INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Colin Wolden

Office: AH 423, email: cwolden@mines.edu, ext. 3544

Webpage: http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/cwolden/

REQUIRED TEXT: Stephen Campbell, "The Science & Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication"

REFERENCE TEXT: S. Wolf and R. N. Tauber, "Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era"

LECTURE:                   Tuesday 12:00 - 1:00

LABORATORY:         Group A: Thursday 9 am - noon

                                    Group B: Tuesday 1:00 - 4:00

OFFICE HOURS:        Monday, Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course introduces the theory and technology of integrated circuit fabrication. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, its contents include concepts from physics, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and materials science. In the lecture we will discuss the theory of basic processing techniques such as oxidation, photolithography, chemical vapor deposition, etching, and metallization. In addition, both electrical and material characterization techniques will be explored. The lecture will be used to prepare students of their lab sessions, and to educate them on state of the art processes that aren't included in the lab (i.e. ion implantation, steppers, etc.).

In the laboratory section of the course we will be fabricating several test structures including capacitors, resistors, p-n junction diodes, MOSFETs, and solar cells. Through the laboratory the students will experience first hand the interrelationship between materials properties, electrical behavior, and processing conditions. At the end of the course one should have a good understanding of the various process techniques involved in IC fabrication. Students will also develop their communication skills through oral and written presentation of their results.

ORGANIZATION:

The format of the course will be the following. The weekly lecture will present a particular aspect of the course material. A short homework on that subject will be due that Thursday at the start of the laboratory period. In the lab students will be teamed in multidisciplinary groups of 4-5 persons. The semester will be divided into 3 four week lab experiences. Two of these will be dedicated to device fabrication and the other will be dedicated to process optimization of a particular unit operation. During a lab experience each group will draft a weekly memo that summarizes the results of the previous week and the goals of the coming week. At the end of a 4- week section student teams will prepare both a final written report and an oral report that will be delivered to the class. The written report will be no more than 5 pages in length and will discuss primarily the electrical and material characterization results and relate those to processing conditions during the fabrication sequence. Each group will make a 15-20 minute oral presentation of these results to the rest of the class.

EXAMS:

There will one in-class midterm and one take home final.

• The midterm will reflect the material presented in the lectures.
• For the take-home final you will be asked to design a process flowsheet for the fabrication of a chosen device structure. This will include identification of process steps, indication of the proper order, estimates of process conditions (time/temperatures/gasses), and mask design.
• For graduate students an extra written and oral report will be required on an advanced processing topic of your choice. Undergraduates will be required to critique the graduate students' reports.

Grades:

Grades will be determined based on the following combination of homework, exams and lab reports