possible in contact printing. Printing l-film
features in 0.5 µm of positive resist is relatively easy. The
problem in contact printing is dirt. A piece of dirt, such as a
speck of Si dust, on the silicon wafer can damage the mask
surface when the mask is forced into contact with the wafer.
proximity exposure method

 The proximity exposure method is very similar to contact

printing except that a small gap, 10 to 25µm wide, is
maintained between the wafer and mask during exposure.
 This gap minimizes (but may not eliminate) mask damage.
Proximity printers operate in the Fresnel diffraction region,
where resolution is proportional to {λg)^1/2. where λis the
exposure wavelength and g is the gap between the mask and
the wafer.
 Approximately 2- to 4µm resolution is possible with proximity
printing.
projection printing

 The third exposure method, projection printing, avoids mask

damage entirely. An image of the patterns on the mask is
projected onto the resist-coated wafer, which is many
centimeters away.
 To achieve high resolution, only a small portion of the mask is
imaged. This small image field is scanned or stepped over the
surface of the wafer. In scanning projection printers, the mask
and wafer are moved synchronously.
Projection printing

 This technique achieves resolution of about 1.5-µm lines and

spaces. Projection printers that step the mask image over the
wafer surface are called direct-step-on wafer or step-and-repeat
systems. With these printers, the mask contains the pattern of
one large chip or a group of small chips which are enlarged up
to 10 x.
Projection Printing

 The image of this pattern, or reticle , is demagnified and

projected onto the wafer. After the exposure of one chip site,
the wafer is moved or stepped on an interferometrically
controlled XY table to the next chip site, and the process is
repeated. Step-and-repeat reduction projection printers are
capable of approximately µm resolution.
ELECTRON BEAM
LITHOGRAPHY

 Electron-beam fabrication of ICs offers several advantages for

lithographic pattern transfer: resist geometries smaller than 1
µm can be generated, wafers can be patterned directly without
a mask, and the technique can be highly automated.
 In addition, an electron beam has a much greater depth of
focus than an optical lithographic
 system. An electron beam can be used to detect features on a
silicon wafer.
ELECTRON BEAM
LITHOGRAPHY

 The problem with e-beam lithographic machines is that they

are slow. Their throughput is approximately only five wafers
per hour at less than l-µm resolution.
 These throughputs do not economically compete with optical
machine throughputs of 40 wafers per hour at 1 .5- µm
resolution.
ELECTRON BEAM
LITHOGRAPHY
ELECTRON BEAM
LITHOGRAPHY

 To write submicrometer patterns into a resist, the e-beam must

be focused to a diameter of 0.01 to 0.5 µm. The current density
in the focused spot should also be high, to minimize resist
exposure times.
 Most thermionic electron guns have current densities of a few
amperes per centimeter squared from a cathode that is 10 to
100 µm
 in diameter.
ELECTRON BEAM
LITHOGRAPHY

 Figure 12 gives a schematic of an e-beam lithography

machine.
 Since the beam scan is restricted by lens aberrations to usually
less than 1 cm, an interferometrically controlled XY table is
used to position the substrate to be patterned under the e-beam.
 Registration to a previously defined pattern may be
accomplished at each chip site by scanning the e-beam across
reference marks etched in the substrate and detecting the
secondary and backscattered electrons.
 These signals are used to automatically position the substrate
under the beam. Alignment accuracy of ±0.2 µm (3σ) is
reported.
 Electron-beam lithography machines are usually designed for
optimum performance in research and development, in the
production of photomasks, or in the direct writing of silicon
wafers.
 Machines used in research and development must provide the
smallest possible focused spot so that the highest resolution
can be obtained.
 Beam diameters as small as 5 A have been used to etch 13-A
wide lines in NaCl crystals.
 A machine intended for the production of photomasks or
reticles with features of 2 to 4 µm can have a relatively large
beam diameter (0.25 to 1 fim) and modest throughput.
a rule of thumb

 As a rule of thumb, the minimum device feature is about 4x the

beam diameter, and the field that can be directly accessed by
the e-beam without XY stage motion is about 2.000 x the
minimum device feature.
 In other words, the smaller the device feature, the more XY
stage motion required. More stage motion, of course, slows
down production. Once again a tradeoff must be made: smaller
features for wafer throughput.
Photo resists
Resists may be either negative or positive

