No description available.

No description available.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Metallurgy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering / unrestricted

This dissertation focuses on the chemistry, detection, and control of metals and metal contaminants during manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs) on silicon wafers. Chapter 1 begins with an overview of IC manufacturing, including discussion of the common aqueous cleaning solutions, metallization processes, and analytical techniques that will be investigated in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 covers initial investigations into the chemistry of the SC2 clean - a mixture of HCl, H2O2, and DI water - especially on the behavior of H2O2 in this solution and the impact of HCl concentration on metal removal from particle addition to silicon oxide surfaces. Chapter 3 includes a more generalized investigation of the chemistry of metal ions in solution and how they react with the silicon oxide surfaces they are brought into contact with, concluding with illumination of the fundamental chemical principles that govern their behavior. Chapter 4 shows how metal contaminants behave on silicon wafers when subjected to the high temperature (≥ 800 °C) thermal cycles that are encountered in IC manufacturing. It demonstrates that knowledge of some fundamental thermodynamic properties of the metals allow accurate prediction of what will happen to a metal during these processes. Chapter 5 covers a very different but related aspect of metal contamination control, which is the effectiveness of metal diffusion barriers (e.g. Ru) in holding a metal of interest, (e.g. Cu), where it is wanted while preventing it from migrating to places where it is not wanted on the silicon wafer. Chapter 6 concludes with an overview of the general chemical principles that have been found to govern the behavior of metals during IC manufacturing processes.

Note:

In this thesis, we pursue a simulation-based approach whereby microstructure-sensitive finite element simulations are performed within a statistical perspective to examine the VHCF life variability and assess the surface initiation probability. The methodology introduced in this thesis lends itself as a cost-effective platform for development of microstructure-property relations to support design of new or modified alloys, or to more accurately predict the properties of existing alloys.