Course Description
The continuous scaling of integrated circuits has necessitated wafer fab processes that are increasingly complex. The smaller geometries, higher aspect ratios, tighter process specifications, and ever-expanding palette of thin film materials present a huge challenge for wafer cleaning. This full-day on-site course provides a comprehensive examination of silicon wafer cleaning and surface preparation techniques used in the manufacture of advanced silicon ICs. Participants will learn, in detail, why and how wafers are cleaned at specific steps of conventional wafer fab processes. Topics covered include
- types and forms of contaminants
- the physics and chemistry of particle adhesion
- wet chemical clean chemistries – e.g., RCA clean and variants, solvent cleans
- dry cleaning chemistries – e.g., UV/ozone, supercritical fluids, plasma
- mechanical cleaning – e.g., scrubbing, megasonic energy, cryogenic aerosols
- cleaning methodologies and equipment
- cleaning strategies and challenges
- key cleaning steps – e.g., post-implant, pre-thermal, post-etch, post-CMP
- characterization and process monitoring/control
- new cleaning techniques to address new challenges – e.g., extreme aspect ratios, new high-/low-k dielectrics, 3-D gates
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for semiconductor industry professionals who wish to enhance or update their knowledge of wafer cleaning and surface preparation. These include
- process engineers and technicians
- equipment engineers and technicians
- process integration engineers
- yield engineers
- production supervisors
- technical managers
- equipment/materials sales/marketing experts
Course Notes
A comprehensive, detailed course manual is provided.
Course Fee and Additional Information
To schedule this course at your site or for additional information, including course fees, please contact the course instructor.