Introduction to Wafer Fab Processing Course

Instructor: Jim A. Fraser

Course Overview

Semiconductor and integrated circuit developments continue to proceed at an incredible pace. The industry as a whole has gotten to this point of incredible complexity through the process of countless breakthroughs and developments in wafer fab processing. Today’s wafer fab contains some of the most complex and intricate procedures ever developed by mankind. Wafer Fab Processing is a 4 to 5 day course that offers an in-depth look into the semiconductor manufacturing process, and the individual processing technologies required to make them. We place special emphasis on the basics surrounding each technique, and we delve into the current issues related to manufacturing the next generation devices. This course is a must for every manager, engineer and technician working in the semiconductor industry, using semiconductor components or supplying tools to the industry.

By focusing on the basics of each processing step and the issues surrounding them, participants will learn why certain techniques are preferred over others. Our instructors work hard to explain how semiconductor processing works without delving heavily into the complex physics and mathematical expressions that normally accompany this discipline.

Participants learn basic but powerful aspects about the semiconductor industry. This skill-building series is divided into three segments:

1. Basic Processing Steps: Each processing step addresses a specific need in IC creation. Participants learn the fundamentals of each processing step and why they are used in the industry today.
2. The Evolution of Each Processing Step: It is important to understand how wafer fab processing came to the point where it is today. Participants learn how each technique has evolved for use in previous and current generation ICs.
3. Current Issues in Wafer Fab Processing: Participants learn how many processing steps are increasingly constrained by physics and materials science. They also learn about the impact of using new materials in the fabrication process and how those materials may create problems for the manufacturers in the future.

Course Objectives

1. The seminar will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the semiconductor industry and its technical issues.
2. Participants will understand the basic concepts behind the fundamental wafer fab processing steps.
3. The seminar will identify the key issues related to each of the processing techniques and their impact on the continued scaling of the semiconductor industry.
4. The seminar offers a wide variety of sample problems that participants work to help them gain knowledge of the fundamentals of wafer fab processing.
5. Participants will be able to identify the basic features and principles associated with each major processing step. These include processes like chemical vapor deposition, ion implantation, lithography, and etching.
6. Participants will understand how processing, reliability, power consumption and device performance are interrelated.
7. Participants will be able to make decisions about how to construct and evaluate processing steps for CMOS, BiCMOS, and bipolar technologies.

Instructional Strategy

By using a combination of instruction by lecture, classroom exercises, and question/answer sessions, participants will learn practical information on semiconductor processing and the operation of this industry. From the very first moments of the seminar until the last sentence of the training, the driving instructional factor is application. We use instructors who are internationally recognized experts in their fields that have years of experience (both current and relevant) in this field. The accompanying textbook offers hundreds of pages of additional reference material participants can use back at their daily activities.

Course Outline

1. Introduction
2. Silicon Basics
1. Crystallinity
2. Crystal Defects
3. Crystal Growth
3. Basic CMOS Process Flow
4. Ion Implantation
5. Thermal Processing
1. Diffusion
2. Oxidation
3. Rapid Thermal Processing
6. Cleanliness
1. Contamination Monitoring
2. Wafer Cleaning
7. Vacuum-Related Fundamentals
1. Vacuum Basics
2. Thin Film Basics
3. Plasma Basics
8. Chemical Vapor Deposition
1. CVD Basics
2. Low Pressure CVD
3. Epitaxy
4. Plasma-Enhanced CVD
9. Physical Vapor Deposition
1. Evaporation
2. Sputtering
10. Lithography
1. Photoresist
2. Processing
3. Image Formation
4. Photomasks
11. Etch
1. Etch Basics
2. Wet Etch
3. Dry Etch
4. Dry Etch Applications and Equipment
12. Chemical Mechanical Planarization
13. Advanced Topics
1. Multi-Level Interconnect Processing
2. Atomic Layer Deposition
3. Shallow Trench Isolation
4. Silicon on Insulator

Jim A. Fraser

Jim Fraser received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He has 22 years experience in semiconductor manufacturing, at Nortel Networks and STMicroelectronics. As a Process Engineer, Process Engineering Section Manager, and then Process/Device Engineering Manager, he has worked directly and intimately with CMOS and BiCMOS wafer fab processes. He has taught semiconductor manufacturing technology at Algonquin College and most recently at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario.

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Doubletree Hotel San Jose
2050 Gateway Place
San Jose, CA 95110
408-453-4000

Room block held at single/double rate of $189 per night until September 26, 2008.
To obtain this rate, call 1-800-222-TREE and give the code SEM for the San Jose location.

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Last modified: 01/24/08