Ensights

The expanding need for massive data storage and processing has driven the migration from 2D to 3D architectures for logic and memory chips. These complex architectures, with their high aspect ratio (HAR) designs and ultra-thin layers, are forcing advances in metal and oxide deposition processes. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is usually the method of choice for producing uniform layers with precisely controlled composition.

Beyond being one of the fun words in the semiconductor industry, the “FOUP,” front-opening-unified-pod, represented a radical change that has influenced the productivity of each fab and contributed to the capabilities our electronic devices today. At the inception of Moore’s Law in 1965, 30 mm (1.25”) diameter wafers were the standard. Leading up to the late 1990’s, seven generations of incremental increases would be introduced. At each point, manufacturing efficiencies and device performance opportunities existed to get “Moore” out of each wafer. Wafer storage and transport was primarily accomplished in open-air cassettes and pods, leaving wafers more susceptible to physical damage and contamination.

Since the introduction of the mobile phone, scientists and engineers have been on a series of quests to make them smaller and smarter. And incarnation after incarnation, from shoe box large to smart phone tiny, they succeeded. Until, that is, demand for more data, more storage, faster speeds, and longer battery life created major roadblocks. New smartphone capabilities — from biometrics to more accurate geopositioning, from artificial intelligence to virtual reality — demanded significant improvements in chip power. Their constant use required pronounced leaps in battery life.

Advanced 3D architectures for logic and memory devices increasingly rely on atomic layer deposition (ALD) to achieve high-quality, nanoscale conformal coatings. ALD deposits reactants and precursor molecules in alternating pulses to create the desired chemical makeup of the layers. Because of its ability to produce extremely thin films of uniform thickness and composition, ALD has supplanted physical vapor deposition (PVD) as the dominant deposition process for leading-edge technology nodes.

The Entegris Safe Delivery Source® (SDS®) package has been the leader in providing subatmospheric specialty gas storage and delivery for ion implant dopant materials since its inception more than twenty years ago.

The purpose of a CMP process is simple – to planarize the top layer of oxide or metal with an abrasive slurry. Manufacturing the slurry to the exacting standards required by the end user is not easy. To effectively planarize the wafer surfaces, both large and small abrasive particles must be removed prior to being dispensed. Thus, the target is a narrow particle size distribution between 30 and 200 nm to prevent both microscratches and underlayer defects.

Like all reticles, those used for EUV lithography rely on reticle pods for safe storage and to protect them during lithographic patterning, inspection, cleaning, and repair.

Simplify your operations and supply chain with a versatile contamination control strategy.

Overview The rapid increase of semiconductors in cars enables significant safety, connectivity, mobility, and sustainability improvements. As transportation transforms from being driver controlled to software controlled, automakers must look closer at their ability to measure and maintain product reliability throughout the vehicle’s lifetime.

Electronic devices now serve as the backbone of modern vehicles and have become the focus of quality standards that ensure automotive functional safety. As automakers transform their organizations to adapt and become experts in manufacturing digital machines, current gaps in how the automotive and semiconductor supply chains interact have emerged.

A high purity sub-fab serves as the central nervous system of a semiconductor cleanroom. It houses chemical delivery, purification, recycling, and destruction systems. The sub-fab is where potentially hazardous aqueous chemistries and gases are stored and handled until they are delivered to the cleanroom process equipment located either in the floor above it or the building adjacent to it.

One of the longest held beliefs in semiconductor manufacturing is that yield is the single most important factor in overall wafer processing costs. Even incremental yield increases can significantly reduce manufacturing cost per wafer, or cost per square centimeter of silicon. As such, yield improvement is critical to any successful semiconductor operation. As semiconductor device nodes continue to scale, and 7 nm lines are ramping to production, this belief continues to ring true.