Materials Engineering/Electrical Engineering 129 San Jose State University

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MatE/EE 129 Basic IC Fabrication and Design Learning Objectives
Semiconductor Materias
1. Explain what a semiconductor bandgap is and how it controls conductivity.
2. Distinguish between n-type and p-type semiconductors .
3. Explain how doping controls extrinsic semiconductor conductivity.
4. Draw cross sections of NMOS and MOS transistors.
5. !ist the basic series of steps re"uired to process a transistor and s#etch the
appropriate cross section for each step.
6. !ist the material options for each layer of a transistor.
7. Describe the important issues in growing a Si crystal for the semiconductor
industry.
8. Detail the general steps involved in refining sand into electronic grade silicon.
9. Describe the $% growth process and apparatus.
10. !ist the steps to go from Si ingot to wafer.
11. Define the ma&or point and line defects. Draw schematics of each defect in a
crystal.
12. Discuss the problems defects can cause in semiconductor devices.
!"erma O#idation
13. Describe the basic structure of SiO'.
14. !ist the uses of silicon dioxide in a MOS(E).
15. Differentiate between thermally grown and deposited oxide.
16. *tili+e the Deal-,rove model to design a thermal oxidation process.
17. Simplify the Deal-,rove model for both diffusion and reaction rate limited
processes.
18. Discuss the influence of temperature- crystalline orientation- pressure- oxidi+ing
ambient- and doping on the oxide growth rate.
19. Describe how oxide thic#ness can be measured with an ellipsometer-
spectrophotometer- and $-. test.
20. $ompare the advantages and disadvantages of the different tests.
Di$$usion % Ion Im&antation
21. Describe the process of diffusion from vapor- solid or li"uid source and cite
some real world examples.
22. Differentiate between substitutional- interstitial and #ic#-out diffusion
mechanisms.
23. $alculate diffusion coefficient as a function of dopant- matrix- and temperature.
24. Solve (ic#/s second law for concentration profile- dose- and &unction depth for
an infinite source 0pre-deposition1.
Solve (ic#/s second law for concentration profile- dose- and &unction depth for a
limited source 0drive-in1
.
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25.
26. lot appropriate concentration profiles for pre-deposition and drive-in as a
function of varying time and temperature.
27. Describe the function of the ma&or components of an ion implanter.
28. Describe the stopping mechanisms in ion implantation.
29. $alculate the dopant profile and dose as a function of temperature- ion type-
and implant energy using a simple ,aussian distribution.
30. Discuss phenomena resulting in more complicated implant profiles.
'acuum
31. !ist when and why a vacuum is used in semiconductor processing.
32. $alculate the mean free path of an atom as a function of pressure.
33. Differentiate between types of flow under varying gas pressure.
34. Describe the types of vacuum pumps available.
Lit"ogra&"(
35. Distinguish between positive and negative photoresists and their applications.
36. Describe the process of exposure and develop for both positive and negative
resists.
37. 2dentify the #ey elements which control resolution and registration.
Sur$ace )re&aration
38. Describe the different types of surface contamination
39. !ists the steps in an 3$4 0modern1 cleaning procedure.
40. Describe the purpose of each step in an 3$4 clean.
41. Describe the different levels of particle contamination in a clean room
42. $alculate the particle generation in a laminar flow clean room.
43. Describe a laminar flow in a clean room
44. 2dentify the ma&or sources of particle contamination in a clean room.
)asma Sources
45. Describe and draw the electrical circuit for a D$ and rf plasma source
46. Describe the ma&or constituents and physical regions of a plasma
47. $alculate the velocity of electrons and ions in a plasma field.
Etc"ing
48. !ist the purposes of etching.
49. Describe the active species in a 5OE process.
50. !ist the active species in a plasma etch 0reactive1.
51. Describe the advantages6disadvantages of wet vs dry etching.
52. Describe the differences between selective and non-selective etching .
53. Distinguish between anisotropic and isotropic etching mechanisms.
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$alculate etching rate as a function of directionality and selectivity
.
54.
)'D
55. !ist the applications for .D.
56. 3ead phase diagram for metal alloys.
57. Describe and s#etch the evaporation method including physical apparatus.
58. Describe and s#etch the sputtering process including physical apparatus.
59. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of evaporation and sputtering.
60. Describe methods of determining deposition rates.
C'D
61. Describe and s#etch the $.D process including physical apparatus.
62. Describe the difference between laminar and turbulent gas flow.
63. $ompare reaction rate versus mass transport limited processes.
64. $ompare the different types of $.D processes 04$.D- E$.D- !$.D...etc1
Laborator( E*ui&ment
65. Demonstrate how to set-up and use the 7-point probe.
66. Explain how to evaluate doping process using 7-point probe.
67. Explain how to evaluate metalli+ation process using 7-point probe.
68. Demonstrate how to set-up and use the 8797: for measuring diodes and
transistor characteristics.
69. Demonstrate correct use of aligner- spinner and develop stations.
70. Demonstrate correct usage of wet benches.
71. Demonstrate correct use of spectrophotometer.
E#&erimenta Design
72. Develop a clearly stated experimental ob&ective.
73. 2dentify #ey parameters in the experiment.
74. $ompute appropriate sample si+e for specified experimental precision.
75. $onstruct a simple experiment that satisfies ob&ectives ;'-;7.
Communication S+is
76. *se poster presentations to effectively present experimental findings.
77. Effectively communicate with others using oral presentations with appropriate
visual aids.
78. <rite an effective summary of semester-long process and testing experience as
evidence in final report.
79. Demonstrate ability to clearly and correctly document process changes and
experimental results in traveler and logboo#.
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80. $ommunicates with teammates via meetings and emails on a consistent
wee#ly basis.
!eam,or+ S+is
Evaluates self and teammates in each assigned role
.
81.
82. 2dentifies constructive feedbac# for self and others on team.
83. 4ttends and participates in team meetings.
84. Maintains an appropriate balance between listening and spea#ing at team
meetings.
85. Shares responsibilities with other team members.
Sa$et( % Et"ics -,areness
86. Demonstrate correct usage of personal protective e"uipment.
87. Demonstrate proper gowning techni"ues and procedures for maintaining
cleanliness.
88. Demonstrate correct usage of 8(-containing baths and benches.
89. !ist appropriate ha+ardous materials awareness.
90. Demonstrate ability to read MSDS.
91. 3ecogni+e and correct laboratory safety ha+ards.
MOS C"aracteristics
92. S#etch an individual MOS and NMOS transistor.
93. *se the MOS e"uation to predict threshold voltage.
94. Define threshold voltage- transistor gain- and determine these values from a
family of curves.
95. Define contact resistance and demonstrate how to determine its value from a
series of resistor measurements.
96. Extract substrate doping- oxide thic#ness- .) and fixed oxide charge from a
MOS $. plot.
97. Design test vectors to determine .) and = for an n-channel mosfet.
98. Discuss methods to limit subthreshold current in sub-micron devices.
99. Explain the low power advantages of the cmos logic family.
100. Design test vectors to test nmos inverter- nand-and nor logic circuits.
101. Extract propagation delay from an nmos ring oscillator circuit.
102. Discuss preventive measures for latch-up.