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Wafer Backsides: The Key to Future Technologies
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Published in Solid State Technology Supplement, May 1999 by Michael West, Business and Strategic Technology Manager, SEZ America
Until recently, contamination control efforts have almost exclusively focused on the frontsides of wafers. After all, that is where the critical films are placed and what most processes seek to affect. What current technologies and contamination control efforts do not account for is that backside contamination is just as critical to semiconductor manufacturing processes, especially as the industry moves to 300 mm and 0.18 micron and below technologies. This is most visibly demonstrated in photolithography application where backside particle contamination leads to hot spots, which create focal plane deviation. Hot spot removal decreases stress on the wafer, in turn flattening the wafer and improving depth of focus. The end result is an increase in yield and fab productivity ....
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