A roadmap towards cost efficient 300 mm equipment

Abstract

Micro- and nanoelectronics will see a further extension of Moore's Law with the prediction of a cost reduction of 25% to 30% per year. The introduction of 300 mm technology is one step towards cost reduction. A description of the time lines of the maturization of 300 mm technology reveals the necessity for equipment improvement, especially for the implementation of Advanced Process Control (APC). Examples for APC are given in the fields of fault detection by in situ analysis of plasma parameters and their electrical verification, of an advanced endpoint detection system capable of reliable endpoint detection for a large variety of cleaning reactions and for the reduction of clean durations for chamber wall cleaning in plasma deposition systems, and in the field of the integration of a particle sensor in high temperature furnaces. Another promising technology described in the article is the re-use of 300 mm equipment, especially of cluster tools, targeting at a long term use of equipment by using the highest degree of standardisation and modular processing module integration. Thus, additional nodes of the ITRS, the roadmap for semiconductor technology, can be manufactured without the full investment into new equipment.