Scaling in Mechanical Systems: Surface area, Volume, Mass, Moment of Inertia, Peak Concentration: 𝐶𝑝 =

𝑄𝑖
𝑑𝑥 𝐹
𝐶
𝐷 0 Etching: Etch rate: 𝑟 =
𝑡𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 −𝑡𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
=
∆ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
, Selectivity: 𝑆 =
𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡
.
Growth rate of oxide layer thickness:
𝐶1
Capacitor Energy ∝ 𝐿3 .Torque, Gravity ∝ 𝐿4
√2𝜋∆𝑅𝑝 = = 𝐷 𝑇𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑
𝑑𝑡 𝐶1 𝑥+ 𝑟 −𝑟
Basic Fabrication Steps: Deposition -> Patterning -> Etching -> Deposition -> … 2𝐷𝑑𝑜
𝑘 Etch uniformity: 𝑈 = 𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝐷 2𝐶0 𝑘 2 (𝑡+𝜏) (𝑑02 + )𝐶1 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛
Surface Micromachining: Building microstructures via deposition and etching Solving for x: 𝑥 = 𝑘 [√1 + 𝐷𝐶1
− 1] , 𝜏 ≡ 𝑘
2𝐷𝐶0
Wet Chemical Etching: done via immersion in solution to etch, then rinsed and spun to
structural/sacrificial layers on top of the substrate. dry. Etch rate greatly affected by agitation and temp. (more temp). Supply of reactants
𝑥𝑖2 𝐴 𝑑02 𝐴
Bulk Micromachining: Building microstructures from the silicon substrate. 𝜏= + = + 𝑑 , 𝐼𝐶 ′ 𝑠: 𝑥(0) = 𝑑0 , 𝑑0 → 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙⁡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑑𝑒⁡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 can limit the reaction. 1-2. Reactant transport to surface. 2-3. Selective and controlled
The Silicon Substrate: 𝐵 𝐵 𝐵 𝐵 0 reaction of etchant and film. 3-4. Transport of byproducts away from surface.
2𝐷 2𝐷𝐶 𝐵 𝑘𝐶
Let 𝐴 = 𝑘 , 𝐵 = 𝐶 0 , 𝐴 = 𝐶 0
1 1
Advantages are electrical (integration w/ electronics) & mechanical (high Isotropic: Wafer orientation irrelevant to etch rate. Mask-film adhesion
melting point, toughness like steel, density like aluminum). 𝐴 4𝐵(𝑡 + 𝜏) req-d to prevent further sloping of side walls. Bias: 𝐵 = 𝑑𝑓 − 𝑑𝑚 .
𝑥= [√1 + − 1] , 𝑥 2 = 𝐴𝑥 = 𝐵(𝑡 + 𝜏)
Crystal direction determines the electrical+thermal conductivity, thermal 2 𝐴2 Completely isotropic when vertical and lateral etch are equal: 𝐵 = 2ℎ𝑓
expansion, etc. Etchants typically acidic (corrosive chemicals). Diffusion limited+low
Isotropic properties (independent of crystal orientation): mass, density, Deal grove approximations:
Diffusion: Deposition of shallow high-concentration layer following Fick’s law of diffusion. Short time: Long time: resolution. Temp can be room temp and has faster etch rate.
