Mohamed Saleem & Sowmya Krishnan, Ultra Clean Technology

ABSTRACT

Several semiconductor processing steps, such as rapid thermal processing (RTP), oxidation, photoresist strip/ashing, post-metal etch passivation, utilize steam to accelerate growth rates or removal rates. In RTP and oxidation processes, the use of steam as a process gas provides the ability to grow thin, highquality dense oxides that have fewer defects and exhibit low interfacial stresses. In photoresist strip processes, controlled addition of a small amount of steam has been shown to improve the ashing rates and facilitate the removal of sidewall residues. 

Charles Ortloff, CTC/United Defense, Santa Clara, California, USA

ABSTRACT

Erosive wear in slurry delivery circuitry is a source of particulate matter that may add contaminants into CMP processing streams. Using wear reduction methods developed from the oil and gas industries for piping networks, methods to predict and mitigate erosive wear are described that have application to fluid circuitry used for FAB applications

Steve Holland, Techcet Group, LLC, USA 

ABSTRACT

Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) has become a pervasive process used inmanufacturing virtually every sub-0.25 um generation semiconductor wafer that has a multilevel metal structure. CMP is generally considered to have a high cost of ownership due to the high consumables, and specifically slurry, cost. This article describes technologies that lower cost by
delivering precise and reproducible amounts of slurry to the pad. No longer do chip manufacturers have to use excess slurry flow to insure a minimum slurry flow. There is also antidotal evidence from early adapters of controlled slurry flow devices that using reproducible amounts of slurry can enhance the wafer yields. Furthermore, improved slurry or chemistry metering to the CMP tool will allow optimizing the slurry used by process, or even at different steps of the process. These new flow controltechnologies allow
controlled flow without compressive action on the slurry and without any obstruction to the flow, thus greatly reducing the risk of
defect generation or particle agglomeration.

John West, VLSI Research

ABSTRACT

In recent years equipment manufacturers have increasingly looked to their supply base for the design and engineering of subsystems and components for their products. At the same time we’ve seen the end users of equipment also taking advantage of these companies’ expertise to improve the productivity and performance of their installed tools. Both these trends have contributed to the subsystem industry’s raised profile beyond that of mere suppliers of components. 

Scott Robichaud & Katsuhiro Ohnishi, Asahi

ABSTRACT

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) slurry systems have created many new challenges in the semiconductor fabrication industry.
Certain types of CMP slurries consisting of suspended solids in solution are abrasive, and traditional components used in wet process
systems, such as diaphragm valves, can damage these slurries.