Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the ideal materials for making semiconductor devices and materials, but it inevitably produces lattice defects and other problems during the manufacturing process. Rapid annealing can achieve the goals of metal alloys, impurity activation, lattice repair, and so on. In the rapidly developing sub fields of compound semiconductors, optoelectronics, and advanced integrated circuits in recent years, rapid annealing plays an irreplaceable role.

The application of rapid annealing in compound semiconductors

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor material composed of carbon and silicon elements, which has advantages such as high hardness, high thermal conductivity, and good thermal stability. It has broad application prospects in the semiconductor field.

Due to the fact that some processes of silicon carbide devices need to be completed at high temperatures, it poses significant difficulties in the manufacturing and testing of the devices. For example, in the doping step, traditional silicon-based materials can be doped by diffusion, but due to the much higher diffusion temperature of silicon carbide than silicon, high-temperature ion implantation is required. However, high-energy ion implantation can damage the original lattice structure of silicon carbide materials. Therefore, it is necessary to use rapid annealing technology to repair the lattice damage caused by ion implantation, eliminate or reduce crystal stress and defects, and improve crystal quality.

*Comparison of annealing process before and after treatment (Image source: Network)

What is a rapid annealing furnace (RTP SYSTEM)

A rapid annealing furnace uses halogen infrared lamps as a heat source, and through an extremely fast heating rate, the material is heated from room temperature to 300 ℃ -1250 ℃ in a very short time, thereby eliminating some internal defects of the material and improving product performance.

*Image source: Network

Introduction to Rapid Annealing Furnace Products

Fully automatic dual chamber rapid annealing furnace

RTP-DTS-8 is a fully automatic dual cavity rapid annealing device that is compatible with 6-8-inch wafer wafers.

Product advantages

✅ Fully automatic dual chamber design, effectively improving production capacity

✅ The highest temperature can reach 1250 ℃, with ultra-high temperature field uniformity

✅ Has stable temperature reproducibility

✅ Capable of meeting the mass production process requirements of SIC

Semi-automatic rapid annealing furnace

RTP-SA-12 is a semi-automatic vertical rapid annealing system in a protective atmosphere, compatible with 4-12 inch wafer wafers.

Product advantages

✅ Using infrared halogen lamps for heating and air cooling for cooling;

✅ Fast PID temperature control, capable of controlling temperature rise, ensuring good reproducibility and temperature uniformity;

✅ Adopting a parallel gas inlet method, the gas inlet and outlet are set on the surface of the wafer to avoid cold spots during annealing and ensure good temperature uniformity;

✅ Both atmospheric and vacuum treatment methods can be selected to achieve gas purification before intake;

✅ Two sets of process gases are standard and can be expanded to up to 6 sets.

Desktop fast annealing furnace

RTP-TABLE-6 is a desktop rapid annealing device that comes standard with three sets of process gases and is compatible with up to 6-inch wafer wafers.

Product advantages

✅ Infrared halogen lamp tube heating, cooling using air cooling;

✅ Adopting fast PID temperature control, it can control temperature rise, ensuring good reproducibility and temperature uniformity;

✅ Adopting a parallel gas inlet method, the gas inlet and outlet are set on the surface of the wafer to avoid cold spots during annealing and ensure good temperature uniformity;

✅ Both atmospheric and vacuum treatment methods can be selected to achieve gas purification before intake.