Thin Film Deposition Vocabulary

Flashcards on Thin Film Deposition

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

A thin film technology where gaseous chemical reactants engage in a chemical reaction on the wafer surface.

Atmospheric Pressure CVD (APCVD)

A CVD process performed at atmospheric pressure.

Low Pressure CVD (LPCVD)

A CVD process performed under vacuum conditions.

Plasma Enhanced CVD (PECVD)

A CVD process where additional energy from the plasma constituents is added to the reactants.

Sputtering

The process of dislodging an atom from a surface by striking it with an energetic particle.

Sputter Yield

The number of particles emitted per incident particle in sputtering.

Low Energy Regime (Sputtering)

Sputtering where the incident ions have energies less than 50 eV.

Knock-on Energy Regime (Sputtering)

Sputtering where ions have energies in the 40eV - 1keV range.

Collision-cascade sputtering regime

Sputtering at very high energies of up to 50 keV.

Ultra-high energy regime (“implantation” regime)

Sputtering where ions have energies well over 50 keV and penetrate deep into the target.

dc Diode Sputter Deposition

The simplest type of sputter deposition system where the target is fixed at the cathode and substrates at the anode.

RF Diode Sputter Deposition

Sputtering that allows insulating targets to be used by utilizing field oscillation in the plasma to cause additional electron motion.

Magnetron Sputter Deposition

Sputtering that increases the ionization rate in the plasma by confining secondary electrons near the cathode using a magnetic field.

Reactive Sputtering

Sputtering where a compound film is formed by introducing reactive gas atoms into the chamber.

Three-Zone Model (Film Deposition)

A model relating film morphology to the incident atom energy and substrate temperature, dividing it into three zones.

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) - Evaporation

A thin film deposition technique involving the evaporation of thin metal films in a vacuum chamber.

Thermal Evaporation

Heating the charge material using an inductive coil in evaporation.

E-beam Evaporation

Heating the charge material by means of an electron beam in evaporation.

Step Coverage

The ability of 'adsorbed' atoms to move along the surface during deposition over patterned structures.

Multi-component films deposition by evaporation

Deposition from either the desired alloy material in the melt or by co-evaporating the alloy components from different crucibles

Epitaxy

The process of growing a regularly oriented single crystalline film upon another crystalline substrate.

Homoepitaxy

Epitaxy where the epitaxial layer is of the same material as the substrate.

Heteroepitaxy

Epitaxy where the epitaxial layer is a different material from the substrate.

Solid Phase Epitaxy (SPE)

Epitaxy where an amorphous layer which is in contact with the crystal epitaxially crystallizes at the interface between the two phases

Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE)

Epitaxy where a liquid phase of a crystalline layer is solidified onto a parent crystal such that the solidified layer maintains a crystalline structure.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)

An ultra-high vacuum technique where atomic or molecular beams impinge onto a heated single crystal substrate where the epitaxial layers grow.

Thermal CVD Epitaxy

Epitaxy that has similarities to the LPCVD process, but is carried out at high temperatures and the deposited films are crystalline.

Metalorganic CVD (MOCVD)

A CVD used to grow compound semiconductor films where a metalorganic compound is reacted with a hydride group V (or VI) source gases.

Physisorption

Adsorption where atoms are held to the surface with relatively weak forces such as Van der Waals forces, dipole-dipole forces etc

Chemisorption

Adsorption where a chemical bond is formed between the adsorbed atom/molecule and an atom/molecule on the surface

Heterogeneous reactions

Reactions where the adatoms of the precursor gases take part in reactions at the wafer surface

Homogeneous reactions

Reactions that take place in the gas phase (i.e., within the boundary layer, or even above it)