Cleanroom

Considerations for
ESD Control
Christopher W. Long
IBM
2007 SEMI NA ESD Workshop
Agenda

z Cleanroom/Environment Static Charge

Challenges
z Control Strategies
z Case Studies
z Summary and Acknowledgements
Static Charge Problems:
Contamination and ESD
Static Charge
+
Static Charge + --- ---
--

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Yield Throughput

Pellicles Wafers Equipment

Equipment Surfaces Integrated
Circuits Reticles

Contamination ESD Damage Process Interruptions

Clean Environments and Static Charge
z Clearly many industries require “Clean
Manufacturing”
z But with Clean Manufacturing also comes:
ªLowered Humidity Levels
ªProcess-Required Insulators
ªUltra-Clean Surfaces
ªProcesses which involve product movement
ªLack of naturally occurring ions
z All of which can be contributors to elevated
static charge levels in and around product
 Static Charge and Humidity
Electrostatic Voltage Levels Generated by Produiction Personnel
40000

10-20% RH
65-90% RH
30000
Voltage Level

20000

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Source: IEST-RP-CC022.2 Electrostatic Charge in Cleanrooms and Other Controlled

Environments
Humidity

z Cleanroom humidity level specs intentionally

kept at low levels
ªTypically between 30 and 45% RH
ªDriven by tooling, product requirements
z Humidity can affect levels of generated static
charge
ªHowever provides ineffective method of static
control once it exists
Process Required Insulators

z Many insulators in clean environments

z Example items and maximum charge levels
ªOxide Coated Wafers 5-10KV/in
ªCarriers 20KV/in
ªEnclosure Materials >20KV/in
ªPlastic Films/Tape >10KV/in
ªTeflon >10KV/in
ªCeramic 10KV/in
z Cannot ground an insulator!
Ultra-Clean Surfaces

z Cleanroom protocol typically calls for

frequent cleaning of surfaces, Result:
ªMinimize conductive film of
contamination that helps dissipative
charge
ªAct of cleaning/wiping surfaces can
itself can result in tribo-charging of
insulators
Product Movement and Other Sources
of Tribo-Charging

z Product z Personnel
handling/movement
ªTweezers ªIn chairs
ªRobots ªOn floor
ªPliers ªAgainst walls
ªRollers z Product Storage
z Wet and Cryogenic ªIn/Out of carriers
Processes
ªMoving across work
ªCleaning
surfaces
ªEtch
z Wipe Down z Packing/Unpacking
z Environmental ªPacking material
ªLow humidity ªSheet protectors
ªHigh temperature
Static Charge is a Contamination Issue
•Charged surfaces attract contamination
•Very difficult to remove!
 Deposition Velocity vs. Particle Size
•Deposition velocities shown for:
1
• Gravitational

Deposition Velocity (cm/sec)

• Diffusion 10 -1

• Electrostatic
-2
10
(at 200 volts/cm and
2000 volts/cm) 10 -3

• Combined for 200 V/cm

10-4

Gravitational 10
-5

Electrostatic 200V 0.01 0.1 1 10

Electrostatic 2000V
Particle Diameter (microns)
Diffusion
Combined for 200V Source: D.W. Cooper, et al
IBM Research Report
Electric Fields Drive Discharges

Static charge on plates and adjacent objects

(i.e. rollers) drive discharges!
ESD Discharge Currents are Large
q=CV
with V= 5000 V,
150 mm q= 100 nC
2.5 cm

20 pF.

i = 50 Amps !!!
This causes large EMI Transients
 Exact Timing to Effect a µP

ESD Events

µP Clock
Agenda

z Cleanroom/Environment Static Charge

Challenges
z Control Strategies
z Case Studies
z Summary and Acknowledgements
Key Elements of Electrostatic Charge Control
z Ground All Conductors
ªEstablish plan to assure that tool components are
grounded
z Ground Personnel
ªStatic control garments, ESD shoes, Wrist straps as
required
z Implement static dissipative materials when
possible
z Use room or tool ionization to reduce static
charge values to tolerable levels on required
insulators
Problem: How To Dissipate Static
Charge on an Insulator?
Solution: Make the Air Conductive

Air Ions neutralize surface charge by contact.

 Types of Commercially Available
Ionizers
z Radioactive - ionizing alpha particles
ªPo210 alpha particles which collide with air
molecules and ionize them.
z AC Corona Discharge
ª Applies 50/60 Hz AC HV to a grid of emitter
points.
z DC Corona Discharge
ªDC of both polarities is fed to discrete emitters
for each polarity
z Soft X-ray
ª5-10 keV photons use the photoelectric effect.
ªGenerate ions in a volume not a point
 ANSI ESD S20.20 ESD Control Program
Overview
Ground/Bond all conductors

Control Charges on
Nonconductors
Based on three fundamental principles
Use protective packaging for
transit and storage

The “Plan” defines program:

•Documented Plan
•Training Plan
Administrative Requirements
•Compliance Verification Plan

