Concept Two Altus Shrink

A chemical vapor deposition system forms thin films on wafer surfaces by introducing reactive gases into a process chamber and driving surface reactions that leave a solid deposit. Deposition tools of this class are used to create engineered layers that become part of the device structure or part of the wiring stack.

Chemical vapor deposition tools generally expose wafers to controlled process gases inside a chamber so that material forms on the wafer surface as a thin film. Deposition systems of this class use tightly managed process conditions to control how the film grows across the wafer and over existing topography.

Deposition equipment sits in the process flow after earlier patterning and etch steps have defined features that need to be covered, filled, or lined with a new material. Deposition equipment is followed by steps such as lithography, etch, planarization, clean, metrology, or thermal processing, depending on whether the deposited layer serves as a conductor, barrier, dielectric, or structural film.

Chemical vapor deposition tools are used for forming functional thin films in integrated circuit manufacturing. Deposition systems in this class can support applications such as dielectric formation, conductive layer formation, liner deposition, gap fill, and other film-building steps used in front-end and back-end fabrication.