BMR TECHNOLOGY CORP.

The HiDep™ System from BMR Technology opens a new horizon for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). BMR's new high quality dielectric films at temperatures below 100 with high deposition rates based on BMR's patented Hybrid Electromagnetic Energy Coupling technology (US Patent 6310577 B).
Conventional PECVD Processes typically need operating temperatures in excess of 400 to produce films with the viable deposition rates. In typically PECVD systems, as the morphology and integrity also decrease rapidly due to pinholes.
BMR's HiDep™ generates highly dissociated plasmas by using time-varying magnetic fields excited by a specially designed antenna array at radio frequency (RF).

This proprietary antenna array provides the HiDep™ plasma with high power efficiency over a wide range of operating pressure and power settings. A special magnetic field is localized at the chamber circumference to further enhance electron confinement and hence deposition properties.
Additional RF power can be applied both to the top electrode and to the wafer chuck. These additional RF powers are useful in controlling film characteristics such as used for an effective chamber cleaning process.
Process gases are introduced through top and side gas injectors with an embedded gas diffuser to ensure an advanced uniform gas flow.

The highly dissociated plasmas of HiDep™ significantly lower required process temperature for excellent quality dielectric films such as SIO₂ and Si₃N₄ — below 100^oC. This capability enables dielectric film deposition on temperature sensitive materials, including polymers.
A Si₃N₄ film deposited at 50^oC  shows wet etch rate by BOE comparable to the films deposited typically at 400 via conventional PECVD methods.

HiDep™ is designed in a modular fashion making the transitions easy from initial process development to pilot line and onto mass production.
The extensive engineering experience of BMR;s technical team in semiconductor equipment industry makes the HiDep™ a system systematically designed for highly reliable operation.
The HiDep™ system provides many process advancements to meet your toughest film requirements not previously possible in the conventional system.

The capability of depositing dielectric films at substantially low temperature with excellent quality opens a new application of plasma CVD films, including a wide array of microelectronic devices: 

	GaAs, Inp Semiconductors
	MEMS
	Hard disk drive head
	LED
	Optical Fiber
	Solar Cells
	Small Graphic Displays

HiDep™'s substantially lower process temperature enables deposition of dielectric films on extremely temperature sensitive substrates such as plastic, polymers, magnetic and compound semiconductor materials.

Conformality of films can be controlled by adjusting the energy of ions bombarding the substrate surface. The film can be deposited either conformally, or directionally, depending on the process requirements. Fig. 1 shows Si₃N₄ film can be deposited either conformally (Fig.-1.a) or directionally (Fig.-1.b).

Even with low process temperature, HiDep™ exhibits exceptionally low pin hole density compared to conventional PECVD processes.

With the HiDep™, targeted film stresses can be easily controlled by: a) controlling ion energy, and b) adjusting wafer height from the plasma. While increasing the energy of ions tend to make films more compressive, increasing gap distance between bottom and top electrode makes the film more tensile. BMR's technology allows adjustment of ion energy and wafer height; while the HiDep™ deposited dielectric films have the desired minimal stress.

Hydrogen content of dielectric films can be substantially lower than that of conventional PECVD process

HiDep™'s capability of depositing excellent quality films provides overall improvement of device parameters. For instance, the breakdown voltage (BV) in PHEMPT devices show 2X higher breakdown voltage with a 150  HiDep™ process compared to films deposited by PECVD at 250 . (Fig.-2).

The capability of controlling ion energy with the HiDep™ system enables filing of high aspect ratio gaps which has not been possible with conventional PECVD technology. (Fig.-3).

Si₃N₄ film with thickness of 200nm deposited below 85 show water permeability better than 10^-2gm/m² - day at the temperature of 65 and the FH of 100%. This excellent water permeability capability makes HiDep™ ideal to deposit protective film layers for multitude of electronics devices. (Fig.-4).

Maximum film thickness that can be deposited by the conventional PECVD is approximately 5 microns. Above that, particle becomes a progressively more serious problem. With BMR technology, the HiDep™ can deposit films greater than 20micron without chamber cleaning

A uniform flow pattern of injected processes gases coupled with a uniform plasma results in superior film uniformity. Typical film thickness uniformity over 6 inch wafer shows better than ±1% uniformity. Refractive index results typically exhibit better than ±0.5% uniformities.