Wafer quality specification for future sub-half-micron ULSI devices

It is pointed out that the surface microhardness dominating the electrical properties of very thin oxide films is strictly influenced by the wafer quality. The increase of the surface microhardness in some processes is shown to depend strongly on the silicon vacancy cluster concentration in the wafer. An epitaxial wafer having low silicon vacancy concentration is superior for sub-half-micron ULSI devices.<
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