Fall Quarter 1998

ME/IE 8773-8774

DEFECT-FREE PROCESS IN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING: IS IT A FANTASY OR A REALIZABLE DREAM?

by

Seung-Ki Chae, Ph.D.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Center
Samsung Electronics
Kiheung, Korea
currently with FSI International, Inc.
Chaska, MN 55318-1096

Wednesday, October 21, 1998
1:25 p.m. UNITE Channel A
Room 108 Mechanical Engineering
Coffee available in 152 ME following the seminar

It has been well-known in semiconductor industry that the "defect-free" is one of the major goals in the manufacturing process. To improve the yield in mass-production, especially, in smaller design rule and large wafer size, it is critical to control the sub-micron size defects on the process wafers. These defects are originated from many different sources, including raw material related, such as wafer, gas/chemical, and their transport/delivery system, equipment and process related, such as components materials, and plasma/high temperature thermal processes, and environments related. In this presentation, several case studies will be presented using root-cause analysis to find sources of defects in high density DRAM manufacturing process. In addition to the good wafer inspection system, it is very important to develop manufacturing methods using in-situ metrology and micro contaminants sampling tools incorporated with analytical equipment. As some defects are periodically found in the mass production, preventative monitoring or maintenance methods must be developed to reduce the down-time of the process equipment due to the defect generation. Continuous technical collaboration between equipment supplier and semiconductor manufacturer is essential to have/maintain the defect-free process.

Dr. Seung-Ki Chae is a Senior Manager in Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Center, Samsung Electronics, Kiheung, Korea. Since joining Samsung in 1993, he has served as a leader of several groups within Samsung: Metrology, Clean Room Technology, Analytical Technology, Material Engineering, Equipment Engineering and Facility Engineering. Prior to joining Samsung, he was a Post-Doctoral Research Associate working for the Microcontamination Research Consortium at the University of Minnesota, where he also received his Ph.D. (1991). He received his M.S. (1984) and B.S. (1982) degrees from the Seoul National University, Korea.

Informal Faculty Luncheon: Wednesday, October 21, 1998, 11:45 a.m., Room 405, Campus Club. Dr. Chae will be able to attend.