Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.

Eaton Corporation

Dennis P Rodier

Benjamin Colombeau

Joseph C Olson

Costel Biloiu

Craig Richard Chaney

Deepak Arabagatte Ramappa

Neil J Bassom

Christopher R Hatem

Shengwu Chang

Kyu-Ha Shim

Donna Smatlak

Damian Brennan

William Bintz

Thirumal Thanigaivelan

George T Lecouras

Isao Tsunoda

Nobihiro Tokoro

In one embodiment, a method for generating an ion beam having gallium ions includes providing at least a portion of a gallium compound target in a plasma chamber, the gallium compound target comprising gallium and at least one additional element. The method also includes initiating a plasma in the plasma chamber using at least one gaseous species and providing a source of gaseous etchant species to react with the gallium compound target to form a volatile gallium species.

Gallium ION source and materials therefore

Dark currents within a photosensitive device are reduced through improved implantation of a species during its fabrication. Dark currents can be caused by defects in the photo-diode device, caused during the annealing, implanting or other processing steps used during fabrication. By amorphizing the workpiece in the photo-diode region, the number of defects can be reduced thereby reducing this cause of dark current. Dark current is also caused by stress induced by an adjacent STI, where the stress caused by the liner and fill material exacerbate defects in the workpiece. By amorphizing the sidewalls and bottom surface of the trench, defects created during the etching process can be reduced. This reduction in defects also decreases dark current in the photosensitive device.

Dark currents and reducing defects in image sensors and photovoltaic junctions

An improved method of performing pocket or halo implants is disclosed. The amount of damage and defects created by the halo implant degrades the performance of the semiconductor device, by increasing leakage current, decreasing the noise margin and increasing the minimum gate voltage. The halo or packet implant is performed at cold temperature, which decreases the damage caused to the crystalline structure and improves the amorphization of the crystal. The use of cold temperature also allows the use of lighter elements for the halo implant, such as boron or phosphorus.

Optimized halo or pocket cold implants

The invention provides a method, system, and apparatus for improving doping uniformity during ion implantation, particularly during a high-tilt ion implantation. In one embodiment, the invention provides a method for improving doping uniformity in a high-tilt ion implantation, the method comprising the steps of: positioning a wafer along an axis perpendicular to an ion beam scan plane to form an angle between a surface of the wafer and a plane perpendicular to the ion beam; measuring a current of the ion beam by moving a current detector across the ion beam in a path substantially coplanar with a surface of the wafer; and adjusting a doping uniformity of the ion beam current based on the measuring step.

Method, system, and apparatus for improving doping uniformity in high-tilt ion implantation

A vertical rapid thermal processing (RTP) system (10) is provided, comprising a vertical process chamber (20) extending along a longitudinal axis (X), and a movable platform (32) disposed within the process chamber and having a support surface upon which one or more substrates such as semiconductor wafers (W) may be mounted for processing. A temperature control subsystem (56, 58, 60) establishes a continuous temperature gradient within the vertical process chamber along the longitudinal axis. The temperature control subsystem comprises a plurality of chamber sidewall heating elements (24) located at different vertical positions along the longitudinal axis. Each of the plurality of heating elements is controlled independently of the other of the plurality of heating elements. The plurality of longitudinally oriented heating elements provides an active sidewall heating mechanism which results in a consistent and continuous temperature gradient within the chamber, independent of the position of the wafer within the chamber or the number of wafers which have been processed.

Furnace sidewall temperature control system

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Francestown, NH, United States of America

Dennis P Rodier