PHYS 534 (Fall 2008)

Lecture 2

Introduction to Microfabrication

Srikar Vengallatore, McGill University

How are Microsystems Designed?

Market need
Creativityy
& experience
Manufacturing
considerations
In-house
In
house
expertise

C
Concept
t

Embodiment

D t il
Detail

Evaluation
of competition
Modeling and
Analysis
Management
decisions

Product Specification
2

Structural Embodiment Phase of Design

Selection of materials, structures, and shapes to
optimize performance and reliability.

Is electrostatic actuation optimal?

Is a torsional hinge optimal?
Is aluminum the best material?
Is sputtering the best method
to deposit aluminum?

But,.
Structural Design is Severely Constrained
by Process Limitations

Micro Engine

MACRO Engine

Metallic vs. Ceramic Materials

Silicon Microengine

Kalpakjian and Schmid

What is the Origin of the Process Limitations?

Starting Material: Substrate (wafer)

Patterning
g
Subtractive
Processes
Wet etching
Dry etching
Plasma etching
DRIE
Polishing

Photolithography
E-beam lithography
g p y
Ion beam lithography
Soft lithography

Processes
Additive
Processes

Evaporation
Sputtering
CVD
Electrodeposition
Wafer bonding

Package Microdevice
6

Microfabrication differs from macro-machining in several ways:

Material removal is by selective corrosion
Structural thin films are not available from a catalog.
I t d we have
Instead,
h
tto create
t th
the film
fil before
b f
shaping
h i it
Defining a pattern follows a process that resembles
Photography (of the old-fashioned type using photosensitive
films)
Massively parallel manufacture
Simultaneous manufacture and assembly
7

Catalog of Manufacturing Processes

Patterning Techniques:

Photolithography, Microstamping,
Electron/ion beam lithography,
Soft lithography,

Additive processes:

Thin-film deposition, wafer bonding,

oxidation, epitaxy, ..

Subtractive p
processes:

Wet etching,
g, dryy etching,
g, ion milling,
g,
deep reactive ion etching,

Starting Material: Substrate

Typical characteristics:
Shape:
p Circular p
plates ((also called wafers))
Size: ~1 mm thickness
~10 cm diameter

Common Substrate Materials

Single crystal silicon
Single crystal Quartz (silicon oxide)
Amorphous silica glasses

Commercially
Commercially
Available

Pyrex
Gallium arsenide
SiC

10

How are Silicon Wafers Specified?

Chemistry:

Purity; Dopant concentration

Electrical Properties:

Resistivity

Geometry:

Diameter;
Thickness;
Total thickness variations;
Surface finish and polish;
B
Bow
and
d warpage;
Crystallographic Orientation;
Primary & secondary flats

Virginia Semiconductor (http://www.virginiasemi.com/) and many others

11

Specification of Chemistry
Impurities:

Carbon, oxygen, heavy metals,

Typically,

O 2:
5 25 ppm
C:
1 5 ppm
Metals: < 1 ppb

Some impurities are intentionally added in small,

well-defined,
e de ed, qua
quantities
es
Such impurities are called DOPANTS

12

Crystallography of Substrates
Based on atomic arrangement, materials can be
Amorphous

Single Crystals

Grain boundary

Polycrystalline
13

[Ohring]

Unit Cells of Cubic Crystals

Simple Cubic

Body Center Cubic (BCC)

Face Center Cubic (FCC)

14

Directions of a Cubic Crystals

[0,0,1]

[1,0,1]
Unit Distance

[0,1,0]

[1,1,0]

[1,0,0]

15

Miller indices of Crystal Planes

[0,0,1]

[0,1,0]

[1,0,0]

Recipe:

1. Determine intercepts on each axis

1, 1,

2. Take reciprocals of these numbers

1, 1, 0

3. Reduce to smallest integers

(110)
16

Examples of Low Index Planes

17

[Senturia]

Two Important Results for Cubic Crystals

Result 1.

Plane (h k l) has unit normals [h k l]

[0,0,1]

(1 1 0)

[0,1,0]

[1,0,0]

Notation:

[1 1 0]

{1 0 0} indicates a family of (1 0 0) planes

<1 0 0> indicates a family of [1 0 0] directions
18

Two Important Results for Cubic Crystals

Result 2.

