PHOTO-EXCITED PROCESSES RELATED TO SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY

In thin film technology today, new techniques based on photo-excited processes attract a great deal of attention. In this article the present status of this field is reviewed from the point of view of semiconductor technology. The topics chosen here include the fundamentals of the photo-excited processes, in particular photo-induced surface phenomena and reactions, laser microprocessing (direct writing and pattern transfer), photodeposition of thin films, photo-induced doping and etching, and photo-induced surface cleaning. The importance of improving the light sources is pointed out, and in this connection recent researches based on synchrotron radiation are described. In addition, special source gases should be developed for use in photo-excited processes.