PECVD, SACVD

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CVD or Chemical Vapor Deposition is a technology used to deposit thin films by exposing the substrate to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or decompose on the surface. Plasma (for PECVD) or temperature (for SACVD) is used to enhance chemical reaction rate.

Application requirements

  • Wide range of pumping capacity from 600 to 3,000 m3/h

  • Vacuum performance stability over time for optimized yield

  • Condensable management by high temperature operation

  • Precursor thermal stability by low temperature operation

  • Corrosion resistance by advanced coating technology

  • Powder handling capabilities

  • High process lifetime at low operating costs: Low power consumption, low repair cost

Pfeiffer Vacuum A4 series

A4 series multi-stage Roots pumps

How does it work?

PECVD process allows to reduce substrate temperature which is critical to the device, whereas SACVD at high temperature and high pressure is used for high deposition rates. Featuring better step coverage than PVD technology, PECVD and SACVD are mainly used to deposit the critical insulating dielectric layers that isolate and protect the electrical structure, such as silicon oxides, silicon nitrides and low-K.

Vacuum requirements

Except High Density Plasma deposition (HDPCVD), most of processes operate under primary vacuum, in the mbar pressure range. As the chemical reaction occurs in the chamber, precursors react to form by-products which are evacuated by vacuum pumps. Such by-products are commonly a great challenge for the dry pumps as their nature may vary depending on the type of precursors which are used: Highly corrosive, condensable, or solid, some applications combining even all of these simultaneously.

Product portfolio

Pfeiffer Vacuum provides a full range of dry pumps designed to handle these challenges: Sophisticated thermal management prevents deposition, advanced materials reduce corrosion rate and multi-stage Roots design manages powder evacuation.