Improved silicon nitride surfaces for next-generation microarrays

This work reports how the use of a standard integrated circuit (IC) fabrication process can improve the potential of silicon nitride layers as substrates for microarray technology. It has been shown that chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) substantially improves the fluorescent intensity of positive control gene and test gene microarray spots on both low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride films, while maintaining a low fluorescent background. This results in the improved discrimination of low expressing genes. The results for the PECVD silicon nitride, which has been previously reported as unsuitable for microarray spotting, are particularly significant for future devices that hope to incorporate microelectronic control and analysis circuitry, due to the film's use as a final passivating layer.     

Adsorption behavior of anionic polyelectrolyte for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)

In this work, we investigated the adsorption characteristics of anionic polyelectrolytes, which are used in shallow trench isolation chemical mechanical polishing with ceria abrasives. Specifically, the adsorption isotherms and chain conformation of anionic polyelectrolytes were studied in order to elucidate the difference in removal rates of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and silicon nitride (Si3N4) layers and the high selectivity characteristics of ceria slurry. Adsorption isotherms, FT-IR spectroscopy and contact angle measurements revealed that the anionic polyelectrolyte additives had much better adsorption affinities for the Si3N4 surface than for the SiO2 surface. Moreover, blanket wafer polishing results were successfully correlated with the adsorption isotherms of polyelectrolytes on the oxide particle suspensions.     

The use of monodispersed colloids in the polishing of copper and tantalum

The properties of abrasive particles play a significant role in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of metal and dielectric films in semiconductor device manufacturing. This study investigates the effects of the particle size, shape, and hardness of abrasives on the polishing of copper and tantalum films in the presence of different slurry chemistries. Well-defined dispersions of uniform particles, including spherical silica of varying diameters, hematite of different shapes, and hematite cores coated with silica of different thicknesses, were prepared and used to polish blanket films of Cu and Ta. It was shown that the total surface area of the solids in the slurry controlled the rate of material removal by pure silica for both Cu and Ta, while the surface quality of the polished films was better when higher silica content was used. The shape or the aspect ratio of hematite particles had a minor effect on the removal rate. In contrast, when hematite particles coated with silica were employed in the polishing of Cu and Ta, the polish rate decreased with increasing thickness of the shell.     

AFM study of forces between silica, silicon nitride and polyurethane pads

Interaction of silica and silicon nitride with polyurethane surfaces is rather poorly studied despite being of great interest for modern semiconductor industry, e.g., for chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) processes. Here we show the results from the application of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique to study the forces between silica or silicon nitride (AFM tips) and polyurethane surfaces in aqueous solutions of different acidity. The polyurethane surface potentials are derived from the measured AFM data. The obtained potentials are in rather good agreement with measurements of zeta-potentials using the streaming-potentials method. Another important parameter, adhesion, is also measured. While the surface potentials of silica are well known, there are ambiguous results on the potentials of silicon nitride that is naturally oxidized. Deriving the surface potential of the naturally oxidized silicon nitride from our measurements, we show that it is not oxidized to silica despite some earlier published expectations.     

Application of surface analysis in study on removal mechanism and abrasive selection during fused silica chemical mechanical polishing

In this work, surface analysis technology is employed to investigate the removal mechanism and the selection of abrasive during fused silica chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Morphology of abrasives is inspected by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The atomic force microscope (AFM) is used to determine the surface roughness (Rq) and undulating (PV) of the polished fused silica surface. The results show that abrasive morphology has a tremendous influence on removal rate (MRR) and PV but has little effect on the Rq. The AFM and infrared spectroscopy (IR) analysis show that a soft layer, called “silica gel membrane (SGM),” existed on the polished surface is the critical reason for the differences of MRR, Rq, and PV during CMP. For three kinds of micro-ceria abrasives, the abrasive with a rougher surface gets more opportunities to contact the surface of fused silica, yielding higher MRR. Regarding different kinds of nano-abrasives, there are more SGM induced by nano-ceria abrasive resulting from higher chemical reaction rate. The element contaminations on the polished fused silica have been assessed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the results suggest that there are depths of 3.6 and 5.4-nm element contaminations on the polished surface of fused silica with nano-ceria and nano-alumina abrasives, respectively. While the surface polished by nano-silica is free of heterogeneous element contaminations. Based on study results, a novel polishing slurry is designed by modifying the chemical composition of nano-silica. Comparing with ceria-based slurry, the silica-based slurry has better removal efficiency, and surface quality in fused silica precision machining.     

