SEMI M62 - Specification for Silicon Epitaxial Wafers -

This Specification covers characteristics of both the substrate (through reference to SEMI M1) and the epitaxial layer, including handling and packaging.

The specification for epitaxial silicon wafers for discrete semiconductor device manufacture is specifically directed to silicon homoepitaxial deposits thicker than 25 µm on homogeneous silicon substrates or similar epitaxial wafers that are to be used to make discrete devices. For these wafers, device feature sizes are generally in excess of 1 µm.

The primary standardized properties set forth in this Specification relate to physical, electrical, and surface defect parameters.

Specific requirements for density of selected surface defects and variations of layer thickness and layer net carrier density are included together with AQLs for these properties.

In addition, Part 3 of the Silicon Wafer Specification Format for Order Entry, which is included as Table 1, can be used to facilitate inclusion of such additional physical properties and suitable test methods as may be required in the Specification.

The specifications for epitaxial silicon wafers for integrated circuit applications are restricted to wafers of diameter of 100 mm or greater with epitaxial layer thickness less than or equal to 25 µm.

This Specification is specifically directed to silicon homoepitaxial deposits on homogeneous silicon substrates only, for which more stringent uniformity and surface defect criteria are required than for epitaxial silicon wafers for discrete semiconductor applications.

The primary standardized properties set forth in this Specification relate to physical, electrical, and surface defect parameters.

Specific requirements for density of selected surface defects (Table 2) and variations of layer thickness and layer net carrier density are included together with AQLs for these properties. One type of such defect is localized light scatterers (LLS) such as particles, pits, and other surface defects. A table of equivalent LLS density per unit area and number of LLS within the fixed quality area of a wafer is provided in Related Information 1.

Guides formed by a consensus of viewpoints are provided to suggest a foundation to specify an epitaxial wafer for use in integrated circuit manufacture at advanced design rules. Because these guides are not formal specifications but are suggestions from which a specification can evolve, they are provided in Related Information 2. The required specification is determined by the device and the process design. The usefulness of the guides can be increased by considering them prior to developing a device design or process.

SEMI M1 — Specification for Polished Single Crystal Silicon Wafers
SEMI M17 — Guide for a Universal Wafer Grid
SEMI M18 — Guide for Developing Specification Forms for Order Entry of Silicon Wafers
SEMI M33 — Test Method for the Determination of Residual Surface Contamination on Silicon Wafers by Means of Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TXRF)
SEMI M35 — Guide for Developing Specifications for Silicon Wafer Surface Features Detected by Automated Inspection
SEMI M43 — Guide for Reporting Wafer Nanotopography
SEMI M44 — Guide for Conversion Factors for Interstitial Oxygen in Silicon
SEMI M45 — Specification for 300 mm Wafer Shipping System
SEMI M53 — Practice for Calibrating Scanning Surface Inspection Systems Using Certified Depositions of Monodisperse Reference Spheres on Unpatterned Semiconductor Wafer Surfaces
SEMI M59 — Terminology for Silicon Technology
SEMI M78 — Guide for Determining Nanotopography of Unpatterned Silicon Wafers for the 130 nm to 22　nm Generations in High Volume Manufacturing
SEMI MF95 — Test Method for Thickness of Lightly Doped Silicon Epitaxial Layers on Heavily Doped Silicon Substrates Using an Infrared Dispersive Spectrophotometer
SEMI MF110 — Test Method for Thickness of Epitaxial or Diffused Layers in Silicon by the Angle Lapping and Staining Technique
SEMI MF154 — Guide for Identification of Structures and Contaminants Seen on Specular Silicon Surfaces
SEMI MF374 — Test Method for Sheet Resistance of Silicon Epitaxial, Diffused, Polysilicon, and Ion-Implanted Layers Using an In-Line Four-Point Probe with the Single-Configuration Procedure
SEMI MF398 — Test Method for Majority Carrier Concentration in Semiconductors by Measurement of Wavenumber or Wavelength of the Plasma Resonance Minimum
SEMI MF523 — Practice for Unaided Visual Inspection of Polished Silicon Wafer Surfaces
SEMI MF525 — Test Method for Measuring Resistivity of Silicon Wafers Using a Spreading Resistance Probe
SEMI MF672 — Test Method for Measuring Resistivity Profiles Perpendicular to the Surface of a Silicon Wafer Using a Spreading Resistance Probe
SEMI MF723 — Practice for Conversion Between Resistivity and Dopant or Carrier Density for Boron-Doped, Phosphorus-Doped, and Arsenic-Doped Silicon
SEMI MF1390 — Test Method for Measuring Warp on Silicon Wafers by Automated Noncontact Scanning
SEMI MF1392 — Test Method for Determining Net Carrier Density Profiles in Silicon Wafers by Capacitance-Voltage Measurements with a Mercury Probe
SEMI MF1451 — Test Method for Measuring Sori on Silicon Wafers by Automated Noncontact Scanning
SEMI MF1530 — Test Method for Measuring Flatness, Thickness, and Total Thickness Variation on Silicon Wafers by Automated Noncontact Scanning
SEMI MF1617 — Test Method for Measuring Surface Sodium, Aluminum, Potassium, and Iron on Silicon and EPI Substrates by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
SEMI MF1726 — Practice for Analysis of Crystallographic Perfection of Silicon Wafers
SEMI T3 — Specification for Wafer Box Labels
SEMI T7 — Specification for Back Surface Marking of Double-Side Polished Wafers with a Two-Dimensional Matrix Code Symbol