The angle () between two planes with indices

(h1 k1 l1) and (h2 k2 l2) is given by

cos =

Example:

h1h2 + k1k 2 + l1l2

h12 + k12 + l12 h22 + k 22 + l22

(i) The angle between (100) and (111) is

1
1 + 0 + 0
= cos 1
= 54.7 0

3
1 3

= cos 1

19

Crystallography of Single-Crystal Silicon Wafers

(111) Wafers
Look for the primary flat

(100) Wafers

[Maluf]

20

10

Representation of a Simple Process Flow

1 mm

10 cm

Golden Rule of Process Representation:

NOTHING is EVER drawn to scale!
21

Thin-Film Deposition

1 mm

Thin Film

1 m

22

11

Photolithographic Patterning
Apply thin layer of photosensitive polymer

Photoresist
(~ 1 m thick)

23

Patterning Using Photolithography

Selectively expose to light using a RETICLE

Opaque coating

Transparent
plate
Reticles are also called Photo-masks: Commercially available
24

12

Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation

25

Exposed photoresist
is soluble

Development of Exposed Photo-resist

(Use solvent)
26

13

Etching: Selective Corrosion to Remove Material

Chemical 1: Removes Blue only

Chemical 2: Removes only red

27

28

14

Next: A Surface-Micromachining Process..

Addition, Patterning & Selective Removal of Thin Films

Silicon
Oxide

Silicon

[Maluf]

29

Silicon oxide

Deposit polysilicon thin film

30

15

Mask
Photo
resist

Pattern and etch

polysilicon

polysilicon

Silicon
Oxide
31

[Maluf]

Sacrificial Oxide

Release the structure

[Maluf]

32

16

2-d Representation of Process Flows

Again, Not to Scale!

33

2-d Representation of Process Flow

(Photolithographic details not shown)

Substrate

Silicon Oxide

Polysilicon

34

17

Interpretation of Floating Structures

Silicon Light Machines

Examine different cross-sections to find anchoring locations

35

BULK MICROMACHINING:
Selective Removal Material from Substrate

36

(Maluf)

18

Clarifies angle
of this surface
37

Overview of Microdevice Manufacture

Starting Material: Substrate (wafer)

Subtractive
Processes
Wet etching
Dry etching
Plasma etching
DRIE
Polishing

Photolithography
E-beam lithography
g p y
Pattern
Ion
beam
lithography
Formation
Soft lithography

Processes
Additive
Processes

Evaporation
Sputtering
CVD
Electrodeposition
Wafer bonding

Package Microdevice
38

19

Lithos: Stone
Photolithography:

H d
Hardware:

graphy: to write
Pattern transfer using photons

S
Source
off UV radiation
di ti ((aligner)
li
)
Reticle (master pattern)
Photoresist (polymer)
Chemical solvents

39

Basic Steps in Photolithography

Coat
Photoresist

Expose to
Ultraviolet radiation

Develop
mask

40

20

Spin Coating and the Importance of Low Viscosity

Centrifugal forces vs. Viscosity
photoresist

1000 8000 rpm

10 30 s

Partial evaporation of solvent during spin coating

41

How thin must the photoresist be?

Depends on details of process flow

To create small features (<1.0 m), use thin resists (1.0 m)
For bulk micromachining, use thick (~10 m) photoresist layer

Rule of Thumb
Photoresist thickness scales with feature size

42

21

Two Types of Photoresists

Exposed regions
become insoluble

Exposed regions
become soluble

POSITIVE resist

NEGATIVE resist
43

Mechanisms linked to Bond Formation/Destruction

Before Exposure

After Exposure

Positive Resist

Negative Resist

44

22

Examples of Positive & Negative Resists

Positive:

PMMA (poly methyl methacrylate)

DQN (diaquinone ester + phenolic novolak)

Negative:

bis(aryl)azide rubber resists

Photoresists are commercially available

45

[Madou]

Photolithographic Aligners

Source of Radiation

Focusing optics
Tooling for Alignment

46

[Senturia]

23

http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/nanotools/

ALIGNER

47

Overview of Microdevice Manufacture

Starting Material: Substrate (wafer)

Subtractive
Processes
Wet etching
Dry etching
Plasma etching
DRIE
Polishing

Photolithography
E-beam lithography
g p y
Pattern
Ion
beam
lithography
Formation
Soft lithography

Processes
Additive
Processes

Evaporation
Sputtering
CVD
Electrodeposition
Wafer bonding

Package Microdevice
48

24

THIN FILM USUALLY IMPLIES.

Deposited on substrate & subsequently processed
Lateral film dimensions much larger than thickness.

