• Offered for Year: 2024/25

• Module Leader(s): Dr Sarah Olsen

• Owning School: Engineering
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

To provide an advanced knowledge of electronic device manufacture; to explain the importance of yield and reliability; to consider future directions available to electronic device technology; to gain practical experience of electronic device fabrication and test in a clean room.

Outline Of Syllabus

Silicon Epitaxy -
Applications, vapour phase expitaxy, doping and autodoping; molecular beam epitaxy; nanoscale characterisation

Polysilicon Deposition -
Applications, deposition process and rate, electrical characteristics, step coverage, oxidation of polysilicon.

Oxidation -
Uses of thermal oxide and CVD oxide, growth and properties of dry and wet oxide, dopant distribution, oxide quality, CVD process, doped oxide and its applications, step coverage and planarisation; high-k dielectrics.

Metallisation -
Uses and desired properties of metallization, evaporation and sputtering, aluminium, silicide and gold metalisation technology, general properties of metalisation.

Etching -
Types, etch rate, selectivity, anisotropy, uniformity, case study; reactive ion etching, process monitoring and end point detection, pattern transfer problems, defects and impurities, deep reactive ion etching.

Surface Contamination -
Particles and films, sources of contamination, cleaning methods; photoresist removal.

Process Monitoring -
Junction depth, resistivity and sheet resistance, Hall effect, majority carrier mobility, doping profiles, current-voltage characteristics, line width.

Deep Submicron Lithography -
G Line, I line, Deep UV, resolution, depth of focus, phase shift lithography, electron beam lithography, x-ray lithography, costs.

Interconnect -
Need for planar process, CR delay, material system wish list, electromigration and reliability, median time to failure.

Doping Technology -
Ion implantation, equipment, masking, dopant profiles, channelling, implantation damage, annealing, diffusion doping. Electrical and physical characterisation of doping.

New materials and technologies -
Novel gate stacks (metal gates, high k dielectrics, atomic layer deposition), new channel materials (strained Si/SiGe), SiC for high temperature electronics, advanced interconnect (Cu-low k), nanotechnology.

Fabrication and test of electronic devices using clean room technology.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures provide core material and guidance for further reading. Tutorials reinforce self-directed learning while private study allows reading of material for advanced understanding.
Problem solving and examples are integrated into lecture and tutorial work. Practical clean room experience reinforces and enhances lecture material.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams

Exam Pairings

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The exam provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate their knowledge and skills developed from course material, student directed learning and practical elements.

Reading Lists

• EEE8125's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• EEE8125's Timetable