•Grounding/Bonding
Technical Requirements •Personnel Grounding
•Protected Area Requirements
•Packaging Requirements
IEST RP CC002.2 (2004)

z “Recommended Practices: Electrostatic

Charge in Cleanrooms and other Controlled
Environments”
z Purpose:
ªProvide guidance in specifying components of
overall static control system for clean rooms
IEST RP CC002.2 Basic Methods

z Electrostatic Charge Control (ESCC)/Electrostatic

Discharge Control (ESDC) Basic Methods
ªGround all tool/facilities components
ªReasonable and appropriate use of conductive/static
dissipative materials
‹Includes personnel garmenting
ªUse of local and/or room ionization to control charge on
insulators
ªImplementation of personnel training in area of ESD
control
Agenda

z Cleanroom/Environment Static Charge

Challenges
z Control Strategies
z Case Studies
z Summary and Acknowledgements
Case Study # 1

z International SEMATECH (ISMT) and ION

Systems study of static control on particle adders
in semiconductor photolithographic process
ª“Measurement of Effects of a Static Control Program
on ESA in the Photolithographic Process” SEMICON
West 2000, Andy Rudack, Intl. SEMATECH & Larry
Levit, ION Systems
ISMT Litho Bay Study

z Focus on ISMT litho bay consisting of:

ª193nm DUV Stepper
ªPhoto Resist Coat/Develop Track for 193nm support
ª248 DUV Scanner
ª248 DUV Photo Resist Coat/Develop Track
ªIn-Line CD SEM
ªIn-Line Tilt SEM
z Ionizers installed as follows:
ªRoom ionization on 8’ centers throughout 80m2 bay
ªIonizer bars in all tools
ISMT Litho Bay Study Experiment

z 25 test monitor wafers pre-scanned for defects

ª6000A oxide insulator coating on each wafer
ªPre-Scanned on KLA-Tencor 6420 SurfScan
z Wafers cycled 23.5 hours in 193nm Track
ªIonization turned on and allowed to equilibrate
ª1050 number of wafer passes
ªRescanned on KLA-Tencor 6420
z Wafers cycled 10.5 hours in 193nm Track
ªIonization turned off and allowed to equilibrate
ª562 wafer passes
ªRescanned on KLA-Tencor 6420
Ionizer Installation

In the Room
As well as in Tool
Distribution of Initial Particle Counts

Initial Particle Count

6

4
Net: Relatively
Number of Wafers

3
clean incoming
wafers
2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Particles Per Wafer (>0.2μm) 1

 Distribution of PWP Values
•PWP: Particles per Wafer Pass
•PWP=(particlesbefore-particlesafter/number of passes)

PWP Histogram with Ionization Off

PWP Histogram With Ionization On
6
7

5 6
Frequency of Occurence

Frequency of Occurence
5
4

4
3

2
2

1
1

0 0
-0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

PWP PWP
Summary of Results

State PWP Mean

Ionization On 0.117
Ionization Off 0.31

zPWP Delta = 0.193 +/- 0.044

zT-Test T Value of 2.35
z2.3% chance that difference driven by
statistical fluctuation at 98% confidence level
Discussion of Results
z Assume we have a .13um technology process
ªCritical defect size – 0.065um
z Scaling ESA induced PWP value to critical size
ª0.193 PWP @ 0.2um => 1.83 PWP @ 0.065
z Assume 30 lithography steps in process
z ESA-related yield loss for varying kill ratios (200
die/wafer) ESA Related
Kill Ratio
Yield Loss
5% 1.40%
10% 2.80%
15% 4.20%
20% 5.60%
Case Study I Conclusion

zESA is a major contributor to contamination in

semiconductor processing
zEven in processes that do not generate
significant static charge, air ionization provides a
measurable improvement in contamination
control
ªPWP improvement: 0.193±0.44 (>200 nm)
Case Study # 2

z ESD Induced EMI Event

ªProblem- ISMT photolithographic
stepper shudders when lifting a wafer
and then stops.
ªReboot takes 20 minutes!
 Stepper Process Schematic

Exposure stage

To Track Wafer Aligner

 The Problem

Exposure stage

To Track
Wafer Aligner

Wafers leaving the stage were charged to -10 kV

and those entering the aligner were charged to +17 kV.
 The Solution

To Track

Photon Ionizer Aimed at the Aligner and an Aerobar

over the load station
Results

•4 quad bars and 2 Aerobars

were not enough!
•EMI was huge and
measurable
•Ionization eliminated the
EMI and eliminated the
lockups!
Case Study # 3

z ESD Impact On In-Process Wafer Die

ªProblem: Oxide Cracking Damage on Center
Wafer Die in Spin Dry Process
The Problem
z “Star Cracking “ ESD
Damage Observed
on Center Wafer Die
z Occurred post apply
of De-Ionized Water
in Spin Dry Process
z Significant yield
impact at wafer level
De-Ionized Water
z De-ionized pure water is a poor electrical
conductor
ªResistivity on the order of 18.2 megohms
z Can result in significant tribo-charging of
insulators in spin apply processes
z Resisitivty of D/I water can be reduced by
introducing non-contaminating ions
ªE.G. CO2 Bubbler
ªConcentrations in sub 0.1 PPM level can reduce
resistivity to <5 megohms
The Solution

z Implemented CO2 in
process D/I water flow
z Drove resistivity < 5
megohms
z Result:
ª Star cracking problem
eliminated
z Points to need to use
“static dissipative”
materials!
Agenda

z Cleanroom/Environment Static Charge

Challenges
z Control Strategies
z Case Studies
z Summary and Acknowledgements
Summary

z Cleanrooms and Clean Environments have

exacting cleanliness requirements
z Methods of attaining those requirements
result in substantial ESA/ESD control
challenges to process
z Challenges can be met by implementation of
rigorous ESA/ESD control programs
 Acknowledgements

z Jeff Jimmo – One Source Environmental Test

z Larry Levit – MKS, Ion Systems
z Andy Rudack – Intl. SEMATECH
z John Kinnear - IBM