Fabrication of ultrathin and highly uniform silicon on insulator by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining.
Metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer operate faster and at a lower power than those fabricated on a bulk silicon wafer. Scaling down, which improves their performances, demands thinner SOI wafers. In this article, improvement on the thinning of SOI wafers by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining (PCVM) is described. PCVM is a gas-phase chemical etching method in which reactive species generated in atmospheric-pressure plasma are used. Some factors affecting uniformity are investigated and methods for improvements are presented. As a result of thinning a commercial 8 in. SOI wafer, the initial SOI layer thickness of 97.5+/-4.7 nm was successfully thinned and made uniform at 7.5+/-1.5 nm.
Sano
Yasuhisa
Y
Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Yamamura
Kazuya
K
Mimura
Hidekazu
H
Yamauchi
Kazuto
K
Mori
Yuzo
Y
D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003460:Crystallization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008839:Microelectrodes; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D014173:Transistors, Electronic
D005740:Gases; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012825:Silicon