Advances in Etching & Deposition Reactor Technologies for Metallization of Semiconductor Devices

Abstract

Increasing circuit densities on a chip is placing aggressive demands on metallization. In recent years, metal interconnection technology has indeed became a gating factor in realizing high speeds at the circuit level. Stringent process requirements have brought about major changes in the design of process equipment, particularly plasma etchers and chemical vapor deposition systems. Among the noteworthy are the low pressure, single wafer magnetron and “electron cyclotron resonance” reactors, a new breed of thin film deposition systems, down-stream reactors, clustered integrated process systems, and laser processing equipment. This paper discusses these recent trends in reactor development, along with underlying principles that are used in their design.

Indexing terms:

• Etching
• Deposition reactions