Microfabrication · Thin films · Process software

Your partner for micro-devices and thin-film technologies

Expert microfabrication services and consultancy for research laboratories and companies, with direct access to ISO-certified semiconductor cleanrooms at the FBK MicroNano Facility in Trento, Italy.

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Ø 150 mm · 10 × 10 mm die · 137 sites · 3 mm edge exclusion

About

Cleanroom capability without building a cleanroom

Our mission is to give researchers and companies an easy way into professional semiconductor processing. We run your process, develop customised solutions in micro-technologies, and advise on the route from design to finished device.

The MicroNano Facility at Fondazione Bruno Kessler is our main operational base. About the FBK cleanrooms

BaseFBK MicroNano Facility, Povo (Trento)
FacilityTwo ISO-certified cleanrooms, integration and test laboratories
ClientsResearch laboratories and industry
CompanyItalian innovative company, registered in Trento

FBK research centre in Povo, Trento — FBK, Povo (Trento). Photo C. Baroni, FBK archive

Services

Process, metrology and integration in one facility

Two cleanrooms plus microsystem integration and testing laboratories. We combine these tools into the process flow your device needs.

Fabrication 11 processes

Stepper lithographyCD 350 nm · accuracy 75 nm
Projection lithographyCD 2 µm · accuracy 1 µm
Magnetron sputteringAl · Al1%Si · Ti · TiN
PVD metallisationAu · Cr · Ag · Ti · Pt · Al · Pd
ElectroplatingAu · Cu
LPCVDTEOS · poly-Si · Si₃N₄ · BPSG
PECVDSiO₂ · Si₃N₄ · a-Si
Diffusion furnacesdry/wet oxidation · B and P diffusion · N₂ anneal
Ion implantationB⁺ · BF₂⁺ · P⁺ · As⁺ · Ar⁺ · B⁺⁺ · P⁺⁺
Dry etching
Wet etching

Metrology 7 methods

Field-emission SEM
Ellipsometry
Optical inspection microscopes
Non-contact profilometry
Contact profilometry
Four-point probesheet resistance
Refractive index measurement

Integration 4 tools

Wafer bondinganodic · Au–Si eutectic · adhesive
Screen printing
Wafer dicing
Assembly station

Photos C. Baroni, FBK archive

Coated substrates

Metal-coated wafers, chips and slides

Thin films deposited by sputtering or e-beam evaporation on silicon, glass or quartz, in three standard formats.

Coatings available

Metal layer	Adhesion layer	Technique
GoldAu	Ti or Cr	E-beam evaporation
SilverAg	Ti	E-beam evaporation
PlatinumPt	Ti	E-beam evaporation
AluminiumAl, Al1%Si	None	Sputtering
TitaniumTi	None	Sputtering
Titanium nitrideTiN	None	Reactive sputtering

Substrate formats

Format	Size	Thickness
Wafer	Ø 150 mm	500–650 µm
Chip	10 × 10 mm	500–650 µm
Slide	1″ × 3″	500–650 µm

All formats in silicon, glass or quartz.

Silicon wafer, prime grade

Diameter: 150 mm
Type / dopant: P / boron
Orientation: <100>
Resistivity: 1–50 Ω·cm
Front: polished
Back: etched

Glass wafer

Diameter: 150 mm
Glass: Borofloat

Quartz wafer

Diameter: 150 mm

Need a custom substrate or coating? Ask for a quote

Software

Tools we built for our own fab work

Process emulation, layout viewing and laboratory management, written by people who run the tools every day. Web applications are available as a managed service on Aruba Cloud or installed on your own servers.

Desktop · Windows 64-bit

AppProcessComposer

Design and emulate a complete microfabrication process: from the GDSII layout to the reticle, the stepper program and a 3D model of the processed wafer.

GDSII import
Reticle design
Nikon stepper programs
3D emulation
STEP export

Request a free trial

Load GDS2 mask 4 screens

Load GDSII files of any size. The layout is stored in a database, so the viewer keeps in memory only the data for the selected area. Select the file, the structure and the layer to import. Once loaded, the mask can be translated in x and y when it is off-centre, or mirrored horizontally when the mask shop has delivered a chrome-side-up layout.

Create reticle mask 3 screens

Design the stepper reticle for the mask shop starting from the device layout. Place device instances until the reticle is filled, optimise the available space, avoid placement errors and keep every coordinate under control. The software then produces the emulated reticle mask.

Create stepper program 5 screens

Write the process program for the Nikon step-and-repeat system. Define the grid on the wafer and assign to each cell a reticle pattern imported from GDSII. Compose multiple blinds per program; the Nikon i12 accepts up to 32. When the program is complete, the software simulates the exposed area across the whole wafer.

Simulated wafer exposure, exposed area in blue

Wafer selection and emulation 6 screens

Define the wafer list and the current wafer for the process emulation. Run the emulation on a reduced area or on the full wafer and inspect the result in top, cross-section and 3D viewers. 3D data exports to STEP (ISO 10303-21) for exchange with CAD tools.

Deposition 3 screens

Emulates thin- and thick-film deposition. Choose the material and the thickness.

Etching 2 screens

Removes material using an etch recipe. The recipe selector lists every recipe and highlights the column of the material deposited before; all material layers are shown, not only the exposed ones.

Heating 2 screens

Anneals in inert atmosphere or grows a thermal oxide. For thermal oxidation, enter the target oxide thickness: the oxide consumes the silicon substrate, and its final thickness is 2.17 times the thickness of silicon consumed.

Lithography 3 screens

Combines exposure and development. Use draft masks drawn in the built-in editor, or masks imported or created in the application.

Doping 2 screens

Modifies the silicon by doping, with results shown in cross-section.

Wafer inspection 2 screens

Check mask overlay against images captured during wafer inspection, with visibility control for each mask created or imported in the process.

Wafer measurement 1 screen

Analyse and map measurement parameters. Rebuild a wafer map from final-test data for spatial analysis; every parameter with Sorting Active enabled feeds the global sorting map.

System requirements: Windows 7, 8 or 10, 64-bit.

Web app · Aruba Cloud or on-premise

GDS2 Viewer

A 3D GDSII viewer that runs in the browser. Intuitive and quick to start. Files are processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded to a server, so your layouts stay private.

We host it for you on Aruba Cloud, or install it on your own server.

Runs in any WebGL browser
No upload
3D layer view

Web platform · SaaS or on-premise

FABLIMS

A laboratory information management system for micro- and nanofabrication labs. Equipment, processes and quality in one place, with export of FAIR data to NOMAD Oasis.

Two ways to run it. As a SaaS that we operate and maintain on Aruba Cloud, in ISO/IEC 27001-certified data centres in Italy, so your data stays in the EU under the GDPR. FABLIMS already runs this way in production for two clients. Or installed on-premise, on your own infrastructure.