 Negative resists become less soluble in developer when they

are exposed to radiation (as in Fig. 3),
 positive resists become more soluble after exposure.
 Optical Negative resist is a cyclized polyisoprene polymer
material combined with a photosensitive compound.
 Optical positive resist systems also contain a base resin
material and a photosensitizer, but are totally different from
negative resists in their response to exposure radiation.
 Positive resists exhibit higher resolution capability.
 Negative resists usually have poorer resolution capability
Electron Resists

 A radiation sensitive resist is one in which chemical or

physical changes are induced by ionizing radiation, which
allows the resist to be patterned.
electron resist

 The electron resist sensitivity S for positive and negative

resists are defined as the electron dose required per centimeter
squared to ensure complete positive resist development or to
correspond to a 50% remaining thickness in the case of
negative resist.
 the positive resist PMMA is about three orders of magnitude
less sensitive than the negative resist COP and would
therefore require an exposure time about 1000 times longer to
form useful resist images.
Photo resist Materials

 Positive photoresist
 DNQ-Novolac photoresist
 One very common positive photoresist used with the I, G and H-lines from a mercury-vapor lamp is
based on a mixture of diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) and novolac resin (a phenol formaldehyde
resin). DNQ inhibits the dissolution of the novolac resin, but upon exposure to light, the dissolution
rate increases even beyond that of pure novolac. The mechanism by which unexposed DNQ inhibits
novolac dissolution is not well understood, but is believed to be related to hydrogen bonding (or more
exactly diazocoupling in the unexposed region). DNQ-novolac resists are developed by dissolution in
a basic solution (usually 0.26N tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) in water).

 Negative photoresist
 Epoxy-based polymer
 One very common negative photoresist is based on epoxy-based polymer. The common product name
is SU-8 photoresist, and it was originally invented by IBM, but is now sold by Microchem and
Gersteltec. One unique property of SU-8 is that it is very difficult to strip. As such, it is often used
in applications where a permanent resist pattern (one that is not strippable, and can even be used in
harsh temperature and pressure environments) is needed for a device.[15] Mechanism of epoxy-based
polymer is shown in 1.2.3 SU-8.
Photo resist Materials

 Off-stoichiometry thiolenes(OSTE) polymer

 In 2016, OSTE Polymers were shown to possess a unique photolithography
mechanism, based on diffusion-induced monomer depletion, which enables high
photo structuring accuracy. The OSTE polymer material was originally invented at the
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, but is now sold by Mercene Labs. Whereas the
material has properties similar to those of SU8, OSTE has the specific advantage
that it contains reactive surface molecules, which make this material attractive for
microfluidic or biomedical applications.

 Hydrogen Silsesquioxane (HSQ)

 HSQ is a common negative resist for e-beam, but also useful for photolithography.
Originally invented by Dow Corning (1970),[16] and now produced (2017) by Applied
Quantum Materials Inc. (AQM). Unlike other negative resists, HSQ is inorganic and
metal-free. Therefore, exposed HSQ provides a low dielectric constant (low-k) Si
rich oxide. A comparative study against other photoresists was reported in 2015 (Dow
Corning HSQ)
Photoresist chemicals

 Photoresist chemicals are organic compounds whose properties

change when exposed to ultraviolet light. Numerous such
chemicals prevalent in the market are polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA), polymethyl glutarimide (PMGI), and phenol-
formaldehyde resin (DNQ).
 Positive photoresists are able to maintain their size and pattern
as the photoresist developer solvent doesn't permeate the areas
that have not been exposed to the UV light. With negative
resists, both the UV exposed and unexposed areas are
permeated by the solvent, which can lead to pattern distortions.
 Examples of positive resist include:
 MCC PMMA Series (e-beam)
 DuPont S1800 Series (g-Line)
 DuPont SPR-220 (i-Line)
 MRT ma-P1200 Series (broadband)
 Examples of negative resist include:
 MCC SU-8 Series (i-Line)
 MCC KMPR® Series (i-Line)
 DuPont UVN-30 (DUV)
 MRT ma-N 1400 Series (i-Line)
 MRT ma-N 2400 Series (DUV)
photomask

