Electronic Materials and Technologies

Solved exercises – Processes

Lucio Pancheri

Exercise 1

In a p-type silicon substrate, doped with NA = 1015 acc./cm3, a donor ion implantation is performed to form
an n/p junction. The implanted surface concentration is S = 1015 at./cm2. The implantation is followed by a
drive-in at the temperature T = 1100 °C for a time t = 4h.

Determine the doping profile C(x) and junction depth xj in the two alternative cases of phosphorus and
arsenic implantation. Compute also the sheet resistance of the diffused n-type region in both cases.

Use DAS = 2 ·10-14 cm2/s and DP = 2.2 ·10-13 cm2/s

Solution:

The doping concentration after a drive-in is expressed by a Gaussian equation:

𝑥 2
−( )
𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶0 𝑒 𝐿

𝑆
where 𝐿 = 2√𝐷𝑡 is the diffusion length and 𝐶0 = √𝜋 is the surface concentration.
𝐿
2

Fig. 1. Schematic doping profile

The junction depth can be found by equating the donor concentration profile C(x) to the substrate acceptor
concentration:

𝑥𝑗 2
𝑁𝐴 = 𝐶(𝑥𝑗 ) = 𝐶0 𝑒
−(
𝐿
) (1)

Solving equation (1) for xj yields:

 𝐶0
𝑥𝑗 = 𝐿√ln⁡( ) (2)
𝑁𝐴

(a) Arsenic implantation

𝐿𝐴𝑆 = 2√𝐷𝐴𝑆 𝑡 = 2√2 ∙ 10−14 ∙ 4 ∙ 3600 ≅ 3.4 ∙ 10−5 𝑐𝑚 = 0.34𝜇𝑚

𝑆 1015
𝐶0𝐴𝑆 = = = 3.3 ∙ 1019 𝑐𝑚−3
√𝜋 0.89 ∙ 0.34 ∙ 10−4
2 𝐿𝐴𝑆
𝑥 2 𝑥 2
−( ) −( )
𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶0𝐴𝑆 𝑒 𝐿𝐴𝑆 = 3.3 ∙ 1019 𝑒 0.34

where x is expressed in micrometers.

The junction depth xj can be calculated with equation 2:

𝐶0𝐴𝑆 3.3 ∙ 1019

𝑥𝑗 = 𝐿𝐴𝑆 √ln ( ) = 0.34√ln ( ) ≅ 1.1𝜇𝑚
𝑁𝐴 1015

The sheet resistance RS for a diffused region is defined as 𝑅𝑆 = 〈𝜌〉/𝑥𝑗 , where 〈𝜌〉 is the diffused layer
average resistance and xj is the junction depth. The average resistance can be evaluated using the graph in
Figure 2.

C0AS

C0P

Fig. 2. Average resistivity as a function of maximum concentration for an n-type Gaussian-doped region.

For Arsenic, an average resistivity 〈𝜌〉 ≅ 6 ∙ 10−3 Ω ∙ 𝑐𝑚 is found. The sheet resistance is therefore:
 6 ∙ 10−3
𝑅𝑆 = = 54⁡Ω/□
1.1 ∙ 10−4
(a) Phosphorus implantation

𝐿𝑃 = 2√𝐷𝑃 𝑡 = 2√2.2 ∙ 10−13 ∙ 4 ∙ 3600 ≅ 1.12 ∙ 10−4 𝑐𝑚 = 1.12𝜇𝑚

𝑆 1015
𝐶0𝑃 = = = 1019 𝑐𝑚−3
√𝜋 0.89 ∙ 1.12 ∙ 10−4
2 𝐿𝑃
𝑥 2 𝑥 2
−( ) −( )
𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶0𝑃 𝑒 𝐿𝑃 = 1019 𝑒 1.12

where x is expressed in micrometers.

The junction depth xj can be calculated with equation 2:

𝐶0𝑃 1019
𝑥𝑗 = 𝐿𝑃 √ln ( ) = 1.12√ln ( 15 ) ≅ 3.4𝜇𝑚
𝑁𝐴 10

Using Figure 2, an average resistivity 〈𝜌〉 ≅ 2 ∙ 10−2 Ω ∙ 𝑐𝑚 is found in this case. The sheet resistance is
therefore:

2 ∙ 10−2
𝑅𝑆 = = 59⁡Ω/□
3.4 ∙ 10−4

Exercise 2

In an n-type silicon wafer doped with ND = 1014 at.As/cm3, a boron ion implantation is performed. The
implanted surface concentration S = 1014 at.B/cm2. Two successive treatments are performed:

a) T = 1100°C for a time t = 1h in inert atmosphere

b) T = 1000°C for a time t = 2h in wet oxidizing atmosphere (H2O)

Calculate:

- The doping profile C(x) and the junction depth xj of the p-type layer at the end of the two thermal
treatments
- The thickness of the grown oxide.

