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A crucial requirement for emerging 300-mm wafer fabrication facilities is recognizing and addressing the many risks associated with full factory automation. While pieces of such automation have been successfully applied for 200-mm wafer production, 300 mm dramatically increases the need for automated material-handling systems throughout the fab, the expansive software control for work-in-process (WIP) planning and scheduling, and service and support. It is also important to know that while autom

Plasma processing is critical to semiconductor manufacturing because it provides the means to create and control chemical reactions at the wafer surface that would otherwise not be available. Conventional anisotropic plasma-etch systems operate at low pressure, require sophisticated vacuum systems, and have low etch rates. Conventional isotropic etch systems operate at higher pressures and have somewhat higher etch rates. Neither approach provides the etch rates necessary for the economic remova

The challenge in integrating oxide CMP for shallow trench isolation is to expose silicon nitride completely across all active regions, with minimal nitride loss and oxide dishing. Device patterns strongly influence the CMP process. Proper CMP tool settings minimize pattern dependence and trench dishing as a function of overpolish, and a high selectivity slurry minimizes nitride loss. The combination of these two results in a CMP process with a large process window.

With some sessions spilling out into hallways, the 1998 Spring Materials Research Society (MRS) meeting in San Francisco updated some 2000 attendees on the latest work on copper, low-k as well as high-k dielectrics, and a wide variety of other topics in the forefront of semiconductor and thin film processing and materials.

Charles G. Noll, ITW Static Control and Air Products, SIMCO Static Control and Cleanroom Products, Hatfield, Pennsylvania

Just as surface-mount packaging technology (SMT) gradually won over converts from through-hole technology, chip- scale packaging (CSP) is now gaining as a replacement for SMT. Unlike the previous transition, however, rapidly accelerating microelectronic systems` demands, particularly related to system size and chip integration gains, seem destined to drive the adoption of CSP quite rapidly - some forecasts show up to 100% compound annual growth rate. CSP itself is in an application`s race with i

New model-based, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy epitaxial silicon characterization techniques have significantly better accuracy and precision than current techniques. They also provide additional information about the doping profile. The new methods improve precision by a factor of 10, and accuracy by a factor of 2-10, extending the range of epi film characterization below 0.25 ?m. With today`s computers, this technique is fast enough for in-line applications with no degradation

Emir G?rer, Tom Zhong, John Lewellen, Reese Reynolds, Silicon Valley Group, Track Division, San Jose, California

In five years of industrial R&D operation, the advanced lithography facility (ALF) has proved the viability of synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray lithography for IC manufacturing. The Oxford Helios electron storage ring (ESR) has been shown to be reliable and easily controlled. Specially adapted commercial equipment deals successfully with such unique x-ray lithography issues as keeping large particles out of small mask/wafer gaps.

Careful examination of the 1997 National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS) specifications for critical dimension and overlay tolerance reveals areas where the industry needs more detail and better definition of terminologies. This need is especially important considering that the time is at hand when the industry has to choose among the potential successors to optical lithography and begin the process of comparative evaluations so the applicable lithography methods are available for I

A new in situ vacuum surface-cleaning process uses microcluster beams formed by electrohydrodynamic emission from capillaries to clean surfaces contaminated by solid particulates and organic films. Proposed surface-cleaning mechanisms include a model based on transfer of impulsive forces during collisions between microclusters and solid particles. Microschocks induced in thin contaminant films during microcluster impact are also discussed.

The RTP market has withstood the uncertainties of the marketplace better than hot-wall furnaces or, indeed, better than the overall semiconductor equipment market. In 1997, a weak growth year for the total field of semiconductor production equipment, RTP still grew over 20%, just as we expected it would a year ago. Table 1 shows the recent growth patterns of the RTP market divided into its three segments - basic RTP, RTEpi, and RTCVD. Basic RTP employs heat to affect such processes as annealing,

While most of Asia wallows in debt, Taiwan chipmakers are pushing ahead rapidly with fab expansion plans backed by more than $100 billion in foreign reserves its banks have piled up over the past few decades.

The World Semiconductor Council (WSC) opened council membership to Taiwan and China at its second annual gathering, where meeting sponsor Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) also announced that it will allow international participation in the development of the next semiconductor technology Roadmap, due out in 1999.

In a relatively short time, Windows NT has gained a prominent place in industry, including semiconductor manufacturing automation applications. Software vendors are now providing, even via the Internet, off-the-shelf Component Object Model (COM)-based automation solutions - semiconductor equipment communications standard (SECS) and generic equipment model (GEM) interfaces or drivers - that significantly shorten the time to develop, certify, and deploy semiconductor manufacturing automation. For

Novellus Systems Inc., in an alliance with Lam Research Corp., Integrated Process Equipment Corp. (IPEC), and OnTrak, has unveiled Damascus Complete Copper, a full spectrum of equipment and processes for copper interconnect structures.

CuTek, a San Jose, CA, startup firm working to commercialize electrochemical copper deposition (ECD) technology, says it has successfully filled 0.25-?m, 8:1 aspect ratio contact holes with no voids or seams. The company is about to go to beta test with its as-yet unnamed cluster ECD tool, and hopes to begin offering the tool for purchase in early 1999, competing with offerings from Semitool Inc.

