Role of rapid photothermal processing in environmentally conscious semiconductor manufacturing

Compliance with the increasingly stringent environmental laws will force the phasing out of conventional methods for the manufacture of all semiconductor devices. Development of processes with the highest possible material and energy efficiencies is the heart of the present ecological preservation efforts. Besides other benefits, rapid isothermal processing (RIP) also uses less energy than furnace processing. Further increase of material and energy efficiencies is possible by using rapid photothermal processing. Central to this method is the use of quantum photoeffects in conventional RIP systems. This approach can be consolidated with advanced chemical vapor deposition methods that further lower the wastages leading to systems that can give significant improvements over those presently used. Key experimental results and possible future directions are presented.