Use the hypothesis that diffusion and oxidation do not interfere with each other.
For the drive-in steps, use DB(1100°C) = 2 ·10-13 cm2/s and DB(1000°C) = 1.5 ·10-14 cm2/s.
For the oxidation step, use B = 0.4μm2/h and B/A = 0.8μm/h.

Solution:

According to the hypothesis of non-interference between diffusion and oxidation, doping profile and oxide
thickness can be calculated independently.

Doping profile and junction depth:

In the described process, boron drive-in is done in two steps at two different temperatures. The total
diffusion length for multiple treatments can be obtained from equation:

𝐿 𝑇𝑂𝑇 = 2√∑ 𝐷𝑖 𝑡𝑖 = √∑ 4𝐷𝑖 𝑡𝑖 = √∑ 𝐿2𝑖 (3)

𝑖 𝑖 𝑖

Where 𝐿𝑖 = 2√𝐷𝑖 𝑡𝑖 is the diffusion length related to a single thermal treatment. In the case of two thermal
treatments, equation 3 is reduced to

𝐿 𝑇𝑂𝑇 = √𝐿2𝑎 + 𝐿2𝑏 (4)

where La and Lb are the diffusion lengths related to the thermal treatments a) and b):

𝐿𝑎 = 2√𝐷𝐵 (1100℃) ∙ 1ℎ = 2√2 ∙ 10−13 ∙ 3600 ≅ 0.54𝜇𝑚

𝐿𝑏 = 2√𝐷𝐵 (1000℃) ∙ 2ℎ = 2√1.5 ∙ 10−14 ∙ 2 ∙ 3600 ≅ 0.21𝜇𝑚

LTOT is finally calculated as:

𝐿 𝑇𝑂𝑇 = √0.542 + 0.212 = 0.58𝜇𝑚

The peak concentration C0 and doping concentration C(x) are then calculated as in a single-step process:

𝑆 1014
𝐶0 = = = 1.9 ∙ 1018 𝑐𝑚−3
√𝜋 0.89 ∙ 0.58 ∙ 10−4
2 𝐿 𝑇𝑂𝑇
𝑥 2 𝑥 2
−( ) −( )
𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶0 𝑒 𝐿𝑇𝑂𝑇 = 1.9 ∙ 1018 𝑒 0.58

The junction depth xj can be calculated with equation:

𝐶0 1.9 ∙ 1018
𝑥𝑗 = 𝐿 𝑇𝑂𝑇 √ln ( ) = 0.58√ln ( ) ≅ 1.8𝜇𝑚
𝑁𝐷 1014

Oxide thickness:

The general equation to calculate oxide thickness is:

𝐴 𝑡+𝜏
𝑋0 = [√1 + 2 − 1] (5)
2 𝐴 /4𝐵

The term 𝜏 is dependent on initial oxide thickness Xi. Since in this case no initial oxide is present, 𝜏 = 0.

The coefficient A can be calculated from the linear and quadratic growth rates B and B/A. The obtained
value is 𝐴 = 0.5𝜇𝑚.

Applying equation 5, the final oxide thickness is therefore:

 0.5 2
𝑋0 = [√1 + 2
− 1] = 0.68𝜇𝑚
2 0.5 /4 ∙ 0.4

Exercise 3

In a p-type silicon wafer, doped with NA = 1016 acc./cm3, design a sequence of treatments at 1100°C so as to
form an n-type surface layer with a junction depth xj = 2.5μm and a maximum concentration C0 = 1019 cm-3,
and a surface thermal oxide with a thickness of 0.1 μm.

Solution:

Since 2.5μm is a medium-large value for a junction depth, it is appropriate to use phosphorus as n-type
dopant, because its diffusivity will allow to create a diffused layer with the required junction depth in a
reasonable time.

The small thickness of the thermal oxide suggests using a dry oxidation, which will allow a better control of
the process.

The process will consist in a low-energy implantation of phosphorus and a drive-in. Taking into account that
a thermal oxide should also be grown, part of the drive in can be performed in an oxygen atmosphere. The
process can therefore be composed by the following steps:

a) Ionic implantation of phosphorus, with a surface dose S to be determined

b) Drive-in in inert atmosphere, at T=1100°C, for a time t1 to be determined
c) Drive-in in oxidizing atmosphere, at T=1100°C, for at time t2 to be determined

The parameters S, t1 and t2 have to be determined according to the problem requirements.

Drive-in:

The diffusion length can be determined from equation 2:

𝑥𝑗 2.5
𝐿= = = 0.95𝜇𝑚
𝐶 1019
√ln ( 0 ) √ln ( 16 )
𝑁𝐴 10
The total drive-in time tTOT=t1+t2, can be calculated from the diffusion length:

𝐿 = 2√𝐷𝑃 𝑡𝑇𝑂𝑇

𝐿2 = 4𝐷𝑃 𝑡𝑇𝑂𝑇

𝐿2 (0.95 ∙ 10−4 )2
𝑡𝑇𝑂𝑇 = = ≅ 104 𝑠 = 2.8ℎ
4𝐷𝑃 4 ∙ 2.2 ∙ 10−13

where a phosphorus diffusion coefficient DP = 2.2 ·10-13 cm2/s at T=1100°C has been considered.

