Silicon Pedestal Boat

Semicorex Silicon Pedestal Boat is an ultra-clean wafer carrier that has been engineered with high purity and precision to support high temperature semiconductor processes such as oxidation, diffusion, and LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition). This wafer carrier is made from 9N (99.9999999%) high-purity silicon to ensure exceptional cleanliness, thermal coefficient of expansion stability, and mechanical precision for wafer support and consistent process control in ultra-clean environments.

As semiconductor device geometries continue to shrink, the need for ultra-clean and thermally compatible wafer handling components has never been in such demand. The Silicon Pedestal Boat addresses these demands with high dimensional accuracy and unmatched purity to be used in advanced furnace systems that operate between 1100°C and 1250°C.

The silicon boat structure can be customized to meet customer requirements, including groove bar shape, groove tooth length, shape, tilt angle, and total wafer loading capacity. High-temperature silicon boats can effectively reduce contact damage to silicon wafers, improving process yield. Its high-temp "slip-free towers" design supports wafers only at the tip of the supporting tooth. Compared to silicon carbide, silicon is relatively less hard, reducing mechanical damage to wafers, thereby improving lattice quality and effectively reducing production costs.

The pedestal boat is available in monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon to remove contamination risks associated with non-silicon materials. The platform shares the same chemical composition as actively used wafers, which minimizes unwanted reactions or ion diffusion during high temperature processes. Material homogeneity substantially reduces the physical identity of particles and metallic impurities for consistent high wafer quality and high device yield through repeated production cycles.

The Semicorex Silicon Pedestal Boat features precisely designed wafer slots, combined with vertical support structures, ensuring that wafers remain perfectly aligned and spaced during the heating cycle. Its dimensional stability is outstanding, ensuring that the pedestal boat will not warp, bend, or shift in extreme temperatures, providing for good temperature and gas distribution over each wafer. This dimensional stability has an immediate, positive effect on film thickness uniformity during oxidation and diffusion and provides for lower defect counts as well as better process repeatability.

The primary benefit of the silicon pedestal boat is its optimized mechanical and thermal properties. The hardness of silicon compared to SiC or quartz will help to lower micro-scratched and particle generation due to wafer vibration or movement during heated expansion. This is especially true for backside-sensitive wafers, where the integrity of the wafer surface is critical to yield and device performance.

The pedestal boat has good thermal conductivity and a low coefficient of thermal expansion that provides heat transfer characteristics while maintaining shape and structural soundness with multiple heating and cooling cycles. The robust design also provides for a long life with minimal deformation through extreme furnace conditions.

Semicorex provides custom designs for a variety of equipment configurations, including wafer diameter, slot count, pedestal height, and geometry variations. Each product is inspected for purity, dimensional measured, and test for thermal conductivity, all to meet the highest standards in the semiconductor manufacturing process.

The Silicon Pedestal Boat is compatible with oxidation and diffusion processes as well as with LPCVD and annealing applications requiring unsurpassed temperature uniformity and contamination control.The Silicon Pedestal Boat is compatible with other silicon furnace components such as the injector tube, liner tube, and wafer carrier, maintaining material and thermal match throughout the processing system.