Siltronic Ag

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Georg Brenninger

Alois Aigner

Christian Hager

Waldemar Stein

Joerg Haberecht

Georg Raming

Maik Haeberlen

Josef Lobmeyer

Konrad Gruendl

Anton Schatzeder

Herbert Mittermaier

Per-Ove Hansson

Martin F&uuml;rfanger

Wolfgang Sedlmeier

Götz Meisterernst

Maik HÄBERLEN

An apparatus for depositing a material layer originating from process gas on a substrate wafer, contains:

Method and apparatus for depositing a material layer originating from process gas on a substrate wafer

A crystal of semiconductor material is produced in an apparatus having a crucible with a crucible bottom and a crucible wall, the crucible bottom having a top surface, an underside, and a multitude of openings disposed between the crucible wall and a center of the crucible bottom, and elevations disposed on the top surface and the underside of the crucible bottom; and an induction heating coil disposed below the crucible for melting semiconductor material and stabilizing a melt of semiconductor material covering a growing crystal of semiconductor material. The growth process comprises generating a bed of a semiconductor material feed on the top surface of the crucible bottom and melting semiconductor material on the bed using the induction heating coil.

Apparatus and process for producing a crystal of semiconductor material

An apparatus for producing a single crystal of silicon comprises a plate with a top side, an outer edge, and an inner edge, a central opening adjoining the inner edge, and a tube extending from the central opening to beneath the bottom side of the plate;

Apparatus and process for producing a single crystal of silicon

A silicon single crystal is produced by a method wherein

Method for producing a silicon single crystal

Uniformity of vapor deposited coatings on semiconductor wafers is improved by employing an apparatus having a gas distributor head below a susceptor onto which the wafer is placed, the gas distributor head directing a fan of cooling gas at the rear side of the susceptor. The ratio of the diameter of the cooled section of the susceptor to the diameter D of the wafer is preferably from 0.1 to 0.4.

Device for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer by means of vapour deposition

A layer is deposited onto a semiconductor wafer by CVD in a process chamber having upper and lower covers, wherein the wafer front side temperature is measured; the wafer is heated to deposition temperature; the temperature of the upper process chamber cover is controlled to a target temperature by measuring the temperature of the center of the outer surface of the upper cover as the value of a controlled variable of an upper cover temperature control loop; a gas flow rate of process gas for depositing the layer is set; and a layer is deposited on the heated wafer front side during control of the upper cover temperature to the target temperature. A process chamber suitable therefor has a sensor for measuring the upper cover outer surface center temperature and a controller for controlling this temperature to a predetermined value.

Method and apparatus for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer by vapor deposition in a process chamber

An incorrect position of a semiconductor wafer during thermal treatment in a process chamber heated by means of infrared emitters and transmissive to infrared radiation is identified, wherein the semiconductor wafer lies in a circular pocket of a rotating susceptor and is held at a predetermined temperature with the aid of the infrared emitters and a control system, and wherein thermal radiation is measured by a pyrometer, an amplitude of the fluctuations of the measurement signal is determined and an incorrect position of the semiconductor wafer is assumed if the amplitude exceeds a predetermined maximum value. The pyrometer is oriented such that the measurement spot detected by the pyrometer lies partly on the semiconductor wafer and partly outside the semiconductor wafer on the susceptor so that it is possible to identify an eccentric position of the semiconductor wafer within the pocket of the susceptor.

Method for identifying an incorrect position of a semiconductor wafer during a thermal treatment

A method for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The method includes providing a chamber having an inlet opening and an outlet opening and a channel joining the inlet opening and the outlet opening, wherein the channel is bounded at the bottom by a plane and at the top by a window transmissive to thermal radiation. A semiconductor wafer is disposed so that a surface of the semiconductor lies in the plane, wherein the window has a center region disposed over the semiconductor wafer and an edge region surrounding the center region and not disposed over the semiconductor wafer. A distance between the plane and the window varies across the chamber, the distance being greater at the edge region than at the center region. A tangent applied to a radial profile of the distance at a boundary between the center region and the edge region forms an angle with the plane of not less than 15&#xb0; and not more than 25&#xb0;. A deposition gas is conducted through the channel from the gas inlet opening over the semiconductor wafer to the gas outlet opening, wherein a speed at which the deposition gas is conducted varies over the semiconductor wafer according to the varying distance between the plane and the window.

Method for depositing a layer on a semiconductor wafer by means of CVD and chamber for carrying out the method

Silicon wafers polished on their front sides are individually placed on a susceptor in an epitaxy reactor and firstly pretreated under a hydrogen atmosphere, and secondly with addition of an etching medium with a flow rate of 1.5-5 slm to the hydrogen atmosphere, the hydrogen flow rate being 1-100 slm in both steps, and subsequently epitaxially coated on the polished front side, and then removed from the reactor. In a second method, gas flows introduced into the reactor by injectors are distributed into outer and inner zones of the chamber, such that the inner zone gas flow acts on a wafer central region and the outer zone gas flow acts on a wafer edge region, the inner/outer distribution of the etching medium I/O=0-0.75. Silicon wafers having an epitaxial layer having global flatness value GBIR of 0.02-0.06 &#x3bc;m, relative to an edge exclusion of 2 mm are produced.

Epitaxially coated silicon wafer and method for producing epitaxially coated silicon wafers

A method and a device for regulating a pressure in an epitaxy reactor, wherein the epitaxy reactor has a wafer handling chamber WHC, a process chamber PC, and a gate valve GV connecting the two chambers. The wafer handling chamber is continuously purged with inert gas. The pressure difference between the wafer handling chamber and the process chamber is measured, and the resulting measurement signal is used in a control circuit to regulate the pressure in the wafer handling chamber. In this case the pressure in the wafer handling chamber is reduced if the pressure difference is above a predetermined value and the pressure in the wafer handling chamber is increased if the pressure difference is below a predetermined value. The predetermined pressure difference is defined as a pressure being between 5 and 500 PA. The WHC and the PC each have a gas discharge line and a gas input line. There is a differential pressure sensor for measuring the pressure difference between the chambers and control unit for regulating the pressure in the WHC.

Method and device for regulating the differential pressure in epitaxy reactors

A method is provided for loading a heated susceptor or a susceptor segment of a deposition reactor with a substrate wafer which is resting on a holding means. Before making contact between the substrate wafer and the susceptor or susceptor segment, a holding position is reached in which the substrate wafer and the susceptor or susceptor segment are at a spaced vertical distance from one another. The substrate wafer is only brought into contact with the susceptor or the susceptor segment after a residence time in this holding position. There is also a device for loading a susceptor, in particular a susceptor segment of a deposition reactor.

Method and device for loading a susceptor

A method and device for detecting an incorrect position of a semiconductor wafer during a high-temperature treatment of the semiconductor water in a quartz chamber which is heated by IR radiators, has the semiconductor wafer lying on a rotating support and being held at a specific temperature with the aid of a control system. Thermal radiation which is emitted by the semiconductor wafer and the IR radiators is recorded using a pyrometer. The radiation temperature of the recorded thermal radiation is determined. The semiconductor wafer is assumed to be in an incorrect position if the temperature of the recorded thermal radiation fluctuates to such an extent over the course of time that the fluctuation width lies outside a fluctuation range &Dgr;T which is regarded as permissible.

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Oberbergkirchen, Germany

Georg Brenninger