Activities in Plasma Process Technology at SENTECH Instruments GmbH, Berlin Dr. Frank Schmidt
The Company
Company Private company, founded 1990 80 employees ISO 9001 Location Science & Technology Park, Berlin-Adlershof, Germany Business fields Equipment for Plasma Process Technology Equipment for Thin Film Metrology Strengths: Application support After sales service Plasma process single tools for CVD, RIE and ALD Plasma process tools combined in clusters Plasma process tools with combined technologies
Plasma process single tools for Etching, Deposition and ALD
Etching SI 500 ICP-RIE and RIE SI 500 C Cryogenic RIE SI 500 DRIE Bosch Deposition SI 500 D ICPECVD and PECVD Applications: AR coatings, Pass filters, Transparent coatings, Barrier layers, Dielectric layers, Isolating layers, Doping and Contact layers, Etch stop layers and masking, MEMS, Lab On Chip, Encapsulation, Scratch protection, Passivation layers, Materials: Si (doped), SiO x, Si x N y, SiC, Si-C-N, Si-O-N, a-si, a-c:h, DLC, InP, In(Ga)As, (Al)GaAs, (Al)GaN, HgCdTe, ZnO, AZO, Al 2 O 3, HfO 2, SiO 2, TiO 2, GaO 2, Si x N y, TiN, TaN, AlN, Ag, Pt, Advantages: ICP source Planar Triple Spiral Antenna High plasma density; Tight energy distribution; Low pressure ignition Dynamic temperature control Stable process temperatures; Fast heating/cooling Adaptive substrate handling Flexibility in wafer sizes; No reactor modification; Processing of pieces for R&D Loading by Loadlock, Cassette or manually Processing up to 300mm Compatibility in cluster configuration Through The Wall installation SECS/GEM compatibility Atomic Layer Deposition SI ALD ALD and PEALD processes
Plasma process tools combined in clusters
3-Port-Cluster 4-Port-Cluster 6-Port-Cluster Loading station: Load-Lock or Cassette Processing of single substrates and carriers, especially sample pieces Processing of multiple substrates and carriers, including mapping and slide-out sensors Transfer module Available as 3-, 4-, 6-port configuration Allows higher throughput Avoid crossing effects Minimize operator impact Integrable process modules Reactive Ion Etching: RIE, ICP-RIE, DRIE, Cryogenic Chemical Vapor Deposition: PECVD, ICPECVD Atomic Layer Deposition: Thermal ALD, PEALD
ICP-RIE 3 4M2C Cluster Application (Example): ICP-RIE 1 ICP-RIE 2 ICP-RIE 4 ICP-RIE1, ICP-RIE4: Metal Etching Chlorine based chemistry Temperature range 0 80 C ICP-RIE2, ICP-RIE3 Resist Etching Oxygen chemistry Temperature range -20 40 C Advantages Compatibility with 8 Wafers (thickness 0,5 6,5mm) 6-Port Transfer system for high throughput of 60wafers/h and process mixing 2 vacuum cassette loading ports with 5, 16, 18 or 25 slots ICP-RIE process module include: PTSA ICP source RF Substrate Bias Height adjustable Electrode System OES process control
ICP-RIE 2 ICPECVD ICP-RIE 1 ICP-RIE 2 Further Example (3M2C): 2 cassette loading ports; compatibility with 6 wafers; 3 process ports: ICPECVD: Silicon-Oxide and Silicon-Nitride deposition (RT 300 C) ICP-RIE 1: Fluorine based chemistry Silicon-Oxide and Silicon-Nitride etching (-20 200 C) ICP-RIE 2: Fluorine based chemistry Si etching (-20 200 C) Empty port: optional for DRIE or Cryo process ICP-RIE 2 ICP-RIE 1 Further Example (2M1L): 1 manual loading port; compatibility with 8 wafers; 2 process ports: ICP-RIE 1: Chlorine based chemistry etching of III-V compounds with SLI (-30 250 C) ICP-RIE 2: Fluorine based chemistry etching of dielectrics and Si (-30 250 C) ICP-RIE 1 Further Example (2M1L): 1 manual loading port; compatibility with 6 ; 2 process ports: ICPECVD: Silicon Oxides and Nitrides (RT 400 C) PEALD: Al2O3, HfO2, TiO2, Ta2O5, ZrO2, SiO2, Si3N4 with RTM (RT 500 C)
Plasma process tools with combined technologies
Inductive Coupled Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition for Optical Coatings SILAYO SILAYO Applications: Optical AR coatings Multilayers for optical filters SILAYO Advantages Flexible Sample size up to 300mm in diameter and 100mm in height Deposition of optical materials: Al 2 O 3, SiO 2, TiO 2 HfO 2, Ta 2 O 5, ZrO 2, Nb 2 O 5 PTSA plasma source for high thin-film uniformity of less than 1% @ 8 Processing of 3D shape structures with high conformity ICP enhancement for low deposition temperatures Tuning of layer properties by independent plasma and bias control
Combining Inductive Coupled Plasma Enhanced CVD and ALD in one reactor for Encapsulation layers SIPAR SIPAR Applications: ICPECVD of Silicon based Oxides, Nitrides and Oxynitrides ALD of Oxides (Al 2 O 3, TiO 2 ) Hybrid multilayers for encapsulation SIPAR Advantages PTSA plasma source for high thin-film uniformity Efficient and flexible processes, switching between ICPECVD and ALD Fully automated deposition of hybrid multilayers ICP enhancement for low deposition temperatures and low damage for sensitive samples Cost effective solution with optimized footprint for hybrid multilayers
Applications - Examples
Application: Lab On Chip Silicon: Microfluidic Devices and MEMS Using CRYOGENIC etch process Reactor SI 500 C Etch rate 4 µm/min Etch gases SF 6 /O 2 Selectivity (Si:SiO 2 mask) 350:1 Temperature 75 C Sidewall surface after etching: R a = 1.3 nm Courtesy of TU Braunschweig
Application: Catalytic Electrodes for Energy Harvesting Silicon: pillar etching with low sidewall roughness Using BOSCH etch process Parameter Value Etch depth 50 µm Etch rate 1.6 μm/min Selectivity (Si:PR) 45:1 4 inch wafer with >75% open silicon measured scallop depth < 30 nm (roughness)
Application: Insulator layers with high 3D conformity for electrical devices Dielectrics: ALD of Al 2 O 3 MIM structure AR = 10 50 nm Al2O3 T5 T4 T3 T2 T1 PEALD: 30 nm Al 2 O 3 deposited at 200 C => 8 MV/cm breakthrough field strength T3 top T3 bottom
How to find us at SEMICON
Visit us Hall A4, Booth A401 - Thanks for your attention - SENTECH GmbH (Krailling bei München) SENTECH Instruments GmbH (Berlin)