Particle adhesion studies relevant to chemical mechanical polishing

This study describes particle adhesion experiments carried out to elucidate interactions between particles in slurries used for polishing of wafers and disks. For this purpose the packed column technique was employed, which simulated chemical mechanical polishing of copper with silica and alumina, as well as of silicic oxide with ceria. The model systems consisted of uniform copper and glass beads as collectors, representing the wafers, and colloidal dispersions of silica, alumia, and silica coated with nanosize ceria, all of well-defined properties that are used as abrasives. It was shown that a strong correlation exists between deposition and detachment results of the adhesion studies and the polish rates measured using actual substrates with the same or similar slurries.     

核壳结构PS/CeO2复合微球的制备及其在化学机械抛光中的应用

以原位化学沉淀的方法制备了不同粒径、包覆结构PS(核)/CeO2(壳)复合微球,利用X射线衍射仪、透射电子显微镜、选区电子衍射、场发射扫描电子显微镜、能谱分析仪、Fourier转换红外光谱仪、热失重分析仪和ζ电位测定仪等手段对所制备样品的微观结构进行了表征。将所制备的复合微球用做磨料,考察其对二氧化硅介质层的抛光性能,用原子力显微镜观察和测量抛光表面的微观形貌、轮廓曲线和粗糙度。结果表明,所制备的PS/CeO2复合微球具有核壳包覆结构,粒径分别约为140,180和220 nm,PS内核被粒径约为5 nm的CeO2颗粒均匀包覆。AFM结果显示,复合磨料的粒径越小,抛光后表面粗糙度越低;且酸性(pH=3)比碱性(pH=10)抛光浆料具有更好的抛光效果。     

Quantitative Auger depth profiling of LPCVD and PECVD silicon nitride films

Summary Thin silicon nitride films (100–210 nm) with refractive indices varying from 1.90 to 2.10 were deposited on silicon substrates by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), ellipsometry, surface profiling measurements and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) in combination with Ar⁺ sputtering were used to characterize these films. We have found that the use of (p-p)heights of the Si LVV and N KLL Auger transitions in the first derivative of the energy distribution (dN(E)/dE) leads to an accurate determination of the silicon nitride composition in Auger depth profiles over a wide range of atomic Si/N ratios. Moreover, we have shown that the Si KLL Auger transition, generally considered to be a better probe than the low energy Si LVV Auger transition in determining the chemical composition of silicon nitride layers, leads to deviating results.

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Quantitative Auger-Tiefenprofilanalyse von LPCVD- und PECVD-Siliciumnitridfilmen

     

Surface Formation of Single Silicon Wafer Polished with Nano-sized Al2O3 Powders

"Ice polishing single silicon wafers with nano-sized Al2O3 abrasives can be known as ice fixed abrasives chemical mechanical polishing (IFA-CMP). TAn abrasive slurry was made of nano-sized Al2O3 particles dispersed in de-ionized water with a surfactant and the slurry was frozen to form an ice polishing pad. Then polishing tests of blanket silicon wafers with the above ice polishing pad were carried out. The morphologies and surface roughness of the polished silicon wafers were observed and examined on an atomic force microscope. The subsurface damage was assessed by means of cross-section transmission electron microscopy. The surface chemical constituents of the polished silicon wafers were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in order to gain insight into the chemical mechanisms in the process. Scratch resistance of the single silicon wafer was measured by nanoscratching using a nanoindenter to explore the mechanical removal mechanism. The results show that a super smooth surface with an average roughness of 0.367 nm is obtained within 1000 nm￡1000 nm and there is a perfect silicon diamond structure without any microcracks in the subsurface. The removal of material is dominated by the coactions of ductile regime machining and chemical corrosion. In the end, a model of material removal of IFA-CMP is built."     

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in silicon oxide/silicon nitride composite films

Room-temperature ferromagnetism has been observed in silicon oxide/silicon nitride composite films formed on Si substrates at different substrate temperatures, and the ferromagnetic properties of the samples have been found to depend on the silicon nitride content of the films. It is proposed that the ferromagnetism is related to the interface states between the silicon oxide particles and silicon nitride particles. The saturation magnetization (M_S) reached its maximum value in the film produced at a substrate temperature of 400 °C. A further study on the magnetic properties of the film has been carried out using first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. The calculations suggest that the magnetic moments of the film originate from N 2p and Si 2p states in the vicinity of the hetoro-interface.     

Kinetic studies of the reactions between silicon nitride and carbon

The reactions between silicon nitride and carbon take place in two stages, the surface silica of silicon nitride powders reacts with carbon first followed by the decomposition of silicon nitride and the residual silicon reacting with carbon. The kinetics of the two stage reactions has been studied by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. Physico-geometric models for both of the reaction stages have been proposed, and the kinetic parameters have been calculated. The implications of the kinetic models and parameters are discussed.     

