PE1-1.5 Film Deposition, Metallization & Packaging
You can compare CVD, LPCVD, PECVD and physical vapour deposition by evaporation and sputtering, and describe die bonding, metallization and packaging.
Deposition adds the layers that lithography and etching then shape, and the variants differ mainly in how the energy for the reaction is supplied — heat, low pressure, or a plasma that lets you deposit at temperatures the wafer can survive. Sputtering versus evaporation is a coverage-and-adhesion trade worth being able to argue. Packaging is the unit students skip and industry cares about most: the package sets thermal performance, pin count and a large share of the unit cost.
Work through these
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)
Adding material from a gas, which is how most films arrive. Its strength is that it coats surfaces evenly including down into features.
LPCVD and PECVD
The low pressure and plasma assisted variants, which trade temperature against film quality. Plasma assistance is what allows deposition after the metal is already there.
Physical vapour deposition: thermal evaporation
Depositing by boiling the source and letting it condense. The simplest method, and it covers steps badly, which the next item improves on.
Physical vapour deposition: sputtering
Knocking atoms off a target with ions, which gives better step coverage and works for alloys. It is the method most metal layers actually use.
Dielectric and polysilicon film deposition
The specific films the process needs, and the choices for each. It applies the two families above to real requirements.
Metallization
Making the electrical connections between devices, which is where a working circuit finally appears. Electromigration is the reliability problem that limits current density here.
Die bonding and packaging
Getting the finished die into something that can be handled and soldered. Packaging is frequently more of the cost than the silicon, which surprises people.
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