Chapter 7: Fabrication of Microelectronic Devices
Micro fabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures
of micrometre scales and smaller.
Micro fabrication processes were used for integrated circuit
fabrication /semiconductor manufacturing/ or "semiconductor device
fabrication".
Conti…
The microelectronic devices are created through a
series of steps which include deposition of thin
films of material, patterning of these thin films,
selective etching of thin films, and modification
of these materials.
Deposition is any process that grows, coats, or otherwise
transfers a material onto the wafer. Available technologies
include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor
deposition (CVD), electrochemical deposition (ECD).
Patterning is the shaping or altering of deposited materials, and
is generally referred to as lithography. For example, in
conventional lithography, the wafer is coated with a chemical
called a photoresist; then, a machine called an aligner or stepper
Conti…
When a negative potential is placed on the conductor
above the gate dielectric, the n-region in the silicon
inverts to p-type and current can flow through the
transistor.
With no potential above the gate dielectric, the p-n-p
structure blocks current flow.
Conti…
These devices are embedded in the silicon and
then connected together in a variety of
configurations with alternating layers of
insulators and conductors to form a wiring
scheme on top of the transistors themselves.
Processing steps and equipment are broken down by function
Lithography - Create Patterns
Etch and Clean - Transfer Patterns and Remove
Contaminants
Thin Film Deposition - Deposit Materials
Implant and Diffusion - Modify Materials
A crystal is a solid material whose constituent atoms,
molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating
pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions.
Crystal growth is a major stage of a crystallization
process, and consists in the addition of new atoms, ions,
or polymer strings into the characteristic arrangement of
the crystalline lattice
Crystallization Process
The solution is heated in an open container.
The solvent molecules start evaporating, leaving behind the
solutes.
When the solution cools, crystals of solute start
accumulating on the surface of the solution.
Crystals are collected and dried as per the product
Wafer preparation
Manufacture semiconductor wafers are silicon, gallium arsenide ,
sapphire, silicon carbide (SiC).Silicon is the most common material for
making wafers.
used for the fabrication of integrated circuits and, in photovoltaics, to
manufacture solar cells.
The wafer serves as the substrate for microelectronic devices built in
Lithography
Lithography uses imaging techniques similar to photography to
create tiny images on the silicon wafer.
A thin layer sensitive to ultraviolet radiation known
as photoresist is put on the wafer in a process known as spin
coating.
The wafer is placed in a bowl and a liquid solution of the
photoresist is dispensed in a stream onto the wafer while the wafer
spins at high speed, creating a very thin, uniform coating across the
wafer.
Conti…
When the UV rays strike the photoresist, they cause a
chemical reaction to take place.
This is called exposure, and exposed resist will become
soluble or insoluble in certain chemicals.
A negative photoresist is a type of photoresist in which the
portion of the photoresist that is exposed to light becomes
insoluble in the photoresist developer .The unexposed portion
of the photoresist is dissolved by the photoresist developer.
A positive photoresist is a type of photoresist in which a portion
is exposed to light and becomes soluble to the photoresist
developer. The unexposed portion of the photoresist remains
insoluble in the photoresist developer.
Conti…
The wafer is then placed in a chemical developer,
removing the regions of photoresist with high
solubility and leaving the regions of photoresist with
low solubility.
Exposed resist becomes less soluble.
This is known as a negative photoresist process.
Conti…
Alternately, other types of photoresist become more soluble
after exposure. Processes using this type of photoresist are
known as positive photoresist processes.
Etch and Clean
Etch and Clean transfer lithographic patterns into the
wafer and remove contaminants and other materials
from the wafer.
pulling the electrons from many of the gas molecules
and creating gas ions in a type of plasma known as
a glow discharge.
Cont.…
Lithography: Steps
Stripping
.
Thin Film Deposition
Thin Film Deposition processes place thin, uniform
coatings of various materials onto wafers. This can be
accomplished using a variety of methods
physical vapor deposition (PVD)
chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
electrochemical deposition (ECD)
Computer aided design in microelectronics
CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided
manufacturing) is software used to design products
such as electronic circuit boards in computers and other
devices.
Improve the design and drawing work from all
angles, so as to improve the production efficiency
Cont.…
It performs the primary tasks of constructing electrical schematics,
performing simulations, and creating physical blueprints for electronic
devices ranging from the latest microprocessor to powerful graphic
processing units
Electrical CAD is used primarily by electrical engineers to create
2D & 3D drawings & models for printed circuit boards &
integrated circuits.
Surface mount technology (SMT)
This process allows for automated production to complete
more of the required assembly to create a working board.
Allows electrical components to be mounted on the board
surface without any drilling
Examples include passive elements such as resistors, chip
inductors, transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes,
and ceramic capacitors.
Surface-mount technology (SMT), originally called planar
mounting, is a method in which electrical components are
mounted directly onto the surface of a printed circuit board
(PCB) 1. An electrical component mounted in this manner is
referred to as a surface-mount device (SMD).
Advantages: SMT allows for increased manufacturing
automation, reducing costs and improving quality. It also
enables more components to fit on a given area of substrate.
Integrated Circuit
IC’s Based on the size(or the no. of components).
Small scale integration (SSI):-Up to 100 components
Medium scale integration (MSI):-100 –3k component
Large scale integration (LSI):-3k -10k
components
Very large scale integration (VLSI):-10k-100k
What is the primary function of a
photoresist in the fabrication process?
A) To create a pattern on the substrate
B) To etch the substrate
C) To deposit a layer of material
D) To remove excess material
Answer: A) To create a pattern on the
substrate
What is the purpose of a hard mask in the
fabrication process?
A) To protect the underlying layers during
etching
B) To define the pattern of a layer
C) To enhance the resolution of the pattern
D) To reduce the number of processing
steps
THE END!!!