Unique commercial applications of the sol-gel process in Japan

Two unique commercial applications of the sol-gel process in Japan are presented. One application involves alkoxide-derived nanometer-sized silica particles used in the final polishing of silicon wafers for the fabrication of integrated circuits. The particles are cocoon-like in shape and have almost replaced conventional abrasives because of the advantages over spherical particles of similar size in terms of obtaining high polishing efficiency for good surface finish. The other application concerns the treatment of paper with an alkoxide solution for water repellent and oil resistance properties, which leads to new products for disposable tableware or cooking ware for microwave oven use.     

Ion bombardment-induced mechanical stress in plasma-enhanced deposited silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride films

We have studied the influence of different deposition conditions on the mechanical stress of silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride layers formed by plasma-enhanced deposition onto silicon substrates. It appears that the mechanical stress of the as-deposited silicon (oxy)nitride layer is a combined effect of the extent of ion bombardment and the deposition temperature on the hydrogen desorption rate. Deposited films show a tensile stress character when the hydrogen desorption rate is thermally controlled, whereas in the case of an ion-bombardement-controlled hydrogen desorption rate the deposited films have a compressive stress. It is also shown that due to annealing at temperatures above the deposition temperature the films are densified as a result of hydrogen desorption and cross-linking.     

Anisotropic etching of silicon in hydrazine

This paper contains a detailed discussion of the practical issues related to the anisotropic etching of single crystal silicon using a 5050 hydrazinewater solution. Characteristics of the etchant, etching reactor design, etch procedures, safety precautions, etch rate data for typical samples and appropriate etch-masks are among the topic discussed. The etching process is carried out in a atmospheric reflux reactor, continuously purged with nitrogen. The etch rate of (100) silicon at 115°C in this hydrazine solution is nearly 3 μm/min, which is much higher than that of ethylenediaminepyrocatecholwater (EDP) solutions. Silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and most metallic thin films, except aluminium, can be used to mask the etching process. The etch rate is reduced significantly in highly-boron-doped silicon; a boron concentration of 1.5 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ practically stops the etch. The use of the hydrazine solution for micromachining thin silicon diaphragms, cantilevers and fibers is demonstrated.     

Surface Characterisation of Silicon Based MEMS

Polysilicon Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are the subject of intensive researches. Surface chemistry and topography of a MEMS test structure fabricated at Sandia National Laboratory, USA, were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atom-ic force microscopy(AFM). XPS C1, and Si2p spectra from the polysilicon components, silicon nitride sub-strate and a reference silicon wafer were compared. The results confirm the presence of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the MEMS surface. An island-like morphology was found on both polysilicon and sili-con nitride surfaces of the MEMS. The islands take the form of caps, being up to 0. 5 μm in diameter and 20 nm in height. It is concluded that the co-existence of columnar growth and equiaxed growth during the low pressure chemical vapor deposition(LPCVD) of these layers leads to the observed morphology and the is-lands are caps to the columnar structures.     

钨的化学机械抛光过程中TiN-W电偶的腐蚀行为(英文)

化学机械抛光 (CMP)技术是同时利用化学和机械作用来获得固体表面亚微米尺度上平整性非常有效的方法 ,从 90年代初期起已成为制备高质量镜头和镜面及集成电路制造过程中硅片表面预处理工艺中最常用的技术之一 .钨的化学机械抛光是用钨坯获得硅片球面平整度的重要工艺 .其过程实际上是先将钨沉积到硅上已有的薄粘附层 -氮化钛上 ,然后进行化学机械抛光 .当抛光阶段接近终了时 ,氮化钛和钨表面将同时暴露在化学抛光液中形成电偶对 ,并在界面上发生腐蚀行为 ,从而影响硅片的球面平整度 ,降低半导体器件的性能与可靠性 .本文通过采用电化学直流极化技术 ,分别获得钨与氮化钛在 0 .0 1mol/LKNO3溶液中或含有三种典型的研磨剂 (H2 O2 ,KIO3,Fe(NO3) 3)溶液中的极化曲线 ,同时设计了一种特殊的电解槽以测量钨和氮化钛之间相互作用的电流 ,初步研究了 patterned硅片上钨和氮化钛界面形成电偶对时的腐蚀行为 .根据所测的钨和氮化钛电位可知 ,当钨和氮化钛表面同时暴露在抛光液中时将形成电偶对 ,氮化钛成为阴极 ,钨为阳极 ,并于界面发生电化学反应 ,表面的不均匀腐蚀将造成硅片平整度的降低 .结果表明 ,当溶液中含有H2 O2 时钨和氮化钛界面的腐蚀速度最大 ,而当溶液中含有Fe(NO3) 3时的钨和氮化钛界面则几乎不发     

