PECVD (Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition) is a chemical process that used to deposit thin films from a gas state (vapor) to a solid state on a substrate. This technology is popular in the industry as this is often used in semiconductor manufacturing – depositing films on wafers containing metal layers or other components that are sensitive to temperature.
The main advantages of PECVD process include the following:
- Low deposition temperature (operates between 100 and 400 degree Celsius)
- Good di-electric properties of the films (which is important in integrated circuit manufacturing)
- Requires less thermal energy (or that energy that comes from heat)
- Low mechanical stress (by definition, it is a measure of internal forces that arise in a body being deformed as a result of outside force.)
- Low power source
- Good conformal step coverage
More important facts involved in PECVD process
- PECVD is mainly used for the deposition of dielectric films and passivation films (some examples are silicon oxide or nitride or ONO layers at low temperature)
- Can also be used for SiC layers of poly-Silicon deposition.
- It is recognized as the best method if dopant diffusion has to be kept low, wafers have to be treated.
- With PECVD process, the thermal budget of the treated wafers stays low
- As opposed to simple thermal deposition technique, the properties of the coated layers can be better influenced with PECVD
- Not only thermal energy is used in the PECVD process to initiate and sustain chemical reactions, but also and RF-induced glow discharge to transfer energy to the reactant gases such as SiH4, N2O, and NH3.
Some criteria that helps in choosing a PECVD process company
- Review – this plays an important role to find a good company as this helps you get substantial knowledge about good prospective companies. So, do some prior reviews – both online and offline.
- Reputation – what people are saying about these companies? Do they have loyal clients? Have they received any recognition in the past?
- The technology – do they have the latest technology? The more advanced the equipment used, the better service they can have.
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