Ion-graphy implanter with stencil mask

Abstract

Recently, the demand for semiconductor devices has been greatest in the consumer market for such products as video games, cellular phones, and DVD players. In order to satisfy these demands, semiconductor manufacturers are now designing new production lines, such as mini fabs, to decrease the processing time for various types of semiconductor devices. Over the past few decades, the availability and throughput of ion implanters have improved dramatically. However, the implantation process itself has, except for a slight change, remained basically the same. A recent article (Ref. 1) describes the basic concept of an ion-implantation process that does not require use of a photoresist mask. This article reports the experimental data and the basic functions of a type of ion implanter currently being developed. This implanter implants ions in one chip at a time through a stencil mask without the use of a photoresist mask. This ion-implantation technology, called stencil mask ion implantation technology, and the ion implanter, called a stencil mask lithographic ion implanter, will be exceptionally suitable for future semiconductor manufacturing processes.