Thin Films vs. Thick Films:

Thin films

0.1 m < hfilm < 2 m

Thick films 5 m < hfilm

fil < 50 m

49

THIN FILM PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

Wet (Solution)

Dry (Vapor)

Spin casting

Evaporation

Electrodeposition

Sputter-deposition

Sol-gel & colloidal

techniques

Chemical vapor
deposition (CVD)
Pulsed-laser
deposition
Oxidation
50

25

GENERIC VAPOR-DEPOSITION PROCESS

Source of atoms (target)

Vapor of atoms

substrate
vacuum

Nucleation

Growth

Coalescence

51

QUALITY OF DEPOSITED FILMS

Geometry:

Thickness & Thickness uniformity

Lateral dimensions & uniformity
Conformality vs. Line-of-sight
Line of sight coatings

Kinetics:

Rate of film growth

Chemistry:

Fidelity of composition
Compositional uniformity

Mechanical stress: Intrinsic (growth-related)

52

26

GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS
Lateral uniformity &
Thickness uniformity

No lateral uniformity
y
Thickness uniformity

lateral uniformity
y
No thickness uniformity

No lateral uniformity
No thickness uniformity
53

CONFORMALITY OF COATING
Ability to coat topographic features
i.e., ability to conform to surface features
Top surface

CONFORMAL

Sidewall

NON-CONFORMAL

54

27

Material Addition Using Wafer Bonding

Direct Wafer Bonding
Wafer 1

Wafer 2

Intermediate Wafer Bonding

Metal; Glass; Oxide; Polymer

55

High Strength Bonding is Possible

(Bonded regions as strong as lattice!)

56

28

IR Image of Bond Formation

Relatively simple process to implement

57

Overview of Microdevice Manufacture

Starting Material: Substrate (wafer)

Subtractive
Processes
Wet etching
Dry etching
Plasma etching
DRIE
Polishing

Photolithography
E-beam lithography
g p y
Pattern
Ion
beam
lithography
Formation
Soft lithography

Processes
Additive
Processes

Evaporation
Sputtering
CVD
Electrodeposition
Wafer bonding

Package Microdevice
58

29

Key Concept:
Material Removal by Chemical Corrosion
Example 1: Development of Photoresist (Wet Etching)

Exposed photoresist
is soluble

59

How to Design a Etch Process

What etchants (chemicals/plasma) should I use?
How
H
llong will
ill the
th process take
t k (i.e.,
(i
KINETICS)?
Is the etch SELECTIVE?
(i.e., what materials can I work on?)
Is
I the
th etch
t h ISOTROPIC or ANISOTROPIC?
(i.e., what SHAPES can I make?)
How do I detect completion of etch process?
(i.e., END POINT DETECTION)
60

30

Kinetics: Diffusion vs. Reaction Control

(Madou)

61

Diffusion-Limited vs. Reaction-Limited

Diffusion-Limited Kinetics:
-Rate of arrival of reactants controls rate of reaction
-Improve by stirring, gas evolution, etc.

Reaction-Limited Kinetics:
-Rate of interfacial reaction controls reaction rate
-Control using temperature, catalyst, etc.

62

31

Selectivity of Etch

masking layer
Substrate to be
etched

Selectivity =

Etch rate off Substrate

Etch rate of Masking Layer

63

Selectivity is Critical for Surface Micromachining

Structural Material
Sacrificial Material
Substrate

REQUIREMENT:

Etch
Et
h Sacrificial
S ifi i l M
Material
t i l
without damaging Substrate
or Structural Materials

64

[Maluf]

32

Isotropic vs. Anisotropic Etches

Isotropic

Etch front

Anisotropic

65

Gases and Plasma are also used for Etching

Vapor Phase Dry Etching (non-plasma)

Plasma-assisted Dry Etching

-Ion Milling (Focused Ion-Beam Milling)
-Ashing
-Reactive-Ion Etching
-Deep Reactive-Ion Etching
66

33

Overview of Microdevice Manufacture

Starting Material: Substrate (wafer)
Photolithography
E-beam lithography
g p y
Pattern
Ion
beam
lithography
Formation

Subtractive
Processes

Soft lithography

Processes
Additive
Processes

Wet etching
Dry etching
Plasma etching
DRIE
Polishing

Evaporation
Sputtering
CVD
Electrodeposition
Wafer bonding

Package Microdevice
67

Approach to Learning Microfabrication

This is an area of very active research
Focus on:

Fundamental principles + Established methods

Learn ideas, but also a few crucial details

Learn by assimilation:

Case Studies

Learn
Learn to find information.
information

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