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Currently, many semiconductor devices employ mesa device structures, which are predominantly created through two types of etching: wet etching and dry etching. While the simple and rapid wet etching plays a significant role in semiconductor device fabrication, it has inherent drawbacks such as isotropic etching and poor uniformity, which result in limited control when transferring small-sized patterns. Dry etching, however, with its high anisotropy, good uniformity, and repeatability, has become prominent in semiconductor device fabrication processes. The term “dry etching” broadly refers to any non-wet etching technology used for removing surface materials and transferring micro and nano patterns, including laser etching, plasma etching, and chemical vapor etching. The dry etching discussed in this text specifically pertains to the narrow application of processes using plasma discharge—either physical or chemical—to modify material surfaces.

The first generation of semiconductor materials is mainly represented by silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge), which began to rise in the 1950s. Germanium was dominant in the early days and was mainly used in low-voltage, low-frequency, medium-power transistors and photodetectors, but due to its poor high temperature resistance and radiation resistance, it was gradually replaced by silicon devices in the late 1960s. Silicon is still the main semiconductor material in the field of microelectronics due to its high technological maturity and cost advantages.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has important applications in areas such as power electronics, high-frequency RF devices, and sensors for high-temperature-resistant environments due to its excellent physicochemical properties. However, the slicing operation during SiC wafer processing introduces damages on the surface, which, if left untreated, can expand during the subsequent epitaxial growth process and form epitaxial defects, thus affecting the yield of the device.

In their newly released annual report, TSMC Chairman Deyin Liu and CEO Chieh-Jia Wei revealed the progress related to the 2nm process.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a material that possesses high bond energy, similar to other hard materials like diamond and cubic boron nitride. However, the high bond energy of SiC makes it difficult to crystallize directly into ingots via traditional melting methods. Therefore, the process of growing silicon carbide crystals involves the use of vapor phase epitaxy technology.

Crystal growth is the core link in the production of Silicon Carbide substrates, and the core equipment is the crystal growth furnace. Similar to traditional crystalline silicon-grade crystal growth furnaces, the furnace structure is not very complex and mainly consists of a furnace body, a heating system, a coil transmission mechanism, a vacuum acquisition and measurement system, a gas path system, a cooling system, a control system, etc., among which Thermal field and process conditions determine the quality, size, conductive properties and other key indicators of Silicon Carbide crystals.