Jul 12 2005
Aviza Technology, Inc., a global supplier of production-proven thermal process and atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems, and the SEZ Group, the market leader and premier innovator in single-wafer wet processing solutions for the semiconductor industry, today announced they are joining forces to solve key challenges surrounding ALD film removal for next-generation IC manufacturing. Under a joint development agreement, both companies intend to leverage their expertise to develop solutions for deposition and removal of advanced films used in ALD applications, concentrating on the wafer backside and bevel edge.
“With the ever-increasing complexity of semiconductor devices, backside and bevel-edge film removal is playing an increasingly important role in the IC manufacturing process,” said Dr. Leo Archer, director of emerging technologies worldwide, SEZ. “Our collaboration with Aviza will be mutually rewarding, as we are both well positioned to address the intricacies of film deposition and removal at the sub-90-nm node. By developing, characterizing and refining processes for ALD film removal, we can provide our customers with the solutions they need to address advanced manufacturing challenges.”
Anneal conditions often dictate the degree of complexity associated with backside and bevel-edge filmremoval processes. As levels of crystallization increase, annealed films require custom recipes and chemistries to ensure proper removal, while maintaining the integrity of film properties and decreasing cross contamination—resulting in increased yields. Due to their intricate composition, advanced films targeted for 45-nm high-κ gate dielectrics—such as hafnium oxide (HfO), hafnium silicate (HfSiO) and hafnium silicate oxynitride (HfSiO/N), as well as metals like ruthenium (Ru)—pose even greater challenges at these filmremoval stages. The challenge is to selectively remove contamination caused by these materials from the backside and bevel edge of the wafer with a controlled wrap to the front side in order to prevent crosscontamination and particle generation. These can cause issues with device performance, film delamination, lithography problems, and ultimately, device yield. Selectivity is important because it is not alwaysadvantageous or possible to remove too much of the underlying substrate material, be it silicon, oxide or nitride. Excessive etching can remove a necessary diffusion barrier and can affect wafer flatness and uniformity.
SEZ’s Spin Processor technology offers advantages for this sort of process, as it allows a patterned wafer to be processed face down on the patented Bernoulli chuck. Moreover, the combined chuck, chemical dispense system and chamber allow highly controlled wraparound to the front side of the wafer to predefined distances.
“The development of materials and processes for ALD applications is key to accelerating the ALD roadmap and driving the adoption of ALD,” said Jon Owyang, director of ALD product management at Aviza Technology. “Aviza is continually evaluating and developing advanced films to complement next-generation manufacturing processes. By entering into a collaboration with SEZ, we intend to leverage our core areas of expertise to develop advanced manufacturing and process solutions for our customers that meet requirements for backside trace materials and backside particle levels.”