temperature, etc. Anisotropic: Complete anisotropic when no lateral etch: 𝑑𝑓 = 𝑑𝑚 , 𝐵 = 0
𝐴2 𝐴2
Microstructures: Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Amorphous - Done via a high temp application of gas containing dopants, but (𝑡 + 𝜏) ≪ (𝑡 + 𝜏) ≫ ,𝑡 ≫ 𝜏 |𝐵| 𝑟
4𝐵 4𝐵 Degree of anisotropic: 𝐴𝑓 = 1 − 2ℎ = 1 − 𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑡 . Complete isotropic -> 𝐴𝑓 = 0,
isotropic, long, hard to control. 𝐵 𝐵 𝑥 ≈ √𝐵(𝑡 + 𝜏), 𝐵 → 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎. 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤
𝑓 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡
𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑡
𝑥 ≈ (𝑡 + 𝜏), → 𝑙𝑖𝑛. 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ Complete anisotropic -> 𝐴𝑓 = 1. If 𝑆 = ∞ → 𝐴𝑓 = 1 − . Etchants
𝐴 𝐴 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
typically alkaline, reaction limited, temp elevated to 70-90 C, slower etch
For wet oxidation init. Dry Etching: Sputtering: physical, nonselective and anisotropic. Plasma Etching:
thickness 𝑑0 small 𝜏 ≈ 0 chemical, selective, and isotropic. Reactive Ion Etching (RIE): physical & chemical, fairly
For dry oxidation value of 𝑑0 at selective and anisotropic. Inductively Coupled RIE: physical & chemical, fairly selective and
t=0 ~25nm and need to anisotropic with walls.
calculate 𝜏. High Aspect Ratios: The Bosch process: essentially short bursts of etches and polymer
Crystal Lattice Structure: Diamond-Cubic Crystal Lattice deposition to slowly dig down, issue is ripple formation on the sides. LIGA and deep RIE
(DRIE) also used for high aspect ratio etches. Anisotropic method needed for high AR.
Xenon Difluoride (XeF2): Highly selective, so ideal for dry etch release when polysilicon
𝜕𝐶 −𝐸𝑎
𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑥 = 𝐽 = −𝐷 , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒⁡𝐷 = 𝐷0 exp⁡[ ] is used as sacrificial. Vert+: at etch rates are in 0.1-10um/min range. Can make devices
𝜕𝑥 𝑘𝐵 𝑇 Linear growth rate const depends on crystal orientation (higher on out of combos of SiO2, SiN, polymers, and most metals and dielectrics.
𝐽 → 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥, 𝐶 → 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐷 → 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛. , 𝑘𝐵 → 𝐵𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑧𝑚𝑎𝑛⁡ (111)) so oxide growth on (111) is faster. Etching and Surface Micromachining: General used combinations:
𝐽 Parabolic growth rate const is independent of crystal orientation
𝑐𝑜𝑛. = 1.38 ∗ 10−3 [ ] , 𝑇 → 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝. [𝐾], 𝐷0 → ⁡𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑞. 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡. (𝐷⁡@⁡𝑇 → ⁡∞)
𝐾 (diffusion time through oxide so large). Electrical Isolation
𝐸𝑎 → 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛⁡𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦⁡[2 − 4𝑒𝑉] Structural Sacrificial Release Etch
Both growth constants are proportional to 𝑒 −𝑘𝑇
𝐸𝑎
Material
Most common process is to perform ion implantation then ‘drive in PolySilicon SiO2 Buffered HF Si3N4+SiO2
diffusion’ to diffuse implanted ions more anisotropically (+ wider Physical Deposition:
Polyimide Aluminum PAN etch SiO2
gaussian profile). Evaporation (PVD) – Al, Au, Ag, Ti, and compounds like Cr & Pt. Achieves LPCVD
Miller Indices: 1. Find points of intersection between plane and axis 2. Take reciprocal of Junction depth: the depth at wide range of thickness (nm to ~100 um) w/ uniformity & reproducibility. Polysilicon XeF2 SiO2
Si3N4 + Al
points 3. Multiply by smallest common constant so all are integers. which concentration of Quality + step coverage issues, residual stress, and film adhesion issues.
introduced dopants equals Oxygen
Sputtering – Used for tungsten, AL/Si & Ti/W alloys, insulators like glass Aluminum Photoresist SiO2
Common in Silicon micromachining are (100), (110) and (111) background concentration in Plasma
+ ceramics, and metal like Al, Ti, etc.
the Si wafer. Spin Casting – Used for dielectric insulators, organic materials, and glass Wet vs Dry: Wet: isotropic (generally) (𝐴𝑓 ≈ 0), lots of undercutting, low resolution, film
(Spin-On Glass (SOG)). Used for coating.
thickness must me 1/3 or less of resolution required. Dry: anisotropic (generally) (𝐴𝑓 ≈ 1),
Chemical Deposition:
high fidelity transfer of pattern (good replica), some undercutting occurs.
