fabrication of a PN junction
diode
Dr.Eman Salah Abass
Useful terminologies
• Oxidation : to form Silicon dioxide (SiO2) layers by heating silicon wafers to a high temperature (1000 to
1200◦C) in the presence of pure oxygen or water vapor
• Sputtering : depositing ترسيبconducting metal films (Thin layers of metal films) through evaporation by
heating the metal to its melting point in a vacuum.
• uses physical ion bombardment القصف األيونيto effect transfer of atoms from a source target to the wafer
surface .
• Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): to form Thin films of polysilicon, silicon dioxide, and silicon nitride ,
in which the material is precipitated ترسيبfrom a gaseous mixture directly onto the surface of the silicon
wafer .
• Ion Implantation: to form Shallow n- and p-type layers, where the wafer is bombarded by high-energy
(50-keV to 1-MeV) acceptor or donor impurity atoms generated by a high-voltage particle accelerator .
• Diffusion : to achieve a greater depth of the impurity layers by of the impurities at high temperatures,
typically 1000 to 1200◦C, in either an inert or oxidizing environment.
• Photolithography: To transfer The patterns from the mask to the wafer surface through the use of high-
resolution optical photographic techniques
Top view of the PN diode structure Photomicrograph of an
formed by fabrication steps actual diode.
• To build integrated circuits, localized n- and p-type regions must be
formed selectively in the silicon surface.
• Silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, photoresist, and other
materials can all be used to block out areas of the wafer surface to
prevent penetration of impurity atoms during implantation and/or
diffusion.
• Masks containing window patterns to be opened in the protective layers
are produced using a combination of computer-aided design systems
and photographic reduction techniques.
• The windows defined by the masks are cut through the protective layers
by wet-chemical etching using acids or by dry-plasma etching.
the fabrication steps of our first
solid-state device—a PN junction
diode
fabrication steps
• a 500 μm thick silicon wafer has
been oxidized to form a thin
layer of silicon dioxide (1 μm),
and a layer of photoresist has
been applied to the top of the
SiO2.
• The photoresist is exposed
by shining light through a
mask that contains patterns
to be transferred to the
wafer 1.20 Silicon wafer (a) at first mask exposure
step,
fabrication steps
After exposure and
development, this photoresist
(called positive resist) has an
opening where it was
exposed,
(b) after exposure and development of
photoresist
fabrication steps
• The oxide is etched away using
the photoresist as a barrier layer,
leaving a window through both
the photoresist and oxide layers,
• Acceptor impurities are now
implanted into the silicon through
the window, but are blocked
everywhere else by the barrier (c) following etching of silicon dioxide
formed by the photoresist and
oxide layers.
fabrication steps
After photoresist removal, a
localized p-type region exists
in the silicon below the
window in the SiO2,
(d) after implantation/diffusion of acceptor
impurity and resist removal.
fabrication steps
• The p-type region will extend
from a few tenths of a micron
to at most a few microns
below the silicon surface.
• Oxide is regrown on the wafer
surface and coated with a new
layer of photoresist, (e) Exposure of contact opening mask
• Contact windows are exposed
through a second mask
fabrication steps
The structure in Fig results
following completion of the
photolithography step and
subsequent etching of the
contact windows in the oxide.
Contacts will be made to both
the n-type substrate and the p- (f ) after resist development and etching
type region through these of contact openings.
openings
fabrication steps
• An aluminum layer is
evaporated onto the silicon
wafer and once again coated
with photoresist.
• A third mask and
photolithography step are used
to transfer The desired
metallization pattern to the wafer (g) Exposure of metal mask.
surface, and then the aluminum
is etched away wherever it is not
coated with resist.
fabrication steps
• The completed structure
appears in Fig. and
corresponds to the top
view .
• Aluminum contacts have
been made to both the n-
type substrate and the (h) Final structure after etching of
p-type region aluminum and resist removal.
