Megasonic cleans have been applied to remove defects such as particles and polymer/resist residues in silicon wafer fabrication of IC devices. However, with the shrink of device technology node, megasonic cleans are being challenged to maintain high cleaning efficiency promoted by streaming force of stable cavitation for the smaller particles without producing pattern collapse caused by violent implosions of transient cavities.
Author archive for: dlong
Optimized Wet Processes and PECVD for High-Efficiency Solar Cells
In this study, we highlight the effect of pre-cleans, texturization and final cleans on cell parameters. We also studied the importance of coupling these wet cleaning and texturization steps with the PECVD steps to achieve the film quality required for highest solar cell efficiency.
How to Overcome the Effects of Silicon Build-Up During Solar Cell Wet Chemical Processing
Although the chemical reaction is well known, the anisotropic etching of Si in alkaline solutions is a complex process. This is particularly true in the solar industry where a large mass of silicon is typically introduced into the etch bath. The etch by-products (silicates) affect the balance of the etching specie. If adequate compensation is not made for these by- products, a significant drop in etch rate and an increase in contamination levels is typically noticed. Because of this contamination, production lines would suffer from unpredictable wafer characteristics and hence lower cell performance.