Chemical Vapor Deposition: Silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), Stiction/Release: Capillary forces develp during drying (evaporation) pulling surfaces
𝑄𝑖 −𝑥 2 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 polysilicon and phosphosilicate glass (PSG). Electrodeposition process for together.
Dopant Profile: 𝐶(𝑥, 𝑡) = exp [ 4𝐷𝑡 ] → 𝑄𝑖 [ ]
√4𝐷𝑡 𝑐𝑚 2 metal films (copper, gold, nickel) w/ thicknesses from ~1um to >100um.
𝑄𝑖 Allows customization to produce specific films, with better uniformity, Van der Waals force then hold them together in permanent stiction.
Junction Depth: 𝑥𝑗 = √4𝐷𝑡 ∗ ln⁡[𝐶 ], 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒⁡𝐶𝑏𝑔 = 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑔𝑛𝑑⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐. Hydrophilic surfaces: Droplets under surfaces attract them and pull
𝑏𝑔√𝜋𝐷𝑡 and step coverage than PVD. Disadvantage is use and generation of toxic
Notation: (h k l) – specific plane, {h k l} - family of equiv. planes, [h k l] – Ion implantation still close to surface, raise temp (1000-1150 C) to drive and flammable gasses, and oxide production on non-Si materials. microstructures
specific dir., <h k l> - family of equiv. dir. deeper diffusion. Selection Process: step coverage and topography, layers must not damage underlying towards substrate, causing stiction.
Silicon Wafer Flats: Primary and secondary flats are used to indicate doping type (p/n) and layers, patterning process must not attack sacrificial layer or existing layers, method for Hydrophobic surfaces: Droplets exert repulsive force and prevent
orientation (primary flat is along [1 1 0] dir.): removal of sacrificial layer must be selective and not damage structural layers. stiction.
Photolithography: Mask manufacturing: 1. Made from chromium on fused quartz. 2. Prevention can occur through use of dry release or mechanical structures
PMMA added on chromium as resist for electron beam. 3. E-beam patterns PMMA. 4. (dimples).
Supercritical drying is standard used, as liquid->supercritical fluid-
Chromium is etched. 5. PMMA is removed.
>vapor generates essentially no surface tension. Done by heating liquid
General procedure is coat -> expose -> develop CO2 to supercritical fluid under constant pressure, then dropping
Photoresists: Positive – exposed sections become soluble, Negative – pressure allowing it to turn into vapor.
Silicon Oxide Films: exposure to oxygen leads to native oxide growth of 20 - 30 nm. exposed sections become hard and insoluble. Positive photoresist can also be used, as deposited layers on top of resist
Masks: Light – mostly clear, Dark – mostly opaque (by surface area) are also removed when the resist is dissolved.
SiO2 is a high-quality insulator, used for masking, thermally stable, & Hexamethyldializan (HMDS) spin coating: 1. Bake to remove water from Negative PR does the same thing but oppositely patterned.
easily etched. wafer. 2. Spin on HMDS to improve surface adhesion of photoresist. 3. Dimensional control mainly limited by lithographic transfer and
Anisotropic vs Isotropic Etching of Si: Used in device isolation, sacrificial layers, as a gate oxide and interlayer Cool to room temp. micromachining errors: Lithographic include registration and
dielectric. PR spin coating: 1. Spin on PR. 2. Soft/pre bake (under bake results in development errors. Micromachining include undercut, thickness, and
3 main methods: Thermal growth, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor bubbles, over bake destroys light sensitive components. selectivity errors.
