• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1492-1501
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• 2006

A transportation system of single wafer has been developed to be applied to semiconductor manufacturing process of the next generation. In this study, the experimental apparatus consists of two kinds of track, one is for propelling a wafer, so called control track, the other is for generating an air film to transfer a wafer, so called transfer track. The wafer transportation speed has been evaluated by the numerical and the experimental methods for three types of nozzle position a..ay (i.e., the front-, face- and rear-array) in an air levitation system. Test facility for 300mm wafer has been equipped with two control tracks and one transfer track of 1500mm length from the starting point to the stopping point. From the present results, it is found that the experimental values of the wafer transportation speed are well in agreement with the computed ones. Namely, the computed values of the maximum wafer transportation speed $V_{max}$ are slightly higher than the experimental ones by about $15{\times}20%$. The disparities in $V_{max}$ between the numerical and the experimental results become smaller as the air velocity increases. Also, at the same air flow rate, the order of wafer transportation speeds is : $V_{max}$ for the front-array > $V_{max}$ for the face-array > $V_{max}$ for the rear-array. However, the face-array is rather more stable than any other type of nozzle array to ensure safe transportation of a wafer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.22-28
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• 2020

This paper investigates the effects of retaining ring materials, particularly PPS and PEEK, used in the CMP process, on wafer polishing and ring wear. CMP can be performed using bonded type retaining rings made with PPS or injection molding type retaining rings made with PEEK. In this study, after polishing a wafer with a PPS retaining ring, the average profile height of the wafer was 0.098 ㎛ less than that of the wafer polished with a PEEK retaining ring, implying that PPS retaining rings achieve a higher polishing rate. In addition, the center area of the wafer profile had less deviation and improved flatness after polishing with the PPS ring. These results indicate that a higher polishing rate and smaller profile height deviation can be achieved using retaining rings made with PPS compared to retaining rings made with PEEK. Therefore, with semiconductor circuit patterns becoming finer and wafer sizes becoming larger, the use of PPS in CMP retaining rings can obtain more stable wafer polishing results compared to that of PEEK.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.682-688
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• 2014

Physical and chemical changes in a polished wafer and in $2.5{\mu}m$ & $4{\mu}m$ epitaxially grown Si layer wafers (Epilayer wafer) after surface treatment were investigated. We characterized the influence of surface treatment on wafer properties such as surface roughness and the chemical composition and bonds. After each surface treatment, the physical change of the wafer surface was evaluated by atomic force microscopy to confirm the surface morphology and roughness. In addition, chemical changes in the wafer surface were studied by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurement. Changes in the chemical composition were confirmed before and after the surface treatment. By combined analysis of the physical and chemical changes, we found that diluted hydrofluoric acid treatment is more effective than buffered oxide etching for $SiO_2$ removal in both polished and Epi-Layer wafers; however, the etch rate and the surface roughness in the given treatment are different among the polished $2.5{\mu}m$ and $4{\mu}m$ Epi-layer wafers in spite of the identical bulk structural properties of these wafers. This study therefore suggests that independent surface treatment optimization is required for each wafer type, $2.5{\mu}m$ and $4{\mu}m$, due to the meaningful differences in the initial surface chemical and physical properties.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.341-346
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• 2006

We have fabricated SOI CMOS active pixel image sensor with the pinned photodiode on handle wafer in order to reduce dark currents and improve spectral response. The structure of the active pixel image sensor is 4 transistors APS which consists of a reset and source follower transistor on seed wafer, and is comprised of the photodiode, transfer gate, and floating diffusion on handle wafer. The source of dark current caused by the interface traps located on the surface of a photodiode is able to be eliminated, as we apply the pinned photodiode. The source of dark currents between shallow trench isolation and the depletion region of a photodiode can be also eliminated by the planner process of the hybrid bulk/SOI structure. The photodiode could be optimized for better spectral response because the process of a photodiode on handle wafer is independent of that of transistors on seed wafer. The dark current was about 6 pA at 3.3 V of floating diffusion voltage in the case of transfer gate TX = 0 V and TX=3.3 V, respectively. The spectral response of the pinned photodiode was observed flat in the wavelength range from green to red.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.34-38
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• 1997

This paper presents a joining method by using the silicon wafer in order to apply to joint to the 3-dimensional structures of semiconductor device, high-speed , high integration, micro machine, silicon integrated sensor, and actuator. In this study, the high atomic beam, stabilized by oxidation film and organic materials at the material surface, is investigated, and the purified is obtained by removing the oxidation film and pollution layer at the materials. And the unstable surface is obtained, which can be easily joined. In order to use the low temperatures for the joint method, the main subjects are obtained as follows: 1) In the case of the silicon wafer and the silicon wafer and the silicon wafer of alumina sputter film, the specimens can be jointed at 2$0^{\circ}C$, and the joining strength is 5Mpa. 2) The specimens can not always be joined at the room temperatures in the case of the silicon wafer and the silicon wafer of alumina sputter film.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.55-60
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• 2020

The hard mask photo-resist strip inspection system for the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process inspects the position of the circuit pattern formed on the wafer by measuring the distance from the edge of the wafer to the strip processing area. After that, it is an inspection system that enables you to check the process status in real time. Process defects can be significantly reduced by applying a tester that has not been applied to the existing wafer strip process, edge etching process, and wafer ashing process. In addition, it is a technology for localizing semiconductor process inspection equipment that can analyze the outer diameter of the wafer and the state of pattern formation, which can secure process stability and improve wafer edge yield.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1999.05a
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• pp.211-213
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• 1999

In this paper, we documented the controlling oxide removal amount on the pattern wafer using removal rate and removal thickness of blanket wafer. There was the strong correlation relationship for both(correlation factor:0.7109). So, we could confirm the repeatability as applying for STI CMP process from the obtained linear formular. As the result of repeatability test, the difference of calculated polishing time and actual polishing time was 3.48 seconds based on total 50 lots. If this time is converted into the thickness, it is from 104$\AA$ to 167$\AA$. It is possible to be ignored because it is under the process margin.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.41-47
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• 2018

Numerical analysis was conducted to characterize particle deposition onto a heated horizontal semiconductor wafer in vacuum environment. In order to calculate the properties of gas surrounding the wafer, the gas was assumed to obey the ideal gas law. Particle transport mechanisms considered in the present study were convection, Brownian diffusion, gravitational settling and thermophoresis. Averaged particle deposition velocities on the upper surface of the wafer were calculated with respect to particle size, based on the numerical results from the particle concentration equation in the Eulerian frame of reference. The deposition velocities were obtained for system pressures of 1000 Pa~1 atm, wafer heating of 0~5 K and particle sizes of $2{\sim}10^4nm$. The present numerical results showed good agreement with the available experimental ones.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.175-183
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• 1994

To investigate thermophoretic effect on particle deposition, average deposition velocity toward a horizontal wafer surface in vertical airflow is measured keeping the wafer surface temperature different from the surrounding air temperature. In the present measurement, the temperature difference is maintained in the range from -10 to $4^{\circ}$ C Polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres of diameter between 0.3 and 0.8 .mu.m are used for the experiment. The number of particles deposited on a wafer surface is estimated from the measurements using a wafer surface scanner (PMS SAS-3600). Experimental data are compared with prediction model results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1319-1332
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• 1995

Numerical analysis was performed to characterize the particle deposition behavior on a horizontal free-standing wafer with thermophoretic effect under the turbulent flow field. A low Reynolds number k-.epsilon. turbulence model was used to analyze the turbulent flow field around the wafer, and the temperature field for the calculation of the thermophoretic effect was predicted from the energy equation introducing the eddy diffusivity concept. The deposition mechanisms considered were convection, diffusion, sedimentation, turbulence and thermophoresis. For both the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer, the averaged particle deposition velocities and their radial distributions were calculated and compared with the laminar flow results and available experimental data. It was shown by the calculated averaged particle deposition velocities on the upper surface of the wafer that the deposition-free zone, where the deposition velocite is lower than 10$^{-5}$ cm/s, exists between 0.096 .mu.m and 1.6 .mu.m through the influence of thermophoresis with positive temperature difference of 10 K between the wafer and the ambient air. As for the calsulated local deposition velocities, for small particle sizes d$_{p}$<0.05 .mu.m, the deposition velocity is higher at the center of the wafer than at the wafer edge, whereas for particle size of d$_{p}$ = 2.0 .mu.m the deposition takes place mainly on the inside area of the wafer. Finally, an approximate model for calculating the deposition velocities was recommended and the calculated deposition velocity results were compared with the present numerical solutions, those of Schmidt et al.'s model and the experimental data of Opiolka et al.. It is shown by the comparison that the results of the recommended model agree better with the numerical solutions and Opiolka et al.'s data than those of Schmidt's simple model.