Ion Implantation

Doping
The dominant doping method
A particle accelerator is used to accelerate a doping atom so that it can
penetrate a silicon crystal to a depth of several microns
Excellent control of dose (cm
-2
)
Good control of implant depth with energy (KeV to MeV)
Repairing crystal damage and dopant activation requires annealing, which
can cause dopant diffusion and loss of depth control.

Dopant ions
Ion Implantation
Ion implanter
The ion implantation process is conducted in a vacuum chamber at very low pressure (10
-4
to 10
-5
torr).
Large numbers of ions (typically 10
16
to 10
17
ions/cm
2
) bombard and penetrate a surface, interacting with
the substrate atoms immediately beneath the surface.
Typical depth of ion penetration is a fraction of a micron.
Annealing
After ion implantation, lattice damage to the crystal is repaired by heating
the wafer at a moderate temperature for a few minutes. This process is
called annealing.
Furnace annealing takes minutes and causes too much diffusion of dopants
for some applications.
Rapid thermal annealing (RTA), the wafer is heated to high temperature in
seconds by a bank of heat lamps.

Diffusion
Diffusion is atom movement along concentration gradients.
There are different mechanisms in which an atom moves within the crystal:
a) Interstitial diffusion, atoms jump from one interstitial site to another, which
is always available (small atoms, like sodium and lithium).
b)Substitutional/vacancy diffusion, necessitates that empty lattice site is
available next to the diffusing atom (antimony and arsenic).
c) Interstitialcy mechanism, the self-interstitial atoms move to the lattice
sites, and kick the dopants to the interstitial sites, and from there they move
to the lattice sites (boron and phosphorus).
A uniformly doped ingot is sliced into
wafers.
An oxide film is then grown on the
wafers.
The film is patterned and etched using
photolithography exposing specific
sections of the silicon.
The wafers are then spun with an
opposite polarity doping source
adhering only to the exposed areas.
The wafers are then heated in a furnace
(800-1250
o
C) to drive the doping atoms
into the silicon.
Diffusion
Process
The doping material used can either be solid,
liquid or gaseous.
In carrier gas diffusion doping, a carrier gas
carries the doping atoms to the silicon wafers
which been brought by radiant heat to
temperatures of 1000C to 1285C.
Comparison of Diffusion and Ion Implantation
Diffusion
cheaper and more simplistic
method,
can only be performed from the
surface of the wafers.
dopants also diffuse unevenly,
and interact with each other
altering the diffusion rate.

Ion implantation
more expensive and complex.
It does not require high
temperatures and also allows
for greater control of dopant
concentration and profile.
anisotropic process and
therefore does not spread the
dopant implant as much as
diffusion.
aids in the manufacture of self-
aligned structures which
greatly improve the
performance of MOS
transistors.
Question??
1. Sami Franssila, Introduction to Microfabrication John Wiley & Sons Ltd,
2004.
2. http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/AE_silicon.html
3. Infrastructure -copyright, 1999
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoresist
5. http://www.n2bio.com/surface-modification-technology/ion-
implantation.php
6. http://www.oxford-instruments.com/
7. http://www.tpub.com/neets/book14/57d.htm
References
Thank you for attention