Materials

We support material, device and equipment manufacturers and their suppliers by delivering scientific-technological solutions in the field of production and characterization of crystals, epitaxial layers, and devices. For that purpose, we develop and improve equipment, processing, modeling, and characterization techniques. Our main focus is on semiconductors, but we are also experienced with optical, laser and scintillator crystals. We pioneer novel ultra wide band gap-, quantum- , and battery-materials. Our customers’ benefits are new products at reduced costs, higher yield, better quality, and improved device reliability.

Strategy  

Our strategy is the optimization of the manufacturing processes through a combination of thorough experimental process analysis, tailored characterization techniques, and numerical modeling. For that purpose, we have a well-suited infrastructure at hand, which consists of R&D type furnaces and epitaxial reactors, state of the art metrology tools for the investigation of the physical, chemical, electrical, and structural material properties as well as powerful simulation programs well suited for heat and mass transport calculations in high temperature equipment.

STRATEGY - Correlation of properties of the materials with their production conditions

PROCESS PARAMETERS	GROWTH CONDITIONS	DEFECT FORMATIONS	MATERIAL PROPERTIES	DEVICE PROPERTIES
Mass fluxes, heater Power	Temperature, flow, species	Desired or not desired	eg. Carrier Life Time	e.g. Reliability

APPROACH - Experiments in combination with modeling, characterization and device processing

EXPERIMENTS	MODELING	CHARACTERIZATION	DEVICES

Competences

We have profound experience in the areas of semiconductor crystal growth, epitaxy, and device processing including characterization and modeling. In the past we have significantly contributed to the development of the VGF technique for the  industrial production of a variety of crystal materials as well as to the up-scaling of the silicon Czochralski process. Several national and international research awards underline the achievements of the Materials Department over the last years for its outstanding scientific-technological results as well as for its excellent contributions to the education of students and engineers.

In the Joint Lab in close partnership with the equipment manufacturers, the IISB is developing

• processes for an advanced multi-wafer SiC epitaxy reactor from the company Aixtron,
• novel equipment for implant activation and substrate oxidation from the company Centrotherm,
• as well as innovative material characterisation by means of X-ray topography with the company Rigaku.

The close scientific exchange also provides valuable feedback to the substrate and device manufacturers involved in the project to accelerate the transition to 200 mm technologies and to further improve quality and reliability of the substrates, epitaxial layers and devices.

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