The implanted surface dose S can be determined from surface concentration C0 and diffusion length L:
 𝑆
𝐶0 =
√𝜋
𝐿
2

√𝜋 𝑎𝑡. 𝑃
𝑆= 𝐿𝐶0 = 0.89 ∙ 0.95 ∙ 10−4 ∙ 1019 = 8.4 ∙ 1014 ⁡
2 𝑐𝑚2

Thermal oxidation:

The coefficients of dry oxidation at T=1100°C, as can be determined from graphs or tables are use
B = 0.02μm2/h and B/A = 0.2μm/h. The oxidation time t2 can be determined from:

𝑋02 𝑋0 0.12 0.1

𝑡2 = + = + = 1ℎ
𝐵 𝐵/𝐴 0.02 0.2

The drive-in time t1 in process step b) can thus be determined as 𝑡1 = 𝑡𝑇𝑂𝑇 − 𝑡2 = 2.8 − 1 = 1.8ℎ.

Exercise 4

In an n-type silicon wafer, doped with ND = 1015 don./cm3, the following process is performed:

1) Boron ion implantation at E=50keV, implanted dose S1 = 1015 at./cm2 (consider 𝑅𝑃1 = 0.18𝜇𝑚,
Δ𝑅𝑃1 = 0.06𝜇𝑚).
2) Boron ion implantation at E=100keV, implanted dose S2 = 1015 at./cm2 (consider 𝑅𝑃2 = 0.3𝜇𝑚,
Δ𝑅𝑃1 = 0.08𝜇𝑚).

Determine the as-implanted doping profile and junction depth.

Solution:

An as-implanted doping profile C(x) follows a Gaussian equation

𝑥−𝑅𝑃 2
𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶0 𝑒
−(
𝐿
) (6)

𝑆
where 𝐿 = √2Δ𝑅𝑃 and 𝐶0 = is the peak concentration, located at a depth RP from the surface.
√𝜋𝐿

For multiple implantations, the total concentration CTOT(x) is given by the sum of the separate
concentration profiles:

𝐶𝑇𝑂𝑇 (𝑥) = 𝐶1 (𝑥) + 𝐶2 (𝑥)

Where C1(x) and C2(x) are determined with equation 6.

Calculation of C1:

𝐿1 = √2Δ𝑅𝑃2 = 0.085𝜇𝑚
𝑆1
𝐶01 = = 6.6 ∙ 1019 𝑐𝑚−3
√𝜋𝐿1
 𝑥−𝑅𝑃1 2 𝑥−0.18 2
−( ) −( )
𝐶1 (𝑥) = 𝐶01 𝑒 𝐿1 = 6.6 ∙ 1019 𝑒 0.085

Calculation of C2:

𝐿2 = √2Δ𝑅𝑃2 = 0.11𝜇𝑚
𝑆2
𝐶02 = = 5.1 ∙ 1019 𝑐𝑚−3
√𝜋𝐿2
𝑥−𝑅𝑃2 2 𝑥−0.3 2
−( ) 19 −( 0.11 )
𝐶2 (𝑥) = 𝐶02 𝑒 𝐿2 = 5.1 ∙ 10 𝑒

The junction depth can be obtained by solving the equation:

𝑁𝐷 = 𝐶𝑇𝑂𝑇 (𝑥𝑗 ) (7)

At the point xj, we can use the hypothesis 𝐶2 (𝑥𝑗 ) ≫ 𝐶1 (𝑥𝑗 ) to simplify the calculation. This hypothesis will
be verified later. Equation 7 can be therefore approximated with:

𝑥𝑗 −𝑅𝑃2 2
𝑁𝐷 ≅ 𝐶2 (𝑥𝑗 ) = 𝐶02 𝑒
−(
𝐿2
) (8)

Solving equation 8 for xj gives:

𝐶02 5.1 ∙ 1019

𝑥𝑗 = 𝑅𝑃2 + 𝐿2 √ln ( ) = 0.3 + 0.11√ln ( ) = 0.66𝜇𝑚
𝑁𝐷 1015

To verify the hypothesis 𝐶2 (𝑥𝑗 ) ≫ 𝐶1 (𝑥𝑗 ), we can calculate the value 𝐶1 (𝑥𝑗 ):

0.66−0.18 2
−( )
𝐶1 (𝑥𝑗 ) = 6.6 ∙ 1019 𝑒 0.085 = 9 ∙ 105 𝑐𝑚−3 ≪ 𝐶2 (𝑥𝑗 ) = 1015 𝑐𝑚−3

The hypothesis is thus verified.