Objective
The main aim of PROMIMPS was to combine and integrate process steps required for sub-micron ASIC and memory device fabrication in CMOS, bipolar or BICMOS technology.
The major target of this work is to combine and integrate process steps which are required for submicron application specific integrated circuit and memory device fabrication in complementary metal oxide semiconductor or bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology in an automated manufacturing system, where the wafer is transported under vacuum conditions from one process chamber to the next. AST Elektronik GmbH has built up and integrated a rapid thermal process (RTP) chamber into the clusterline concept CLC 9000 of Balzers. RTP offers a cold wall system for high temperature wafer processing. In contrast to furnace annealing the wafer itself is heated very quickly to high temperature by radiation. This minimizes contamination. As a cold-wall system RTP collects the advantages of vacuum and low pressure technology. In highly integrated circuits, manufacturing in silicon technology is often a high temperature and atmospheric pressure process step combined with a low temperature and low pressure step, sensitive to ambient and surface contamination. Integration of the process sequence into a multichamber high vacuum system can avoid ambient and surface contamination problems. This would be helpful for various processes like titanium silicidation or aluminium reflow. The RTP cell could be used on a modified basis also for other applications.
The main aim of PROMIMPS is to combine and integrate process steps required for submicron application specific integrated curcuit (ASIC) and memory device fabrication in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar of bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BICMOS) technology. Using an already developed and tested multichamber equipment platform with up to 9 separate process chambers, the integration of the following 3 multistep processes for the fabrication of multilayer interconnections is being realised:
advanced multimetal sputtering;
metal chemical vapour deposition (CVD);
dielectric planarisation.
In situ measurement and control of vacuum and process conditions (during the process) and an online examination (after the process) of deposited films lie within the scope of the project.
A multimetal sputter system was manufactured and, after successful acceptance tests, was shipped for process development and qualification. The RPT module has been integrated with the system. The prototype module for W-CVD was developed and installed. Functional testing is under way. The plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) module is near completion and will be evaluated.
In situ measurement and control of vacuum and process conditions (during the process) and an online examination (after the process) of deposited films lay within the scope of the project.
An important objective was to demonstrate the technological advantages of integrated processes and their cost-effectiveness, including yield and wafer cycle time considerations. Process integration demands process isolation, the cleanliness of the deposit, and a high vacuum environment during transport between the process chambers. The standard equipment configuration is a single wafer processing, cassette-to-cassette fully automated system. Modules capable of performing one or more process steps are fitted to the central handling unit, allowing the integration of up to nine vacuum-isolated process steps.
The overall system aims at an open architecture with standardised mechanical and electrical interfaces compatible with MESA (Modular Electronic Standard Architecture), allowing the later integration of further process modules from a worldwide supplier base.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrypost-transition metals
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
Data not availableCoordinator
81539 München
Germany