14-08-2018

MEL G611 :
IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY
Section III: Wafer Preparation
Sat, 11 Aug; Tues, 14 Aug &
BITS Pilani Thu, 16 Aug
Hyderabad Campus
Sanket Goel, EEE

Sec II, L 3 & 4: Structures

• Tues, 7 Aug & Thu, 9 Aug

• Learning Objectives
o Basic Solid State Physics for understanding of Silicon
fundamentals

• Topics covered –
o Crystal structures
o Defects
o Directions
o Planes

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 2 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Sec III, L 5-7: Wafer Preparation

• Sat, 11 Aug; Tues, 14 Aug & Thu, 16 Aug

• Learning Objectives
o To learn the art of wafer preparation and some of the
basic properties of these wafers

• Topics to be covered –
o Single crystal growth
o Wafer preparation
o Dopant distribution

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 3 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Silicon why?
• Si  represents 25.7% of earth’s crust
• Si  95% of all semiconductor devices sold globally
• Difference between Si & Ge
Property Si Ge
Leakage current Lower Higher
Bandgap 1.1 eV 0.66 eV
Operating T 1500C 1000C
Oxidation SiO2  suitable GeO2  unsuitable
Undoped resistivity 230,000 ohm cm 47 ohm cm
Cost Low High

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BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Electronic Grade Silicon (EGS)

Electronic Grade Silicon (1/3)

• Natural minerals with Si are very impure
• Si must be refined and converted into the crystalline form
• Chemical quartzite  SiO2
• Step 1: Convert quartzite to Metallurgical grade Silicon (MGS)
o Mixture of quartzite & carbon (coal / coke) heated (2000 0C)

o Power requirement  ~13 kWh/kg

o MGS  98% pure
o Impurities  Al & Fe
o Mostly MGS form Si is used in
industry

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 6 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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EGS (2/3)
• Step 2: Pulverize MGS mechanically to get trichlorosilane
o Using anhydrous HCL at 3000C
o Trichlorosilane (boiling point 320C) purification is done by
fractional distillation (separation based on boiling point)

• Step 3: Prepare EGC from purified trichlorosilane using CVD

• Results Si rods
• EGS is cut in chunks
or crushed in nuggets

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 7 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

EGS (3/3)
• Step 4: Created a thin Si rod and deposit polysilicon on top of
the rod; and then heat the rod by passing an electric current

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Impurity contents

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BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Crystal Growth
Phase change from solid / liquid / gas to crystalline solid phase

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Czochralski (CZ) Crystal Growth Technique

• Si is kept in liquid form in

• 20 cm
crucible  impurities
diameter
• Si melting point  14170C and 1 m
• 100 Kg Si in 50 cm dia crucible long crystal
• Oxygen and Carbon impurities

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 11 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

CZ Crystal Growth Technique: Pulling

Maximum pull-rate

• L  latent heat of fusion

• N  density of silicon
•   Stefan-Boltzman constant
•   emissivity of Silicon
• TM melting temperature
• kM  thermal conductivity at TM
• r  radius of crystal

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CZ Crystal Growth Technique: Pulling

Experimentally determined
temperature variation along a crystal

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 13 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

CZ Crystal Growth Technique: Doping

• All impurities segregate between liquid and solid phase when
two phases are intimate contacts
𝐶
• Segregation coefficient 𝑘𝑜 = 𝐶𝑠
𝐿
• ko < 1 for CZ (impurities prefers to be in liquid phase)
• Cs  concentration in solid interface
• CL  concentration in liquid interface
• C0  initial melt concentration
• f  fraction of melt solidified (Vs/V0)

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CZ Crystal Growth Technique: Doping

• f  fraction of melt solidified (Vs/V0)
𝐶
• Segregation coefficient 𝑘𝑜 = 𝐶𝑠
𝐿

• Antimony  doping conc increases along length of pulled

crystal
• Boron  flat profile
MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 15 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Float-Zone (FZ) Crystal Growth Technique

• No crucible is used  less
impurities (Oxygen)
• High resistivity material can
grow easily
• Used in detectors and Power
devices

