Acquisition of a Cluster Tool for Si-based Heteroepitaxy and Research on Electronics, Photonics, and Microelectromechanical Device Technologies

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Acquisition of a state-of-the-art, single-wafer cluster tool for silicon-based heteroepitaxy is proposed. The equipment is an Applied Materials 'Epi Centura High Temperature' platform, configured with an epitaxial growth chamber capable of slip-free processing of wafers in the temperature range of 550 to 1200C. The Applied Epi Centura tool enables chemical vapor deposition of blanket and selective epitaxial Si and Si1-xGex with excellent layer thickness uniformity across the wafer. The gas manifold will be customized to allow a wide range of sources to be used, enabling research on new materials of rapidly increasing interest such as Si1-yCy and SiGeC. The proposed instrument will have unique capabilities and will enable collaborations among researchers from industry and universities. There is a significant and growing importance of silicon-based heteroepitaxy in basic and applied device research, particularly as researchers work towards some of the fundamental barriers to continued transistor scaling and performance improvements. Research on the fabrication of new semiconductors and structures, and the development of novel device concepts is required to overcome these limits and this will be permitted by this tool. Additionally, the ability to synthesize new silicon-compatible materials in this tool opens up new areas of research on photonic and microelectromechanical systems. The proposed tool will be operated as a central facility within the Microsystems Technology Laboratory (MTL). The lab has over 300 users per year, and the tool will be accessible to this community