12:25 – 12:45
Process Control Trends for WBG Power Devices
The automotive industry is continuing its secular shift towards more electrification, computing, and automation.
Consequently, both the number of semiconductors used in automotive, and their complexity are rapidly growing to support new applications. The very high standards for automotive reliability are requiring the adoption of advanced process control and inline screening methodologies.
An additional challenge in automotive electronics is the introduction of wide bandgap (WBG) materials, like silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN), which are essential to the proliferation of electric vehicles because of their improved power efficiency over silicon.
I will start my presentation by outlining the yield challenges that WBG power manufacturers face while ramping production to meet industry’s skyrocketing demand. Low yield is impacting both fabrication costs and product reliability and can pose a serious threat to the EV adoption in the market.
A high amount of manufacturing costs and yield loss comes from the substrate and epitaxy processes, even before device fabrication starts, so process control for these initial steps is very critical and requires specialized inspection and metrology tools.
During the device fabrication, new processes are introduced, like SiC trench etch, which requires innovative process optimization as well as advanced metrology capability.
Moreover, the adoption of Inline Part Average Testing (I-PAT®), which has already been introduced on silicon-based automotive chips, is expected to increase during SiC device manufacturing to mitigate reliability concerns derived from low yield and substrate immaturity.
Finally, new wafer singulation, such as plasma dicing, and bare die inspection will be needed to limit the occurrence of edge die cracks and delamination issues caused by the current mechanical and/or laser dicing technologies.
Keywords: Electrification, Yield, Reliability, Inline Screening, Silicon Carbide
Oreste Donzella
KLA
Oreste Donzella serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at KLA Corporation, leading key corporate growth initiatives and working closely with external stakeholders, such as financial investors and end customers in the broad electronics ecosystem.
Prior to his current role, Oreste was Executive Vice President, managing the Electronics, Packaging and Component (EPC) business group at KLA Corporation, which included multiple product divisions, targeting growth opportunities in specialty semiconductors, packaging, printed circuit board and display markets.
Previously, Oreste was the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of KLA. In this role, he oversaw corporate marketing activities, market analytics and forecast, and companywide collaborations with the broad electronics industry.
In the years before his CMO role, Oreste led the world-wide field applications engineering team, and was responsible for Customer Engagement projects and product portfolio optimization for wafer inspection platforms at KLA.
Previously, Oreste was Vice President and General Manager of the Surfscan and SWIFT divisions at KLA-Tencor. In these positions, he was responsible for the unpatterned wafer inspection, wafer geometry, and macro inspection business, overseeing new products development, sales, and marketing activities, customer support, and ultimately, division financial performance (P&L).
Oreste brings 30+ years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Prior to joining KLA in 1999, he spent almost seven years at Texas Instruments and Micron Technology, holding engineering and management positions in the process integration and yield enhancement departments.
Oreste holds various patents and is featured in several technical publications.
In 2020, Oreste was awarded with VLSI Semiconductor All Star for “charting KLA’s path into new markets related to More than Moore semiconductor technologies”
Oreste earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University La Sapienza in Rome, Italy .
Company Profile
KLA develops industry-leading equipment and services that enable innovation throughout the electronics industry. We provide advanced process control and process-enabling solutions for manufacturing wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging, printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. In close collaboration with leading customers across the globe, our expert teams of physicists, engineers, data scientists and problem-solvers design solutions that move the world forward. Additional information may be found at kla.com
