An Electronics Division Retrospective (1952-2002) and Future Opportunities in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

The emergence of crystalline silicon and silicon-based materials such as silicon-germanium as the premier materials and the personnel driving the integrated circuit ͑IC͒ microelectronics revolution will be reviewed. The major threshold events from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, presaging the onset of the large scale integration microelectronics era, will be highlighted. The major silicon material challenges such as dislocation-free single-crystal growth, plastic deformation, the point-defect dilemma, gettering, oxygen in silicon, carrier lifetime, and controlled point-defects in the silicon crystal during the evolution of silicon microelectronics from large scale integration through the very large scale integration era in the 1970s and the 1980s into the ultralarge scale integration era of the 1990s will then be reviewed. Opportunities in epitaxy, wafer cleaning, silicon-on-insulator, silicon-germanium, IC scaling and potential changes in device configuration and IC architecture in the evolution towards the 64 Gbit DRAM and 9 G transistor high-performance MPU logic era in 2016 ͑per the 2001 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors͒ will be discussed in the context of silicon-based microelectronics. The complementary role of compound semiconductors, nanoelectronics and the continuing initiative to obtain an optoelectronic system compatible with silicon will also be discussed. Finally, nonsilicon materials and device configurations will briefly be noted. © 2002 The Electrochemical Society. ͓DOI: 10.1149/1.1471893͔ All rights reserved.Available electronicallyApril 11, 2002. The computer and communications age has catapulted electronics to its current status as the dominant global industry. Indeed, we are in the midst of a revolution brought about by the availability of inexpensive information acquisition, manipulation, and distribution systems. Exploitation of electron and hole conduction in silicon has resulted in electronic memory and logic circuits such as the dynamic random access memory ͑DRAM͒ and microprocessor. Control of the interaction of photons with compound semiconductors has resulted in optical devices such as the laser and optical fiber networks. This revolution has been and will continue to be dependent on our ability to control electronic and photonic material processing techniques for the manufacture of useful devices, circuits and systems. The preparation and detailed processing sequence of a material from crystal growth through device and circuit fabrication determines the microstructure and, therefore, the electronic properties of the material and resulting device and circuit performance, yield, and reliability. Electronic materials include semiconductors, dielectrics, magnetics, piezoelectrics, optoelectronic materials, and optical fibers which may be utilized in crystalline, polycrystalline, or amorphous form. Materials are indeed the sine qua non of electronic and optical devices and circuits.An extensive list of relevant citations through 1997 is noted in Ref. ...

Theoretical Evaluation of Zirconia and Hafnia as Gate Oxides for Si Microelectronics

“…This downscaling implies, among others, the effective continuing reduction of the physical thickness of insulating gate oxide layers in CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) devices. Amorphous SiO 2 , the natural oxide of Si technology, is now nearing its fundamental size limits, with physical thicknesses currently down to 2 unit cells [1]. This leads to uncomfortably large (> 1 A/cm 2 ) leakage currents and increased failure probabilities.…”

“…An increase in capacitance can be obtained reducing the dielectric thickness d/ε of the oxide layer, having physical thickness d and relative dielectric constant ε. Given its small dielectric constant, it is understandable that SiO 2 as a gate oxide has emerged as one of the key bottlenecks in device donwscaling [1,2].It thus appears that, if Moore's law [3] on ULSI circuit component density -and hence circuit performance -is to remain valid in the next decade, a replacement will have to be found for silica as a gate insulator. The basic selection criteria for such a replacement are i) larger dielectric constant ("high-κ"), ii) interface band offsets to Si as large as or comparable to those of silica (especially the electron injection barrier), iii) epitaxy on Si energetically not too costly, iv) thermodynamical stability in contact with Si.…”

A Century of Dielectric Science and Technology

“…High density plasma reactors allowed a reduction in hydrogen content ͑particularly Si-H bonds͒ in SiN x H y due to the high ion flux and low pressure. 113 Due to step coverage requirements, tetraethoxysilane ͑TEOS͒ became the preferred siliconcontaining reactant for SiO 2 deposition because of the low sticking coefficient and high surface diffusivity of plasma-generated fragments relative to those of SiH 4 . 114,115 In addition, the simultaneous deposition/etching that occurs in plasma deposition, with relative rates depending upon the ion energy/flux and the film slope over steps, allowed ''smoothing'' of surface geometries during deposition.…”

“…In this regard, we are especially appreciative of the long-standing and fruitful partnership with the Electronics Division in the co-sponsoring of symposia related to device and circuit fabrication and reliability. A number of these areas are covered admirably in a previous Centennial review article by Howard Huff, 4 and so will not be repeated in detail here.…”

The Diffusion Model of Grown-In Microdefects Formation During Crystallization of Dislocation-Free Silicon Single Crystals

“…Physical properties of semiconductor silicon are determined by the structural perfection of the crystals grown by the Czochralski and float-zone processes (Huff, 2002). In such crystals during their growth are formed grown-in microdefects.…”