Deposition (PECVD), & electrochemical anodization. Exposure to UV light through a patterned mask causes photoresist layers Wet Etching & Bulk Micromachining: Wet anisotropic etch of Si (100) provides sloped
Thermal Oxidations: oxide growth via oxygen supply and high temps (900-1200 C) via to adapt pattern. Can then develop the layer beneath the patterned layer pyramidal walls.
pure oxygen (dry) or water vapor (wet). Exposure Systems: contact printing – resolution limited by light scattering in the resist,
up to 0.5 um, then develop the layer beneath patterned PR layer. Advantage of minimal Undercut occurs during these etches and must be considered. Profile
Dry Oxidation: 𝑆𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 + 𝑂2 𝑔𝑎𝑠 → 𝑆𝑖𝑂2𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 , slower but less defects in oxide + diffraction effects. Disadvantage is defect generation due to physical contact with resist. depends on opening size, wafer thickness, and etch time. Self limited
more dense, used in thin and high quality oxides. stable profiles (SLSP): (T = time, t = thickness, r = etch rate).
𝑡
Wet Oxidation: 𝑆𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 + 2𝐻2𝑂`𝑔𝑎𝑠 → 𝑆𝑖𝑂2𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 + 2𝐻2𝑔𝑎𝑠 , faster process but more Proximity printing – mask near surface sitting on a cushion of N2 gas Longer: 𝑇 ≥ 𝑟
(s=10-20um). Adv. is minimal mask damage. Dis. is resolution ~2-3um. <100>
defects + less dense, used for thicker oxides.
Projection printing – optics used to make small features. Adv. is res. with 𝑡
minimal mask damage. Dis. is cost of optical components and slower. Shorter: 𝑇 ≤ 𝑟
Done in an oxidation furnace, needs dummy wavers on either end as <100>
Semiconductor Doping: Light intensity – projection is at least uniform across surface. Proximity is
temp must be extremely consistent.
1. Push under inert gas (low temp, use O2 to prevent silicon nitride better and wider. Contact is uniform across exposed area.
Si on its own is not a good conductor Performance metrics: registration: overlay accuracy from layer to layer,
Doped by inserting other dopants formation. 2. Ramp up (slowly increase temp to prevent warp). 3. Undercut+SLSP Profiles:
depends on operator experience and structure+feature topology.
into lattice to alter electrical Oxidation (dry or wet, sometimes HCI to reduce mobile contaminants).
4. N2 anneal + ramp down (reduces surface stress (mech) and fixed resolution – minimum feature size that can be resolved with certain 𝑟<111> 𝑇
properties. feature tol. throughput – wafers per hour. 𝑢=
Net concentration determines charges (elec) in in incomplete oxidized silicon). 5. Pull (keep low surface sin⁡(54.7)
Alignment: uses markers on wafer to align between steps. Back side 𝑤
conductivity type. stress and low fixed charges. 𝑑 = ( + 𝑢) tan(54.7)
Thickness control very important and temp dependent: alignment just as accurate using saved images to align front and back 2
Counter doping: converting P/N side masks.
to the other by adding more 𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑂2 = 𝑥𝑎𝑑𝑑 + 𝑥𝑠𝑖⁡ 𝑥𝑎𝑑𝑑 = 0.54 ∗ 𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑂2 𝑥𝑠𝑖 = 0.46 ∗ 𝑥𝑆𝑖𝑂2
Growing SiO2 “consumes” 0.46x of Silicon. Resolution (Contact/Proximity): (for contact s = 0)
opposing carriers 3 𝑧 Misalignment: due to importance of crystal direction, misalignment is
Deal Grove Model: simple model for oxide thermal growth. 𝑅 = 𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≈ √𝜆(𝑠 + ) catastrophic. Undercutting: occurs on convex corners regardless of
2 2
Limitations: assumes planar substrate+inaccurate when heavily doped 𝜆 → 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙, 𝑠 → 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡, 𝑧 → 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡⁡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘. alignment conditions. Total amt dependent upon etch time and size of
and thin substrates (<20-25nm). local area. Useful for cantilever beams, spirals.
