Importance of rapid photothermal processing in defect reduction and process integration

Author

Singh, Rajendra ; Parihar, Vijay ; Chen, Yuanning ; Poole, Kelvin F. ; Nimmagadda, Srikanth V. ; Vedula, Lakshmi

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Clemson Univ., SC, USA

Volume

12

Issue

1

fYear

1999

fDate

2/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

36

Lastpage

43

Abstract

The smaller dimension devices demand a constant reduction in microscopic and macroscopic defects. To be able to meet the demands of the next-generation integrated circuits (IC´s), we need to develop processing techniques that can increase performance, reliability and yield. Defect reduction forms the first important goal in this direction. We have identified stress as a good indicator of the defects generated during processing. Rapid photothermal processing is demonstrated as a new thermal process that can effectively replace furnace processing and rapid thermal processing. Considering various process constraints, we have presented a model for process optimization. This approach would lead to improvements in performance, reliability and yield, while reducing processing temperature and processing time. Experimental results showing the effectiveness of rapid photothermal processing are also presented

Keywords

integrated circuit reliability; integrated circuit yield; optimisation; rapid thermal processing; semiconductor process modelling; defect reduction; macroscopic defects; microscopic defects; next-generation integrated circuits; process constraints; process integration; process optimization model; processing temperature; processing time; rapid photothermal processing; reliability; yield; Electronics industry; Integrated circuit reliability; Manufacturing processes; Nanoelectronics; Process design; Rapid thermal processing; Semiconductor device manufacture; Silicon; Temperature; Thermal stresses;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Semiconductor Manufacturing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0894-6507

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/66.744520

Filename

744520