Diffusion:

Diffusion of Impurities:

Impurities can be doped into a semiconductor to form a p-n junction by thermal diffusion and
ion implantation.

Ion implantation:

It is performed with an electric field which accelerates the ionized atoms or molecules so that
these particles penetrate into the target material until they come to rest because of interactions
with the silicon atoms. Unfortunately, after ion implantation the crystal structure is damaged
which implies worse electrical properties, hence less useful.
Diffusion:
Diffusion is the movement of impurity atoms in a semiconductor material at high temperatures.
The driving force of diffusion is the concentration gradient. There is a wide range of diffusivities
for the various dopant species, which depend on how easy the respective dopant impurity can
move through the material. Diffusion is applied to anneal the crystal defects after ion
implantation or to introduce dopant atoms into silicon from a chemical vapor source. In the last
case the diffusion time and temperature determine the depth of dopant penetration. Diffusion is
used to form the source, drain, and channel regions in a MOS transistor. But diffusion can also
be an unwanted parasitic effect, because it takes place during all high temperature process steps.
Unlike processes such as ion implantation, it does not produce crystal damage; thus high-quality
junctions, with a minimum leakage current, can be made easily by this method.
Dopant incorporation by diffusion takes place at high temperatures ~1000°C in a furnace; usually
involves two processes: pre-deposition followed by drive-in.
Pre-deposition is a process where the wafer surface is in contact with a fixed concentration of the
dopant source.

 During pre-deposition, the required amount of dopant diffuses into the semiconductor.

 In the drive-in process, the semiconductor is heated in an inert environment to cause a

redistribution of the pre-deposited dopant to a desired profile.
Boron is the most common p-type impurity in silicon, whereas arsenic and phosphorus are used
extensively as n-type dopants. These three elements are highly soluble in silicon with
solubilities exceeding 5 x 1020 atoms / cm3 in the diffusion temperature range (between 800oC
and 1200oC). These dopants can be introduced via several means, including solid sources (BN
for B, As2O3 for As, and P2O5 for P), liquid sources (BBr3, AsCl3, and POCl3), and gaseous
sources (B2H6, AsH3, and PH3). Usually, the gaseous source is transported to the semiconductor
surface by an inert gas (e.g., N2).

Figure 1: Comparison of (a) diffusion and (b) ion implantation for the selective introduction of
dopants into a semiconductor substrate.

Annealing
Introduction:

Silicon wafer annealing is a high-temperature furnace operation that can relieve stress in silicon,
activate or move dopants, densify deposited or grown films, and repair implant damage in wafer
processing. It can also change film-to-film or film-to-substrate interfaces for wafers with
multiple films, bonded wafers. During ion implantation process, the crystal substrate is damaged
due to bombardment with high energy ions. The damage caused can be repaired by subjecting
the crystal to high temperature. This process is called annealing. Furnace anneals may be
integrated into other furnace processing steps, such as oxidations, or may be processed on their
own.

Increasingly, furnace anneals are being supplanted by Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA) or Rapid
Thermal Processing (RTP). This is due to the relatively long thermal cycles of furnaces that
causes the dopants that are being activated, especially boron, to diffuse farther than is intended.
RTP or RTA fixes this by having thermal cycles for each wafer that is of the order of minutes
rather than hours for furnace anneals.
What are Annealed Silicon Wafers?
In the case of silicon wafers, annealing is often used to improve the surface roughness and
crystal quality of the wafer. It can also be used to remove defects and impurities from the surface
of the wafer. There are several different methods that can be used to anneal silicon wafers,
including rapid thermal annealing (RTA), furnace annealing, and laser annealing. The specific
method used will depend on the desired properties of the annealed wafer and the equipment
available.

Annealed silicon wafers are used in a variety of applications, including the production of
microelectronic devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits (ICs). They are also used as a
substrate for the growth of thin films and as a starting material for the production of other
silicon-based materials. In addition to these applications, annealed silicon wafers are also used in
research and development for a variety of other applications.