 A photomask is an opaque plate with holes or transparencies

that allow light to shine through in a defined pattern.
 Masks are used to produce a pattern on a substrate, normally a
thin slice of silicon known as a wafer in the case of chip
manufacturing.
 Several masks are used in turn, each one reproducing a layer of
the completed design, and together they are known as a mask
set
photomask

 Lithographic photomasks are typically transparent Fused

silica blanks covered with a pattern defined with a chrome
metal absorbing film. Photomasks are used at wavelengths of
365nm, 248 nm, and 193 nm. Photomasks have also been
developed for other forms of radiation such as 157 nm,
13.5 nm (EUV), X-ray, Electrons, and ions; but these require
entirely new materials for the substrate and the pattern film.
photomask

 A Set of photo mask, each defining a pattern layer in IC

fabrication, is fed into a photolithography Stepper or Scanner,
and individually selected for exposure. In double
patterning techniques, a photomask would correspond to a
subset of the layer pattern.
photomask

 In photolithography for the mass production of

integrated circuit devices, the more correct term is
usually photoreticle or simply reticle. In the case of a
photomask, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the
mask pattern and the wafer pattern. This was the standard for
the 1:1 mask aligners that were succeeded by steppers and
scanners with reduction optics.[1]
photomask

 As used in steppers and scanners, the reticle commonly

contains only one layer of the chip. (However, some
photolithography fabrications utilize reticles with more than
one layer patterned onto the same mask). The pattern is
projected and shrunk by four or five times onto the wafer
surface. To achieve complete wafer coverage, the wafer is
repeatedly "stepped" from position to position under the
optical column until full exposure is achieved
Photomask
Photo chemical Etching

 Several anisotropic wet etchants are available for silicon, all of them hot
aqueous caustics. For instance, potassium hydroxide (KOH) displays an etch
rate selectivity 400 times higher in <100> crystal directions than in <111>
directions.
 EDP (an aqueous solution of ethylene diamine and pyrocatechol), displays a
<100>/<111> selectivity of 17X, does not etch silicon dioxide as KOH does,
and also displays high selectivity between lightly doped and heavily boron-
doped (p-type) silicon.
 Use of these etchants on wafers that already contain CMOS integrated circuits
requires protecting the circuitry.
 KOH may introduce mobile potassium ions into silicon dioxide, and EDP is
highly corrosive and carcinogenic, so care is required in their use.
 Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) presents a safer alternative than
EDP, with a 37X selectivity between {100} and {111} planes in silicon.
Wet Chemical etching
DEPOSITION PROCESSES

 1 Reactions
DEPOSITION PROCESSES

 2 Equipment
DEPOSITION PROCESSES

 3 Safety
 Many of the gases used to deposit films are hazardous. The
safety problems are more severe for low-pressure depositions
because the processes often use concentrated gases.
 The hazardous gases fall into four general classes: poisonous;
pyrophoric, flammable,or explosive; corrosive; and dangerous
combinations of gases.
 Many of the flammable gases react with air to form solid
products.
POLYSILICON

 Polysilicon is used as the gate electrode in MOS devices. It is

also used for highvalue
resistors, diffusion sources to form shallow junctions,
conductors, and to ensure ohmic contact to crystalline silicon. The
polysilicon is deposited by pyrolyzing silane between 600 and
650°C in a low-pressure reactor (Fig. 1a).
1 atm=760 torr=0.9869atm =1 bar= 100000 Pa

 Two low-pressure processes are common for depositing

polysilicon. One uses 100% silane at a pressure of 25 to 130 Pa
(0.2 to 1 .0 Torr). The other process is performed at the same
total pressure but uses 20 to 30% silane diluted in nitrogen.
 Both processes deposit polysilicon on 100 to 200 wafers per
run with thickness uniformities within 5%. The deposition
rates are 100 to 200 Angstrom/min.
Deposition Variables

 Temperature, pressure, silane concentration, and dopant

concentration are important process variables in the deposition
of polysilicon;
 wafer spacing and load size have only minor effects.
Structure

 The structure of polysilicon is strongly influenced by dopants

or impurities, deposition temperature, and post-deposition heat
cycles. Polysilicon deposited below 575°C is amorphous with
no detectable structure. Polysilicon deposited above 625°C is
polycrystalline and has a columnar structure. Crystallization
and grain growth occur when either amorphous or columnar
polysilicon is heated.
Structure

