Concept One 150

PECVD equipment is a deposition class used in semiconductor manufacturing to form thin films on wafer surfaces. PECVD systems use plasma to activate gas-phase chemistry so films can be deposited at temperatures lower than in purely thermal deposition methods. PECVD tools are commonly used where dielectric or passivation layers are needed as part of device fabrication.

PECVD deposition tools are used after surface preparation steps when a wafer is ready to receive a functional thin film. PECVD deposition tools are commonly placed before later patterning, etch, metallization, or passivation steps, depending on whether the deposited layer acts as an insulator, hard mask, barrier, or protective overcoat. PECVD modules are often integrated into flows where low thermal budget dielectric formation is needed.

PECVD tools are commonly applied to deposition of insulating and protective films used in integrated device fabrication. PECVD films can serve as interlayer dielectrics, passivation coatings, diffusion-related layers, or pattern-transfer support layers, depending on the process integration scheme. PECVD is also used when film properties must be tailored through plasma chemistry rather than only by furnace conditions.