Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB

SiC CMOS Design Contest

Submit your analog or digital CMOS circuit design and win free chip area in our next EUROPRACTICE run

more info

© Elisabeth Iglhaut / Fraunhofer IISB

IC Services by Fraunhofer IISB within EUROPRACTICE

Within EUROPRACTICE, Fraunhofer IISB offers early-access to its 2µm SiC CMOS technology including NMOS and PMOS transistors as well as passive components and pn-diodes for integrated circuits. These circuits are capable of operating at temperatures above 300 °C (up to approx. 600 °C). Additional process modules are available for high-voltage devices, isolated transistors and SiC device templates exceeding CMOS circuits.

The targeted applications for this technology include integrated circuits beyond silicon for extremely harsh environments including high temperatures and radiation levels with low leakage. Additionally, the technology can be tailored to obtain specialized optical SiC devices and quantum sensor templates.

© Erik Teuber / Fraunhofer IISB
Diced 4H-SiC wafer with integrated circuits and test patterns on tape
© Elisabeth Iglhaut / Fraunhofer IISB
4H-SiC wafer with sensor arrays and integrated circuits from engineering lot

Details

The double well 2 µm SiC CMOS process consists of 1 Poly and 2 Metal (Pt) layers and includes dedicated ohmic contacts to p+– and n+-doped SiC regions. A thick gate oxide allows peak voltages up to 20 V, and additional dielectric isolation is provided through an active area layer using a field oxide.

The standard process flow for this planar technology includes these process modules:

Module

Description
Alignment marks and scribe Dry etching of the alignment marks for lithography
Implantation pwell • Implantation of N and Al
• Masking: Photoresist or oxide (depending on implantation energy)
nwell
pplus
nplus
High temperature annealing Implant annealing with carbon capping
Active Area Deposition and structuring of an SiO2 layer by wet etching
Gate Gate Oxide Thermal gate oxidation and post-oxidation anneal
PolySi Deposition and patterning of PolySi layer by dry etching
Ohmic contacts Field Oxide Deposition of an SiO2 passivation layer
Spacing Silicided n & p contacts with dedicated contact metals
p-Ohm
n-Ohm
Metallization Gate Vias Via etching through SiO2 passivation layer
Metal 1 Deposition and structuring of the 1st metal layer
Via 2 • Deposition of electrical passivation layer (SiO2 or Si3N4)
• Via etching through passivation layer
Metal 2 Deposition and structuring of the 2nd metal layer
Passivation Deposition of high temperature pad passivation

The following process module options are available for this technology as front-end-of-line and back-end-of-line process modules on demand for selected wafers:

Optional Modules - Please inquire for additional details
RESURF High-voltage power device implantation layer towards SmartPower ICs
UV Dedicated implantation for UV diodes towards integrated UV sensing
CUSTOM I2 Custom implantation layer towards specialized custom devices
AL META Low-temp. device metallization (Al) for lower metal resistance
GRIND Wafer thinning towards advanced packaging / custom devices
SINTER Backside metallization for silver sintering (high-T packaging)

The IISB offers two rectangular standard die sizes for MPW runs, depending on customer design dimension:

  1. Physical chip edge length 2,5 mm x 5 mm – corresponding max. design side length 2,35 mm x 4,85 mm
  2. Physical chip edge length 5 mm x 5 mm – corresponding design side length in the range of 4,85 mm x 4,85 mm

A basic design kit including design rules, basic electrical device models for NMOS and PMOS transistors, and a process overview are available.

Design rule check, electrical rule check and layout-vs-schematics functionality for cadence will be provided with a preliminary device library prior to the tape-out date.

Delivery

Customers will receive a total of 30 diced samples including electrical test data. Basic packaging services are available for this early-access technology.