Smart-Cut-白皮书

July2003SmartCut™Aguidetothetechnology,theprocess,theproductsByGeorgeCeller,ChiefScientistandMichaelWolf,Sr.VP,Sales&MarketingSOITECWhatisSmartCut?SmartCutisSoitec’spatentedprocesstechnologyforcreating“engineered”wafers.Engineeredwafers(suchasSilicon-On-Insulator,orSOI)consistofmultiplelayersofsubstratematerials.Beginninginmainstreamvolumewiththe130nmgeometriesof2001followedbythe90nmnodebeinglaunchedin2003/2004,leading-edgeICmanufacturershaveusedengineeredwaferswithspecificelectro-mechanicalproperties.Witheachsubsequentgeneration,thewafermaterialpropertiesareslatedtobecomeevenmorestringent.SmartCutisaprocesstechnologythatenableswafersupplierstocreatethefullrangeofengineeredwafersforbothcurrentandfuturegenerationsofelectronics.TheSmartCuttechnologywasdevelopedatCEA-LETI,oneoftheworld’spremiermicroelectronicsresearchlaboratories.Itwasmadeviableforhigh-volumecommercialproductionbySoitec,whichnowownstheSmartCutpatents.SoitecusestheSmartCuttechnologytofabricateengineeredwafersfortheworld’sleadingmanufacturers.Thecompany’sfirstwaferproductfamilyiscalledUNIBOND™.UNIBONDisalineofSOIwaferscreatedusingtheSmartCutprocesstechnology.Soitecalsohastheexclusiverighttosub-licensetheSmartCutprocesstechnologytothird-partymaterialandprocesssuppliers.Seiko-Epsonhasacquiredalicenseforthemanufacturingofsilicononquartz(SOQ),andleadingwafersupplierssuchasShinEtsuHandotaihavechosentousetheSmartCutprocessinfabricatingengineeredwafersfortheirowncustomers.BeyondSOI,SoitecisusingtheSmartCuttechnologytodevelopnewfamiliesofengineeredwafersandcustom-wafersolutions.Whatareengineeredsubstrates?Incontrasttothecurrentgenerationofbulkwafers,whicharetypicallypuresilicon,“engineered”substratescontainseveralmaterialslayeredoneontopoftheother.ThemostcommonengineeredsolutioncurrentlyonthemarketistheSOIwafer.Advanced,engineeredsubstratesuselayering,implantationand/orbondingofadvancedsubstratematerialsintoandontoasiliconwaferorothersubstrate(suchasquartz).Theresultisthatthebulkwaferisreplacedbyastackofsubstratelayersonsomekindof“handle”wafer.Currentlyformostapplications,thetoplayerisstillsilicon,sothatchipmanufacturerscancontinuetousetraditionalmanufacturingprocessesandequipmentinthefabricationprocess.TheSOIwaferisacompositesubstratewithanactivetopSilayerdecoupledfromthesupportwafer.ItisthefirstexampleofanengineeredsubstrateaddressingmainstreamMOSFETperformancerequirements.SOInowhasawell-provenrecord.Itmakesamajorimpactonpartiallyandfullydepleteddevicesintermsofperformanceenhancement,reductionofleakagecurrentsandpowerconsumption,suitabilityforlowvoltagedevicearchitecturesandsoforth.SmartCutiscurrentlydeployedcommerciallyforSOI,SOQ(silicon-on-quartzor,moreprecisely,singlecrystallineSionafusedsilicasubstrate)andsoon,strainedsilicononinsulator.Ithasalsobeensuccessfullydemonstratedformanyothermajorengineeredsubstrates,whicharescheduledforcommercialreleaseinconcertwithcustomerneedsandtheindustryroadmap.-1-Whatarethemarketandtechnologydrivers?LowVoltage1VLowVoltage1VPortableSystemsPortableSystemsPortableCommunicationPortableCommunicationNotebooks,Notebooks,PDAsPDAs,,Watches,Games...Watches,Games...OthersSiCSiCOptoOpto--electronicelectronic(BlueDiodes)(BlueDiodes)600°CIC's600°CIC'sMIMICTelecomMIMICTelecomHighspeedHighspeed1GHzµProcessor1GHzµProcessorFastMemoriesFastMemoriesLiquidCrystalDisplayLiquidCrystalDisplayProjectionTV,PCProjectionTV,PCGogglesGogglesHighVoltageHighVoltageAutomotiveAutomotiveTVsetsTVsetsSwitchesSwitchesSmartSensorsSmartSensorsAutomotiveAutomotiveMicrosystemsMicrosystemsTelecomTelecomDetectionDetectionFinalApplicationsofSmartCut™FinalApplicationsofSmartCut™SiliconOnAnythingSiliconOnAnythingCircuitTransferCircuitTransferOthersSOQSOIUNIBOND™SmartCutCoreProcessFigure1.SmartCutmarketandtechnologydriversTheneedforengineeredwafersisbeingdrivenonmultiplefronts(Figure1):•Faster,morepowerfulchips–theneedtopackmoreandmorecircuitsontoachipmeansthatthelinewidthsareevernarrowing,andthey’repackedinmoredensely.Powerleakagebetweenandwithinthecircuitsonachipcanleadtoreliabilityproblems.Sincereducedparasiticcapacitanceisakeycontributortoimprovedperformance,engineeredsubstrates—especiallythosethataddaninsulatinglayer—areakeystoneincounteringthisproblem.•Mobileapplications–DSPsandmicroprocessorsdestinedformobileproductsneedtoconsumeverylittlepower,sotheyruncoolandgoeasyonthebattery.Engineeredsubstratesenablehighlyefficientchipsthatrequireverylowlevelsofpowertodrivethem.•High-voltage–chipsforhigh-voltageapplications(suchaslightingoraudio)orelectricallychallengingenvironments(insideanengineblock,forexample)arenowpossiblethankstotheinsulatingpropertiesofSOI.•SystemonaChip(SoC)–engineeredsubstratesenablemultipletechnologiestobeintegratedonasinglechip.SoCwillenableproductdesignerstocreateradicallysmaller,lighterandmorepowerfulend-products.Productslikecellphonesthatnowrequireoverhalfadozenchipswillbebuiltaroundasinglechip.•Biomedical–ruggedyetsensitivemedicalequipmentandevenbio-implantsbenefitintermsofsafetyandreliabilitywhentheyusechipsbuiltonengineeredsub