When engineers talk about frog spots, recipes, and wafers, chances are that many people will not know that they are using application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) fabrication lingo. At AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) in Pocatello, ID, manufacturing conversations involving these words led engineers to solve two perplexing wafer production mysteries. They used design of experiments (DOEs) to investigate the problems and developed solutions that have saved the company $180,000 a year. A stable process at Fab Nine inexplicably began to produce sporadic wafer imperfections known as frog spots, a surface discoloration that often caused the fab’s 5-in. wafers to end up as underetched scrap. Curiously, although two matched metal etchers from Plasmatherm (currently Unaxis, Pfäffikon, Switzerland) fabricated identical wafers for automotive and medical device applications, only one of the etchers produced the defect. It was not known why the two etchers were performing differently. The metal-etch process at Fab Nine has three main sequences, with more than 10 controllable factors at each step. Following a series of brainstorming sessions that focused on product knowledge, wafer recipe comparisons, and a review of historical data, 19
Products & Services
Etchers and Etching Machines
Etchers and etching machines remove material from the surface of a part using an acid or alkaline chemical solution. Etchers and etching machines, also known as chemical milling machines, use masking substances to protect some surface areas of the part, providing selective material removal or patterning.
Semiconductor Cluster Tools
Semiconductor cluster tools and equipment are used to process semiconductor wafers for the production of microelectronic components.
Semiconductor Wet Process Equipment
Semiconductor wet process equipment performs a variety of wet processing applications including etching, washing, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), and spin coating in semiconductor or microelectronics manufacturing.
Cleanrooms
Cleanrooms are contamination-free environments where high-tech manufacturing and assembly take place.
MEMS Processing Equipment
MEMS processing equipment is used to create micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and wafers.
Product Announcements
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Automated Cleaning of Solar Wafers. High Throughput, Dry to Dry, Multi-processing
The MEI Solar Evolution high throughput wet processing systems are in-line, configurable, automated, modular batch...
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Precision Wafer Bonding Solution
The SB6/8e is a semi-automatic, computer controlled, stand-alone wafer bonder accommodating 150mm and 200mm wafers respectively. The SB6/8e system features a rigid...
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Topics of Interest
Chandra Saravanan, Zhuan Liu, Weidong Yang, Matthew F. Swisher, and Anlun Tang, Shrinking device dimensions place aggressive demands on defect detection metrology. As device density and critical...
Huge crates containing semiconductor capital equipment may look curiously out of place standing in a parking lot in the midst of a dusty construction site. Likewise, the clanking of hammers and the...
Overview
In this chapter, the preparation of semiconductor-grade silicon from sand, its conversion into crystals and wafers (material preparation stage), and the processes required to produce...
The NanoLattice standard is a CD-SEM calibration standard for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. With a 0.1-µm pitch, the standard enables accurate sub-0.13-µm lithography as well...
The dramatic increase in demand for GaAs-based devices has required the rapid expansion of GaAs wafer fab capacity. The sharp growth in wafer fab output is expected to continue into the near future as...