• Rod of EGS polysilicon is clamped at both ends. Bottom in

contact with Single crystal Si
• RF coil provides power  large current  melts Si
• Surface tension & levitation due to RF field keeps system stable
• Doping  by starting with dopes Si rod
MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 16 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Oxygen & Carbon in Silicon

Oxygen Impurity (1/3)

• Due to dissolution of quartz crucible where molten Si is housed
• Range  5 x 1017 – 1018 atoms /cm3
• Segregation coefficient 𝑘𝑜 for oxygen  0.25
• Many parameters For one set of growing
during CZ process conditions
define impurity level
• Doping >1019
atoms/cm3 of B,
oxygen content may
increase by 40%
• Doping >1018
atoms/cm3 of Sb,
oxygen content may
decrease
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Oxygen Impurity (2/3)

• Oxygen impurity has following effects:
o Donor formation (1016 cm-3 SiO4)  sufficient to increase
resistivity of lightly doped p-type wafers
o Yield strength improvement due to solution hardening
(before precipitating)
 Oxygen atom may replace one of the normal Si-Si
covalent bonds with Si-O-Si structure
 Improved yield strength by upto 25%
o Defect generation by oxygen precipitation
 Oxygen may precipitate in normal condition  SiO2
regions in wafer
 When oxide conc > 6.4 x 1017 atoms / cm3

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 19 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Oxygen Impurity (3/3)

o Defect generation by oxygen
precipitation
 Oxygen may precipitate
in normal condition 
SiO2 regions in wafer
 When oxide conc > 6.4 x
1017 atoms / cm3
 Solubility of oxygen in Si
is shown

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 20 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Carbon in Silicon
• Form graphite components in the crystal pulling machine

• CO gets transports through gas phase back to melt where

carbon is incorporated into the growing crystal
• At concentrations 1 x 1016 atoms /cm3
• Carbon in Si occupies substantial lattice site
• Segregation coeff 𝑘𝑜 for carbon  0.07  large axial
variation
• Carbon doesn’t precipitate
• Not electrically active

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 21 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Silicon Shaping

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Silicon Shaping

Multicrystalline silicon ingot Monocrystalline silicon ingot

Cleaned ingots
that are ready
to further slicing

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 23 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Measurement Methods

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Measurements
• Variety of electrical, physical and mechanical
parameter are specified for wafers
• These parameters should be measurable
• Resistivity
• Evaluation of crystal perfection
• Mechanical Properties
o Size
o Mass
• Chemical Properties
o Oxygen content
o Carbon content
o Heavy metal content

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 25 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Electrical Measurements
• To measure concentration of electrons or holes
o Will measure resistivity and doping concentration
• Dominant carrier (electrons / holes)  p-type / n-type
• Hot-probe Method
o Two probes make Ohmic contact with
wafer surface
o T ~ 25-1000C
o Voltmeter  potential difference
(thermal emf / Seebeck voltage), polarity
indicated n-type / p-type
o Current due to majority carriers
o Pn  thermoelectric power
o Pn < 0 for electrons and > 0 for holes
MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 26 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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4-probe method for Resistivity

• General Resistivity

o p-type  p >>n
o n-type  n >> p

• Resistivity measurement
provides n or p if mobility if
known

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 27 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

4-probe method for Resistivity

• Current is passed
through outer probes
• Voltage is measured o s  probe
between the inner probes spacing

• Resistivity for arbitrary

shapes when t <<s, t = xj
(junction depth)

• Sheet resistance

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 28 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Hall Effect
• Can determine material type, carrier concentration and carrier
mobility
• If a magnetic field is applied
perpendicular to the direction
in which holes drift

Total force F = -e(E + v x B)

In y-direction  Fy = -e (Ey – vx Bz)

For steady state flow Fy = 0  Ey = vx Bz

𝐽
Ey = − 𝑒𝑛𝑥 Bz = RH Jx Bz R
n = H

where Hall Coefficient RH = -1/en

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 29 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Hall Effect: General Case

• where b = µe /µh
• RH depends on both the drift mobility ratio and the
concentrations of holes and electrons
• RH is positive for p > nb2
• RH is negative for p < nb2
• For p = 0, we get equations for metals

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 30 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Problem

• The Hall coefficient of a semiconductor is orders of magnitude

higher than that for typical metals.
• This is why all Hall devices use a semiconductor rather than a
metal element
MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 31 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Problem

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Problem

x = n/ni

Question?

