The Next-Generation Wafer

Semiconductor devices have evolved through many cycles of integration enhancement, performance improvement, and cost-effectiveness improvement. One of the major factors contributory to these developments has been silicon wafer diameter expansion.

As their diameters increase, silicon wafers are all the more required to have higher qualities. Many innovations have been made to overcome increasingly difficult challenges in handling during the manufacturing process.

In the nanoscale world, semiconductor-substrate silicon wafers are required to have virtually zero tolerances in flatness and cleanliness.

Based on its experience in 300 mm single crystal silicon ingot manufacturing, SUMCO investigated technical challenges in manufacturing 450 mm ingots.

SUMCO repeatedly examines the relationship between the thickness and the mechanical characteristics of wafers through various simulations and experiments on prototype wafers.

A wafer exhibits a greater amount of warpage in inverse proportion to its thickness. This may significantly adversely affect various manufacturing processes.

Resonant vibration during truck transportation may adversely affect the quality of wafers. SUMCO constantly analyzes the relationship between the thickness and vibration of wafers.

SUMCO believes that, to establish wafer specifications including thicknesses, different technical aspects must be considered by the whole industry, including not only wafer manufacturers but also semiconductor manufacturers, semiconductor processing equipment manufacturers.