AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition
    Plasma Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session PS2-WeM

Invited Paper PS2-WeM12
Plasma Prize Invited Lecture: Simulations of Plasma Processes and Equipment for Semiconductor Device Fabrication

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11:40 am, Room 308

Session: Plasma Modeling
Presenter: Peter Ventzek, Tokyo Electron America, Inc.
Correspondent: Click to Email

For decades, simulation and theory has been applied to the design and analysis of semiconductor process and fabrication equipment development. Simulation technology has advanced from predictions of the electron energy distribution function and plasma chemistry to multidimensional simulations of plasma equipment. Multidimensional plasma source models have been used to predict (and sometimes post-predict) many important phenomena. Prediction of the consequence of augmentation of sources with weak magnetic fields is used to illustrate this. Progress in surface topography evolution models and sub-surface property prediction has been similarly impressive. Complemented with classical force field molecular dynamics simulations have been used to address critical problems related to patterning and atomic layer etching. While fully integrated equipment-feature scale models have been demonstrated, they remain less than tightly coupled because of difficulties dealing with plasma and plasma-surface chemistry. While this presentation will not reveal closing of gaps between models, progress in coupling can be reported. Advances in quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics methods permit insights to be gained from existing simulations of plasma sources. We will use the example of plasma doping using microwave plasma sources as an example. Techniques that complement equipment simulations such as highly resolved particle-in-cell simulations and test particle methods help reveal how the physics of the plasma source is related to phenomena at the surface and sub-surface. Once akin to “Imagineering,” Modeling and simulation is now pervasive in the semiconductor industry. Globally this is manifested through direct activity in industry or through interactions with consortia or academia. The presentation will provide a perspective on future directions in the field.