Introduction
● Photolithography is a micropatterning technique used to transfer intricate circuit
designs onto the surface of a silicon wafer.
● It is fundamental to the fabrication of integrated circuits (ICs), enabling the
placement of up to 10,000 transistors on a 1 cm² silicon chip.
● The process is based on optical projection and involves two main stages:
1. Making the Photographic Mask
2. Photo Etching (Photolithographic Process)
1. Making the Photographic Mask
Circuit Artwork
● The design starts with a magnified layout of the circuit (up to 500× scale).
○ For example, a 1 mil (25 µm) line is drawn as 1.2 cm on paper.
○ A full chip artwork may span 60 cm × 60 cm.
Mask Layers
● The full layout is split into several mask layers, each used for a specific
fabrication step:
○ Diffusion
○ Ion implantation
○ Oxidation
○ Metallization
○ Isolation steps
Artwork Creation
● Artwork is drawn on Mylar sheets coated with Rubylith (a red, opaque film).
● Rubylith is manually cut to create transparent regions matching the design.
● A coordinate graph tool ensures precise movement and alignment.
Mask Fabrication
● The rubylith artwork is:
○ Photographed and
○ Reduced step-by-step (×500) using photoreduction techniques.
● The final mask is a glass photomask containing the circuit pattern.
● Master masks are stored for each layer and replicated for large-scale production.
2. Photo Etching (Photolithographic Process)
Objective: Selectively remove SiO₂ from desired areas on the wafer to allow doping,
oxidation, or metallization.
Step-by-Step Etching Process:
Step Description
(a) Start with a silicon wafer coated with a thin SiO₂ layer. Then, coat it with
photoresist (e.g., Kodak KPR), thickness ~5000–10000 Å.
(b) Align the photomask over the wafer and expose to UV light.
(c) The exposed photoresist polymerizes (hardens) and becomes chemically
resistant.
(d) The wafer is developed using Trichloroethylene, removing the unexposed,
soft photoresist.
(e) The wafer is etched using Hydrofluoric Acid (HF), which removes SiO₂ from
the exposed regions.
(f) Finally, the remaining photoresist is stripped off using H₂SO₄ or abrasive
methods.
●
The wafer now contains precise openings in SiO₂ for implantation, diffusion, or
metal contacts.
🔹 Advanced Lithography Techniques
These techniques aim to overcome the resolution limits of UV photolithography.
1. X-Ray Lithography
● Uses soft X-rays (wavelength ~1 nm) instead of UV light.
● Offers much finer resolution, enabling feature sizes well below 0.5 µm.
● The X-rays pass through a membrane mask with X-ray-absorbing materials (e.g.,
gold).
● The resist used is more sensitive to X-rays and often requires vacuum
conditions.
Advantages:
● Higher resolution than optical lithography
● Less diffraction → sharper patterns
● Useful for Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)
Limitations:
● High cost of masks and equipment
● Mask fragility
● Not suitable for high-throughput production
2. Electron Beam (E-beam) Lithography
● Uses a focused beam of electrons to directly write patterns on the wafer – no
mask needed (maskless lithography).
● The resist used is electron-sensitive and changes solubility when struck by the
beam.
Advantages:
● Extremely high resolution – can go below 10 nm
● Ideal for prototype ICs, quantum devices, and nano-scale research
● Eliminates need for costly masks
Limitations:
● Very slow process – not suited for mass production
● Expensive
● Complex electron optics and vacuum needed
Isolation Techniques in Integrated Circuit Fabrication
When multiple components are fabricated on the same IC chip, electrical isolation
between them is essential. Two widely used isolation techniques are:
1. p-n Junction Isolation
● Process: p⁺ type impurities are diffused into the n-type epitaxial layer until they
reach the p-type substrate, forming isolation islands.
● Working Principle: These p⁺ regions act as barrier around the n-epitaxial regions.
The junctions formed are reverse biased when the substrate is held at the most
negative potential.
● Effect: This reverse bias prevents current flow, thus isolating different regions.
● Drawback: There is parasitic capacitance due to transition regions, which can
degrade high-frequency performance.
● Use Case: Common in general-purpose ICs due to lower cost and simpler
fabrication.
2. Dielectric Isolation
● Process: A solid dielectric (like silicon dioxide or ruby) completely encloses each
component.
● Advantage: Provides both electrical and physical isolation. The dielectric layer
has negligible capacitance, making it ideal for high-performance circuits.
● Transistor Compatibility: Supports both pnp and npn transistors on the same
substrate.
● Drawback: More expensive due to extra fabrication steps.
● Use Case: Used in high-grade ICs for aerospace, military, and other
performance-critical applications.
Metallization
The purpose of this process is to produce a thin metal film layer that will serve to make
interconnections of the various components on the chip. Aluminium is usually used for
the metallization of most ICs as it offers several advantages:
1. It is relatively a good conductor.
2. It is easy to deposit aluminium films using vacuum deposition.
3. Aluminium makes good mechanical bonds with silicon.
4. Aluminium forms low resistance, non-rectifying (i.e., ohmic) contact with p-type
silicon and the heavily doped n-type silicon.
Vacuum Evaporation for Metallization (Refer Fig. 1.12)
The film thickness is about 1 µm, and conduction width of about 2 to 25 µm is
commonly used. The process takes place in a vacuum evaporation chamber. The
pressure in the chamber is reduced to the range of about 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁷ torr (1 atmosphere =
760 torr).
● The material to be evaporated is placed in a resistance-heated tungsten coil or
basket.
● A high-power density electron beam is focused at the surface of the material to
be evaporated.
● This heats the material to a very high temperature, causing it to vaporize.
● The vapors travel in straight line paths, and when they hit the substrate, they
condense to form a thin film coating.
After the thin film metallization is done:
● The film is patterned to produce the required interconnections and bonding pad
configuration.
● This is done using a photolithographic process.
● Aluminium is etched away from unwanted places using etchants like
phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄).