 The deposition temperature at which the transition from

amorphous to columnar structure occurs is well defined but
depends on many variables, such as deposition rate, partial
pressure of hydrogen, total pressure, presence of dopants, and
presence of impurities (O, N, or C). The transition temperature
is between 575 and 625°C for depositions in an LPCVD
reactor.'
Structure

 The average diameter of the column, that is, the columnar

grains, can be measured by TEM surface replication. The
diameter, which depends on film thickness, is typically
between 0.03 and 0.3 µm and is often reported as grain size.
Structure

 Polysilicon deposited at 600 to 650°C has a {1 10}-preferred

orientation.
 At higher deposition temperatures the {100} orientation
predominates, but the structure contains significant
contributions from other orientations, such as {1 10}, {1 1 1},
{31 1},and {331}.
 Dopants and impurities, as well as temperature, also influence
the preferred orientation.
Doping Polysilicon

 Polysilicon can be doped by diffusion, implantation, or the

addition of dopant gases during deposition.
 The resistivity of implanted polysilicon depends primarily on
implant dose, annealing temperature, and annealing time.
 Polysilicon films that are doped during deposition by adding
phosphine, arsine, or diborane have resistivities that are strong
functions of deposition temperature, dopant concentration, and
annealing temperature
Oxidation of Polysilicon

 Polysilicon is usually oxidized in dry oxygen at temperatures

between 900 and 1000°C to form an insulator between the
doped-polysilicon gate and other conducting layers. Under
these conditions, oxidation is controlled by surface reactions.
 The silicon dioxide grown on polysilicon has lower breakdown
fields, higher leakage currents, and higher stress than oxides
grown on single-crystal silicon.
Properties of Polysilicon

 The chemical and physical properties of polysilicon often

depend on the film structure (amorphous or crystalline) or on
the dopant concentration. The etch rate of polysilicon in a
plasma and its thermal oxidation rate depend on the dopant
concentration.
 Polysilicon which is heavily phosphorus-doped etches and
oxidizes at higher rates than undoped or lightly doped
polysilicon. The reaction rates for oxidation and etching are
determined by the free carrier concentration at the doped-
polysilicon surface.
Properties of Polysilicon

 Polysilicon' s optical properties depend on its structure. The

imaginary part of the dielectric function is particularly
structure-sensitive.
 Crystalline polysilicon has sharp maxima in the dielectric
function near 2950 and 3650 A (4.2 and 3.4 eV).
 Amorphous polysilicon has a broad maximum without sharp
structure.
 In addition,
 amorphous polysilicon has a higher refractive index
throughout the visible region than crystalline polysilicon.
SILICON DIOXIDE

 Silicon dioxide films can be deposited with or without dopants.

 Undoped silicon dioxide is used as an insulating layer between
multilevel metallizations.
 Phosphorus-doped silicon dioxide is used as an insulator between metal
layers, as a final passivation over devices, and as a gettering source.
 Oxides doped with phosphorus, arsenic, or boron are occasionally used
as diffusion sources.
 Oxides used as insulators between conducting layers are deposited,
densifiedby annealing, and plasma-etched to open windows.
 Phosphorus-doped oxides used for passivation are deposited at
temperatures lower than 500°C, and areas for bonding are opened by
etching
Deposition Methods

 Several deposition methods are used to produce silicon

dioxide.
 They are characterized by different chemical reactions,
reactors, and temperatures.
 Films deposited at low temperatures, lower than 500°C, are
formed by reacting silane, dopant, and oxygen.
 The chemical reactions for phosphorus-doped oxides are
 chemical reactions for phosphorus-doped oxide

•The deposition can be carried out at atmospheric pressure in a

continuous reactor (Fig. lb) or at reduced pressure in an LPCVD
reactor (Fig. la).
•The main advantage of silane oxygen reactions is the low
deposition temperature, which allows films to be deposited over
aluminum metallization.
•The main disadvantages of silane-oxygen reactions
are poor step coverage and particles caused by loosely
adhering deposits on the reactor walls
 Silicon dioxide is also deposited at 650 to 750°C in an LPCVD
reactor by decomposing tetraethoxysilane, Si(OC2H5)4.This
compound, also called tetraethyl orthosilicate and abbreviated
TEOS, is vaporized from a liquids. The overall reaction is

 The advantages of TEOS deposition are excellent uniformity,

conformal step coverage,and good film properties.
 The disadvantages are the high-temperature and liquid source
requirements source.
  Silicon dioxide is also deposited at temperatures near 900°C
and at reduced pressure by reacting dichlorosilane with nitrous
oxide.