In situ monitoring of electrostriction in anodic and thermal silicon dioxide thin films

Stresses due to electric fields in thermal and anodic silica thin layers can impact the devices using these films as dielectrics. Accurately quantifying the internal stress as a function of the electric field is thus of technological importance. In this work, electrostrictive stresses are monitored during cyclic polarization of silica thin films on silicon and during the growth of anodic silica. These are obtained by combining curvature and ellipsometry measurements in situ. In silica films grown by thermal oxidation of silicon, the electric field can generate either tensile or compressive stresses depending on its magnitude and on the silica polarization history. The electromechanical coupling in thermal silica is assumed to be controlled by a reversible change of the dipole organization. For anodic silica films, the stress generated by the electric field is tensile and varies linearly with the square of the electric field above 0.26 V²/nm² under both cyclic polarization and oxidation conditions.     

Reactive layer-by-layer films from solutions containing silicic acid and a Ti(IV) complex: preferential incorporation of silica and interactions of the obtained films with hexacyanoferrate anions

The concept of reactive layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition allows the build-up of films containing polycations and oxide particles, namely, silica and poorly crystalline anatase. Because polyelectrolyte multilayer films have been produced from blended polyanions or polycations solutions and since preferential incorporation of one of the partners of the blend has been found in most cases, one should wonder if a preferential polycondensation of either silica or titania should occur when the reactive deposition is performed from a solution containing a precursor of both inorganic species. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and UV-visible spectroscopies show that the reactive LBL films made from the blend and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) incorporate predominantly silica over TiO(2) over the whole molar fraction range of the silicic acic/hydrosoluble Ti(IV) complex. The transparency of the films below 365 nm, corresponding to the band edge of TiO(2), can easily be modulated. The silica/TiO(2) films are all able to bind hexacyanoferrate owing to the presence of the polycation allowing the binding of the oxide particles to the substrate. However, the binding capacity of the film does not scale proportionally to its thickness. The films made from eight dipping cycles showed a sudden decrease in their binding capacity for hexacyanoferrate when the molar fraction of the titanium complex was higher than ～0.6 in the blend. For the same films, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) showed marked differences with a change in film composition: the more TiO(2) in the film, the higher the resistance to electron and to mass transfer. Therefore, EIS helps to explain the reduced surface concentration measured by means of cyclic voltammetry for films rich in TiO(2).     

Helium-3 activation analysis of oxygen in silicon nitride films on silicon wafers

Oxygen in silicon nitride films on silicon wafers was analyzed by activation with the¹⁶O(³He, p)¹⁸F reaction. By³He bombardment of samples propertly arranged under consideration of the¹⁸F recoil effect, total oxygen was reliably determined and its predominant part was estimated to be located whether on film surface, in film interior, or on film-substrate interface. Sample films with 0.1 to 2 μm thicknesses were found to contain 0.2 to 2 μg/cm² of oxygen in locations varying with preparation conditions. This method has been compared with ESCA and other methods for surface analysis.     

Real-time propagation of the reduced one-electron density matrix in atom-centered Gaussian orbitals: application to absorption spectra of silicon clusters

We solve the time-dependent density functional theory equation by propagating the reduced one-electron density matrix in real-time domain. The efficiency of several standard solvers such as the short-iterative Krylov-subspace propagator, the low-order Magnus integration method with the matrix polynomial (MP) or Chebyshev matrix polynomial (CMP) expansion of the evolution operator, and Runge-Kutta algorithm are assessed. Fast methods for summing MP and CMP are implemented to speed the calculation of the matrix exponential. It is found that the exponential propagators can tolerate large time step size and retain the computational accuracy whereas the Krylov-subspace algorithm is a little inferior for a larger time step size compared with the second-order Magnus integration method with the MP/CMP expansion of the evolution operator in both weak and intense fields. As an application, we calculate the absorption spectra of hydrogen-passivated silicon nanoparticles Si(29)H(x). The popular hybrid and generalized gradient approximation exchange-correlation functionals are applied. We find that the experimental spectra can be reproduced by using B3LYP and that the silicon particles with sizes of 1 nm and the optical excitations at 3.7, 4.0, and 4.6 eV may consist of 29 Si atoms surrounded by 24 hydrogen atoms.