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Problem

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FTIR
• During crystal growth process, oxygen and carbon impurities
• May not be extremely desirable to remove them
• But required to measure and control them
• One method  FTIR  measures absorption of infrared
energy by molecules
• Vibrational modes
o Oxygen  1106 cm-1
o Carbon  607 cm-1
• Fourier transform increases SNR
• LOD
o Oxygen  2 x 1015 cm-3
o Carbon  5 x1015 cm-3

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 35 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

FTIR Results
Oi and Cs absorptions O peak at various
in silicon concentration levels

A. 40 ppmA
B. 30 ppmA
C. 20 ppmA
D. 15 ppmA

Si samples of various thicknesses

A. 2.00 mm
B. 1.50 mm
C. 1.00 mm
D. 0.50 mm
http://www.thermo.com.cn/Resources/
201007/271120772.pdf

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 36 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Electron Microscopy
• All particles have an associated  linked to their momentum
( = h/mv)  De Broglie (1923)
• Further m-coil can focus an e-beam in the same way that a
glass lens for light  Hans Bush (1927)
• An e-beam illuminates a specimen and produce a magnified
image
• Applications  microorganisms, cells, large molecules,
biopsy samples, metals, crystals, quality control and failure
analysis
• Types  Transmission/Scanning electron Microscopy
(TEM/SEM)

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 37 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Electron vs Optical Microscopy

Microsco  Resolution Depth of Magnificati Lenses

pe field on

Electron /104 >50pm 30mm Upto 107 x ES and EM to

control e-beam

Optical  ~200m 0.5mm <2000x Optical lenses

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 38 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Electron-Metal Interactions

• Electrons’ acceleration
up to high energy levels
(100s keV) & focusing
on a material 

• E- scatter or backscatter
elastically or inelastically,
or produce many
interactions, source of
different signals such as
X-rays, Auger electrons
or light.

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SEM & TEM

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 40 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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TEM vs SEM
Item TEM SEM
Method Transmission Electron Backscattered electrons
Image quality Low – bit-by-bit Better (precise image) – as a
whole
Image D 2D 3D
Image Electrons are pointed toward Scattered electrons produce
formation the sample and image is the sample image after the
generated microscope collects and
counts them
Image What is inside or beyond the On sample’s surface and its
analysis surface composition
Magnification 50 million 2 million

Resolution TEM has better than SEM

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 41 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

TEM vs SEM

Item TEM SEM

Depth of Worse Better
field
Sample Ultra-thin Scanned by element to capture
thickness scattered electrons
Sample • TEM requires the sample to • Sample is prepared on
prep be prepared in a TEM grid specialized Al stubs and
and placed in the middle of placed on the bottom of the
the specialized chamber of chamber of the instrument.
the microscope.
• The image of the sample is
• The image is produced by projected onto the CRT or
the microscope via television-like screen
fluorescent screens.

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 42 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Images by Light scope, TEM

&SEM

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 43 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Sec III, L 5-7: Wafer Preparation

• Sat, 11 Aug; Tues, 14 Aug & Thu, 16 Aug

• Learning Objectives
o To learn the art of wafer preparation and some of the
basic properties of these wafers

• Topics to be covered –
o Single crystal growth
o Wafer preparation
o Measurements

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 44 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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Sec IV, L 8-12: Diffusion

• Sat, 18 Aug; Thu, 23 Aug; Sat, 25 Aug; Tue, 28 Aug; Thu,
30 Aug

• Learning Objectives
o To understand the Diffusion process during the IC
Fabrication

• Topics to be covered –
o Diffusion (time dependent and independent process)
o Explore the basic process of dopant
o diffusion and methods to accurately
o predict dopant profiles.

MEL G611 : IC FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY 45 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

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