Doping is achieved by adding small amounts of the dopant

hydrides (phosphine, arsine, or diborane) during the
deposition.
Dopant concentrations are reported by weight percent (wt. %),
atom percent (at.%), or mole percent (mol %).
 Glass with lower phosphorus concentrations will not soften
and flow, and higher concentrations react slowly with
atmospheric moisture to form acid products, which corrode the
aluminum metallization
Deposition Variables

 The deposition of silicon dioxide depends on the same

variables that are important for polysilicon, that is,
temperature, pressure, reactant concentration, and presence of
dopants.
 In addition, other variables, such as wafer spacing and total
gas flow, are important for some silicon dioxide depositions.
 In Figure 10 ,The relation has been explained by assuming surface-
catalyzed reactions.
 At high concentrations the oxygen adsorbs on the surface and
blocks further silane reactions.
 When phosphine is added to the reaction, the rate rapidly decreases
and then slowly increases. This deposition behavior may also be
attributable to surface adsorption effect
 The reaction between silane and oxygen at reduced pressure follows
similar trends. The activation energy is very low, less than 0.4 eV
(10 kcal/mole).
 The deposition of silicon dioxide by decomposing TEOS occurs at
temperatures between 650 and 750°C.
Fig. 10 The deposition rate of silicon dioxide at atmospheric pressure for different
oxygen concentrations.
deposition rate as a function of temperature

 Figure 1 1 shows deposition rate as a function of temperature

for the TEOS decomposition.
 activation energy for the TEOS reaction is about 1.9 eV (45
kcal/mole). which decreases to 1.4 eV (32 kcal/mole) when
phosphorus doping compounds are present.
Fig. 11 Arrhenius plots for the low-pressure deposition
of SiO2.
Properties of Silicon Dioxide
 Thickness Film thickness can be measured by a stylus instrument,
reflectance spectroscopy ellipsometry, or a prism coupler.
 Automated instruments, suitable for routine use, are available for
all these techniques.
 Composition : Silicon dioxide deposited at low temperatures,
(400— 500°C) contains hydrogen
 The bonded hydrogen can be observed by infrared spectroscopy.
 Phosphorus concentrations in doped silicon dioxide can be
measured by infrared absorption, neutron activation, x-ray
emission spectroscopy, sheet resistance of diffused layers, etch-
rate variation, the refractive index, or an electron microprobe.
Refractive index and stress

 The refractive index of silicon dioxide is 1.458 at a wavelength

of 0.6328 µm. Deposited oxides with refractive indices above
1.46 are usually silicon-rich.

SILICON NITRIDE
Silicon nitride is chemically deposited by reacting silane and
ammonia at atmospheric pressure at temperatures between 700
and 900°C or by reacting dichlorosilane and ammonia at
reduced pressure at temperatures between 700 and 800°.
 The reduced-pressure technique has the advantage of very
good uniformity and high wafer throughput.
Deposition Variables

 Silicon nitride depositions at reduced pressure are controlled

by temperature, total pressure, reactant concentrations, and
temperature gradients in the furnace.
 The temperature dependence of deposition rate is similar to
that of polysilicon.
 activation energy for the silicon nitride deposition is about 1.8
eV (41 kcal/mole).
 The deposition rate increases with increasing total pressure or
dichlorosilane partial pressure, and decreases with an
increasing ammonia to dichlorosilane ratio.
Properties of Silicon Nitride

 Silicon nitride, chemically deposited at temperatures between

700 and 900°C, is an amorphous dielectric containing up to 8
at. % hydrogen.
 Silicon nitride has a refractive index of 2.01 and an etch rate in
buffered hydrofluoric acid of less than 10 A/min.
 The resistivity of silicon nitride at room temperature is about
10 ^6 Ohm-cm.
 Silicon nitride is an excellent barrier to sodium diffusion
Properties of Silicon Nitride
Thank you