Engineering Research Equipment: Reactive Ion Etcher and Annealer

9622134 Berger特拉华大学电气工程系建议购买反应离子蚀刻和快速热处理设备，该设备将专门用于支持工程研究。该设备将用于几个研究项目，包括：1。光电器件制造。2. 2 . Si-Ge-C半导体合金结构；VLSI电路金属化；5.太赫兹电子电路；微机械近场扫描针尖。这些研究项目很重要，因为它们被同事们认为处于技术突破的边缘，这将促进基础知识和建立国家工程基础设施。反应离子蚀刻机（RIE）是一种“干处理”仪器，用于制造比我们目前使用的“湿化学”（酸和溶剂）具有更高分辨率的更小的设备。快速热退火（RTA）是一种快速的、受控的加热器，可以快速地对合金欧姆接触和退火晶体损伤（来自先前的工艺步骤），从而使不同成分的掺杂剂和区域没有时间相互扩散。目前我们使用的是由液相外延设备改造而来的响应时间较慢的炉管。这种设备正在成为行业标准。例如，最近IBM公司找到我们系，为熟悉RIE仪器的学生提供工作机会。不幸的是，我们的学生处于不利地位，因为我们没有校内RIE。这些新仪器将使我们有能力为先进设备和电路的研究吸引资金，并允许使用及时处理技术培训学生。＊＊＊

9622134 Berger The Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Delaware propose the purchase Reactive Ion Etching and Rapid Thermal Annealing equipment which will be dedicated to support research in engineering. The equipment will be used for several research project including in particular: 1. Optoelectronic device fabrication. 2. Si-Ge-C semiconductor alloy structures, 3. VLSI circuit metallization, 4. Terahertz electronic circuits, 5. Micromachined near-field scanning tips. These research projects are important because they are considered by colleagues to be on the verge of technical breakthroughs which will promote basic knowledge and build the national engineering infrastructure. The Reactive Ion Etcher (RIE) is a "dry processing" instrument for the fabrication of smaller devices with higher resolution than with the "wet chemistry" (acids and solvents) that we presently use. The Rapid Thermal Annealer (RTA) is a fast, controlled heater to alloy ohmic contacts and anneal crystal damage (from prior process steps) quickly so that dopants and regions of different composition will not have time to interdiffuse. Presently we use a furnace tube with a slow response time which was modified from liquid phase epitaxy equipment. This equipment is becoming an industry standard. For example, recently IBM Corp. approached our Department with job openings for students familiar with RIE instruments. Unfortunately, our students stand at a disadvantage because we lack an RIE on-campus. These new instruments will give us the capability to attract funding for research on advanced devices and circuits, and allow use to train students on timely processing techniques. ***