Ultraclean Surface Processing of Silicon Wafers

The contamination of wafer surfaces with particles arising from the processing equipment is the main reason for yield losses in the manufacturing of VLSI devices. The starting point for the control of contamination must be the surface of the wafer itself and not just the reduction of contamination in the ambient air or in the gases, chemicals and water used for production. A totally new concept for clean surface processing is introduced here. Some fifty distinguished researchers and engineers from the leading Japanese semiconductor companies, such as NEC, Hitachi, Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic, as well as from several universities reveal to us for the first time the secrets of these highly productive institutions. They describe the techniques and equipment necessary for the preparation of clean high-quality semiconductor surfaces as a first step in high-yield/high-quality device production. This book thus opens the door to the manufacturing of reliable nanoscale devices and will be extremely useful for every engineer, physicist and technician involved in the production of silicon semiconductor devices.