SUB-QUARTER MICRON SILICON INTEGRATED-CIRCUITS AND SINGLE-WAFER PROCESSING

This paper describes the role of single wafer processing in the develo pment of sb-quarter micron silicon integrated circuits (ICs). The issu es related to device processing, choice of materials, performance, rel iability, and manufacturing are covered. Single wafer processing based rapid photothermal processing (dominant photons with wavelength less than about 800 nm) is an ideal answer to almost all the thermal proces sing requirements of current and future Si ICs. For process integratio n, a new model for process optimization based on minimization of therm al stress is proposed. For breaking the sub-100 nm manufacturing barri ers, high throughput lithography based on direct writing is a proposed solution. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.