ResourceXplorer

Find our technical papers, webinars, articles

The ResourceXplorer enables you to access technical papers, webinars and articles related to analog/mixed-signal semiconductor technologies.



305 entries found



This paper presents a novel 3D EM multi-technology simulation flow applied to the Micro-Transfer Printing (MTP) heterogeneous integration technique between GaN and RF-SOI. A modular approach is proposed which relies on the two technology PDKs, the definition of a Cu-RDL technology and an assembly library. This flow addresses the intricate nature of the conformal RDL between the two technologies. Additionally, it offers a complete traceability, physical verification as well as EM simulation environment. The flow is verified with two MTP demonstrators, a CPW transmission line and a DC-6GHz SPDT switch. A good hardware/model correlation is observed which validate the proposed flow.

Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) → key process in microelectronics
Use of large temperature range & varying processing times; Control of tool stability for high quality results; Tool Monitoring.

Temperature dependent monitoring by change of sheet resistance (Rs); Different wafer preparation for different temperature ranges; Repeatability and long-term stability investigations

The effect of Fluorine implantation after gate poly deposition and ex-situ Nitrogen anneal after thin gate oxide formation on Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) and Negative-Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) improvement were studied in 0.13um Dual Gate Oxide CMOS Technology for 5V CMOSFETs. The TDDB lifetime was increased by about 1 order for 5V n/p-MOSFET by Fluorine implantation. The 5V p-MOSFET NBTI lifetime is increased an order of magnitude by Fluorine implantation and the ex-situ Nitrogen anneal. A reduction in the Flicker noise and interface trap density was observed for the group with Fluorine implantation and Ex-situ Nitrogen anneal followed by Fluorine implantation. This result demonstrates that optimization of Fluorine and Nitrogen within the gate oxide is necessary for reliability improvement of 5V CMOSFETs in 0.13um technology.

A novel, low voltage LDMOS with a best in class specific on resistance 0.84mOhm.mm 2 has been achieved for a 12V breakdown. This excellent performance was enabled through a combination of conventional and unconventional architectural features implemented on a 110nm BCD on SOI technology.

Hafnium oxide based ferroelectric memory concepts like the FeFET will become increasingly important. They are good scalable, provide high operation speed, and consume low power. Just recently, an 1T1C FeFET concept with one transistor (1T) and one separated ferroelectric capacitor (1C) was demonstrated. This alternative approach is expected to overcome the drawbacks usually observed for the classic 1T concept like limited endurance, reduced retention, and high device-to-device variability. Electrically, the 1T1C FeFET consists of a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and the gate oxide capacitance. To operate at low voltages, a large fraction of the applied voltage must drop across the ferroelectric, which can be archived by optimizing the capacitance ratio. Herein, 1T1C
FeFETs with various capacitance ratios are fabricated and its impact on the electrical performance is discussed. Furthermore, the observed endurance of up to 108 field cycles illustrates the
great potential of the new concept.

Abstract — In semiconductor manufacturing, surface defects on wafers must be classified accurately for better yield management. To manage the increasing chip demand in speed and scale, automatic defect classification (ADC) system has been introduced. Most existing ADC systems utilize machine learning-based algorithms that require manual feature extractions and manual intervention such as human-based classification for accuracy and consistency. These methods are labour-intensive, unreliable, and highly prone to human error. Therefore, by leveraging on deep learning technologies, this paper proposes DLADC - an ADC system using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for detecting and classifying semiconductor wafer surface defects. The proposed system takes Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images as input and outputs the defect’s class and location. The proposed system also sub-classifies particle-type defects into various sizing groups. Identification of defect types that occurred on wafer surfaces allows for better defect root cause analysis, and the additional information of defect size further serves as an essential indication of the origin of machine failure. The proposed DLADC promotes 2x time saving while achieving an improved accuracy of 93.69% based on experimental results with a real semiconductor defect dataset. Not only does DLADC outperforms the 70% classification performance of trained operators, but it also surpasses the 90% classification performance of industrially pragmatic defect classification.

While BCD-on-SOI was traditionally considered a niche technology, it has seen a steep rise in adoption in recent years from all major market segments. The higher SOI substrate cost is more than compensated by the many benefits that come with BCD-on-SOI technologies. X-FAB developed its first BCD-on-SOI technology more than 25 years ago and now offers the most extensive foundry BCD-on-SOI technology portfolio.
Our modular processes combine the benefits of dielectric isolation through buried oxide (BOX) and deep trench isolation (DTI) with a wide range of robust HV CMOS, bipolar and well-matched passive primitive devices. XT018 is our leading 180 nm BCD-on-SOI technology solution supporting automotive AEC-Q100 Grade 0 designs and also satisfying the more stringent automotive reliability requirements which become challenging to deal with in Bulk BCD processes.
Learn more about the benefits of dielectric isolation in BCD-on-SOI technologies like latch-up immunity, voltage scalable isolation and ESD-protection, ease of design for circuits with multiple voltage domains and simpler ways to handle AC-coupling effects.

Presenter:

Tilman Metzger, Technical Marketing Manager High Voltage
Dr. Alexander Hoelke, Senior Member Process Development
Guido Janssen, Principal Engineer Design Support

The modular TSV integration in thick wafers forms a complex system. This has to be considered in the process integration which might require small process or design changes in the front side process to enable the TSV integration.
To achieve a good Cu plating result in the 3-dimensional TSV structures the technical and chemical conditions have to be fulfilled (e.g., an optimized electrolyte has to be used). An optimization of the process parameters is needed, to achieve a stable process and minimal TSV resistance. This was successfully demonstrated.

Evolution of the technology landscape: Innovations required in Tx/Rx pathways with focus on realizing better amplifiers; Filtering transitions from acoustics; Potentially even faster switching times required to realize 5G-NR sub-frame spacing than current RF-SOI capabilities

In our work we describe and demonstrate an alternative approach of integrating 1T-1C FeFET having separated transistor (1T) without modifying frontend CMOS technology and an additional gate-coupled ferroelectric (FE) capacitor (1C) embedded in the interconnect layers. Starting from the results of FE capacitor integration and 1T-1C single cell characterization this paper describes realization and results of a fully integrated 8 kbit memory array implementation.