X-RAY INSTRUMENTATION FOR IMPROVED SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY

RESEARCH ON UNIQUE SOFT X-RAY WAVE-LENGTH DISPERSIVE INSTRUMENTATION IS PROPOSED TO FULFILL IMPORTANT PROCESS MONITOR NEEDS IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY. ARACOR EXPERIENCE IN DESIGNING AND SUCCESSFULLY APPLYING MULTILAYER SYNTHETIC MICROSTRUCTURES TO OBTAIN BOTH WAVE-LENGTH DISCRIMINATION AND FOCUSING OF SOFT X-RAYS IS UTILIZED AS A KEY PART OF THIS WORK. THIS PROPOSAL DETAILS HOW THE NOVEL X-RAY OPTIC ELEMENTS PROVIDE LARGE SOLID-ANGLE COLLECTION EFFICIENCY AND FOCUSING OF FLUORESCENT SOFT X-RAYS TO YIELD QUANTITATIVE, NON-DESTRUCTIVE MEASUREMENT OF ELEMENTAL MATERIALS WITHIN MEASUREMENT TIMES OF ONE TO TWO SECONDS INSTEAD OF MINUTES AS FOR X-RAY ENERGY-DISPERSIVE INSTRUMENTS. THE RAPIDITY OF MEASUREMENT ALLOWS APPLICATION AS A PROCESS LINE MONITOR WITH THE CAPABILITY OF UNAMBIGUOUSLY DETERMINING THE ELEMENTAL CONCENTRATIONS ACROSS THE WAFER SURFACE. A UNIQUE AND EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT APPLICATION WHICH COMES DIRECTLY FROM HIGH FLUX COUNTING IS THE ABILITY TO DETERMINETHE PROJECTED RANGE OF ION IMPLANTED SPECIES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IN PHASE I IS PRIMARILY THEORETICAL, WITH MAJOR EMPHASIS ON DETERMINING THE PARAMETERS CHARACTERIZING THE MULTILAYER SYNTHETIC MICROSTRUCTURES. THE FINAL RESULT TO BE OBTAINED IN PHASE I IS THE DESIGN OF A CHARACTERIZED PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT.