Optimized Electron Beam Evaporation Cuts Damage at Metal-Semiconductor Contacts

At a glance

Researchers at RWTH Aachen University in Germany improved an electron beam evaporation tool, which melts metal with an electron beam and coats it thinly onto chips. The improved setup reduces damage from charged particles hitting the wafer during metal coating.

Key points

1. 1

   The improved setup blocks charged particles from hitting 4-inch semiconductor wafers during metal coating.

2. 2

   The team compared platinum-silicon Schottky diodes, which let current flow mainly in one direction, made with and without the new setup.

3. 3

   Diodes made with the improved setup had a higher barrier height with n-type silicon.

Why it matters

When the contact where metal meets a semiconductor is damaged, chip performance drops, so this work offers a manufacturing method that reduces that cause.