Ion Implantation: High voltage particle accelerator shoots a beam of dopant atoms into the F1 & F2 are diffusion constants Resolution of NA (Projection): Wet anisotropic etching of Si (110) generates rectangular trenches
wafer. calculated w/ Fick’s law. 𝑘1 𝜆 bounded by 4 vertical {111} planes and 2 slanted {111} planes.
𝑅= , 𝑘 → 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙⁡𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚. 𝑜𝑓⁡𝑃𝑅, 𝜆 → 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝑁𝐴 → 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙⁡𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 Etch stops:
𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 (𝐶0 − 𝐶𝑠 ) 𝑁𝐴 1
Total dose 𝑄1 [ 𝑐𝑚2 ] is controlled via the ion current. 𝐹1 = 𝐷 𝐷
𝑥 𝑁𝐴 = 𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑚𝑎𝑥 = , 𝑛 → 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒⁡𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥, 𝜃𝑚𝑎𝑥 → 𝑚𝑎𝑥⁡𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠⁡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 Electrochemical: grown n-type epitaxial Si on p-type wafer and apply
𝑅𝑝 is the ‘projected range’, while the gaussian distribution of atoms is 𝐹2 = 𝑘𝐶𝑠 2𝐹
𝐷 → 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑠⁡𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝐹 → 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜⁡𝑜𝑓⁡𝑙𝑒𝑛′ 𝑠⁡𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙⁡𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ⁡(𝑓)⁡𝑡𝑜⁡𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟⁡(𝐷) passivation potential to form SiO2 layer. Reverse bias the p-n diode so no
denoted as ∆𝑅𝑝 and is called the ‘straggle’. 𝐶0 → 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟/𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓.⁡⁡𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐.
𝑘2 𝜆 𝑘2 𝑅 2 current can flow, n-layer remains biased and is not etched but p type
Has a finite projected range, masks are normally silicon oxide or silicon 𝐶𝑠 → 𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒⁡⁡𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐. Depth of focus: ±𝛿 = ± (𝑁𝐴)2 = , 𝑘2 → 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙⁡𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚. 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑⁡𝑜𝑛⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑡⁡
𝑘12𝜆 does etch.
nitride, low temp process (masks can be PR or Al), rule of thumb: 𝐷 → 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛⁡𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓⁡𝑜𝑓⁡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔⁡𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑥 → 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠⁡𝑜𝑓⁡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑑𝑒 Phase shifting: used to improve exposure resolution, makes individual Boron Doped: Inject high level of p-type dopants so injected electrons
thickness of SiO should be 𝑅𝑝 + 6∆𝑅𝑝 𝑘 → 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒⁡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛⁡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡⁡(At SS, 𝐹1 = 𝐹2 = 𝐹) lines appear more well defined.
2 simply fill holes, making them unusable for OH- rxns.
𝐷𝐶0
Concentration at distance x: 𝐶(𝑥) = 𝐶𝑃 exp⁡[−
(𝑥−𝑅𝑝 )
2 ] can combine both Eq together: 𝐹 = 𝐷
1
Etch rate drop: 𝐶𝐵 ≪ 𝐶𝑜 → 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑖 , 𝐶𝐵 > 𝐶𝑜 → 𝑟 = 𝐶 4 , 𝐶𝐵 → 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑛⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
2(∆𝑅𝑝 ) 𝑥+( ) 𝐵
𝑘

Surface molecular density of SiO2 is 𝐶1 = 2.2 ∗ 1022 [

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
] 𝐶𝑜 → 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙⁡𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑛⁡𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐. (~3 ∗ 1019 𝑐𝑚−3 ), 𝑟 → 𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ⁡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑟𝑖 → 𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ⁡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒⁡𝑓𝑜𝑟⁡𝐶𝐵 ≫ 𝐶𝑜
𝑐𝑚 2