The Semiconductor300 joint venture between Motorola and Siemens is reportedly the world`s first 300-mm wafer fabrication facility, and as such will have to try many experiments and grapple with a number of immature product sets when wafers begin to run by the end of this year. The type of problems faced by the Dresden, Germany, fab`s managers gives a sense of just how challenging it is to be the icebreaker at the 300-mm party.

The combination of optical proximity correction (OPC) design features with alternating phase-shift photomasks (PSM) has been shown to have real potential for a manufacturable process window at less than half the wavelength of light. Reported results from SEMATECH`s Delphi Project cites good critical dimension (CD) control of 100-nm features on the wafer using 248-nm deep ultra-violet wavelength exposure on 4? lithography systems (see figure).

A recent worldwide survey by the Arthur D. Little consulting firm has found a generally improving outlook for production and availability of high-purity calcium fluoride (CaF2), a critical material for 193-nm optics, but the survey`s leader says it is too soon to know whether shortages of the material will limit widespread rampup of 193-nm technology.

A newly formed private corporation, United States Advanced Lithography, is seeking $50 million in funding to develop extreme UV lithography under license from the Extreme UV Limited Liability Corp. (EUV LLC), and will also keep open the possibility of commercializing other post-optical litho technologies.

A recent computation by chemists with the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) suggests that a definitive reference on a fundamental property of boron is wrong. Specifically, this recent work shows that the accepted heat of formation for boron (i.e., 132.7 ? 3.0 kcal/mol) in the JANAF (Joint Army Navy Air Force) Thermochemical Tables has an error of > 2%. It is interesting that a similar heat of formation value was suggested by a 1977 experiment (Storms & Muelle

CMOS technology, specifically active pixel imaging, may soon get you in and out of your dentist`s chair faster. The enabling circuit is a CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) imaging "camera-on-a chip" from Photobit, La Crescenta, CA. In product form, this plastic encapsulated chip has a green-phosphor scintillator coating that when struck by x-rays emits visible light that is conducted through a fiber optics faceplate and onto the CMOS imager (see figure). As such, it is a solid state replacement for

With a growing business in on-tool film thickness measuring systems for CMP, Nova Measuring Instruments, Rehovoth, Israel, hopes to expand its offerings to provide comparable on-line capabilities for CVD processes later this year, and measurements other than film thickness in 1999.

The University of Michigan College of Engineering has been awarded a $1.6 million US Army grant to design an artificial eye on a microchip - an optoelectronic device capable of sensing and processing light. Led by Professor Pallab Bhattacharya, director of the U-M Solid State Electronics Laboratory, researchers hope to combine lenses, tiny lasers, and tunable light detectors to build the chip.

Fourth month-to-month decline for chip sales. Worldwide semiconductor sales dipped less than 1% on a month-to-month basis in March, but fell a sharp 4.9% from year-ago levels, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association`s Global Sales Report (see table). This is the fourth consecutive month-to-month decline, and the first dip below year-ago levels in the past 12 months. World chip sales were $10.429 billion in March, down slightly from $10.525 billion in February, and down from $10.967 b

Japan tool orders down. February orders at Japanese toolmakers are 67.5 billion yen ($514 million), 35% below year-ago levels, and 23% below the 87.7 billion yen level of January, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan. This is the third straight month of year-over-year declines. Chipmakers in Japan ordered 30.25 billion yen ($230 million) worth of tools, both Japanese and imports. This is down 45% from a year earlier.

Anticipating a second-half surge in foundry business, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will maintain its plans for a 40% capacity expansion in 1998 and expects to be running flat out by the end of the year. In addition, as part of its strategy of attaining process technology parity with the world`s top chipmakers, the foundry giant expects to take the first designs for pilot 0.18-?m production early in the third quarter, and start production ramp of the next-generation geometry in e

Johnson Matthey is investing approximately 3 million UK pounds ($5 million) to add manufacturing and technical support to its 22,000-ft2 Widnes facility, which is now slated to become the company`s primary electronic materials production site in Europe. The work is part of an overall reorganization of the company`s electronic materials business in Europe. Construction will begin this month; the new facility is expected to be operational by the spring of 1999.

ShellCase Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel, has entered an agreement with Xicor Inc., Milpitas, CA, under which Xicor has agreed to license the ShellCase wafer-level CSP manufacturing process technology and buy ShellCase CSPs as well. The licensed technology will be transferred to Xicor`s main manufacturing facilities, while ShellCase will begin CSP production for Xicor in the near future. The wafer-level technology transfer is a nonending agreement, while ShellCase will provide its true CSP BGA, the She

Practically applied Web technology on an intranet has proven to be feasible and advantageous in a semiconductor materials production environment. The system provides data and information management, including data acquisition, processing, distribution, and work tracking. This model application includes classic data distribution via static Web pages, and dynamic interactive information exchange in real time between metrology instruments and a database via the Web server. As such, Web technology o