European Firms Produce Strained Silicon Samples
The Soitec/ASM partnership will now focus on fine-tuning its strained SOI processes to optimise substrate performance, boost productivity and maximise cost efficiency. The aim is to accelerate time-to-market for a complete industrialised solution for 200mm and, ultimately, 300mm strained SOI wafers. The partnership is using Soitec's Smart Cut technology and ASM's Epsilon 3000 epitaxial reactor.
The first product in Soitec's new portfolio of strained SOI substrates consists of a silicon germanium on insulator (SGOI) template substrate on which a final strained silicon layer is grown. The result is 200mm fully relaxed silicon germanium on insulator substrates incorporating 20% germanium with and without the final strained silicon layer. Preliminary R&D findings indicate excellent control over the homogeneity of the layer stacks, as well as strain reproducibility in silicon layers as thin as 15 nm - further validating Smart Cut as a manufacturing solution with applications beyond standard SOI.
Tailored for both partially depleted and fully depleted applications, these wafers will enable improved device performance, while shrinking critical dimensions and increasing chip density. Soitec's subsequent generations of strained silicon solutions will include SGOI with higher germanium content, strained silicon without the silicon germanium template layer, as well as germanium on insulator - all to be developed for the 45nm technology node and beyond.
In an effort to speed up industrial sampling, Soitec and ASM are operating in a "virtual fab" mode, processing 200mm and 300mm SGOI wafers at both company sites. Teams from both companies have joined forces to fine-tune the epitaxial processes and optimise the production process for high-volume fabrication. This "virtual fab" allows Soitec to secure early industrial sampling, bridging the time required to implement the infrastructure at Soitec's production facility. Once the epitaxial equipment is installed and the technology is perfected, high-volume production will commence at Soitec's facility in Bernin, France.
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