For rear metallization with Al paste, Al back contacts require good passivation, high reflectance, and a processing temperature window compatible with the front metal. In this paper, the effect of the firing ambient during the metallization process on the formation of Al rear metal was investigated. We chose three different gases as ambient gases during the firing process. Using SEM, we observed the formation of a back surface field in N2, O2, and Air ambients. To determine the effect of the ambient on Voc, the suns-Voc tool was used. In this study, we described the mechanism of burn-out of organic materials in Al paste during the firing process. The oxygen ambient plays an important role in the burn-out process. We calculated the efficiency with obtained the back surface recombination velocities using PC1D simulation. It was found that the presence of oxygen during the firing process influenced the uniform back surface field because the organic materials in the Al paste were efficiently burned out during heating. The optimized temperature with oxygen flow shows an absolute efficiency of 19.1% at PC1D simulation.

We investigated the characteristics of electroless plated Cu films on screen printed Ag/Anodized Al substrate. Cu plating was attempted using neutral electroless plating processes to minimize damage of the anodized Al substrate; this method used sodium hypophosphite instead of formaldehyde as a reducing agent. The basic electroless solution consisted of CuSO4·5H2O as the main metal source, NaH2PO2·H2O as the reducing agent, C6H5Na3O7·2H2O and NH4Cl as the complex agents, and NiSO4·6H2O as the catalyser for the oxidation of the reducing agent, dissolved in deionized water. The pH of the Cu plating solutions was adjusted using NH4OH. According to the variation of pH in the range of 6.5~8, the electroless plated Cu films were coated on screen printed Ag pattern/anodized Al/Al at 70˚C. We investigated the surface morphology change of the Cu films using FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy). The chemical composition of the Cu film was determined using XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). The crystal structures of the Cu films were investigated using XRD (X-ray Diffraction). Using electroless plating at pH 7, the structures of the plated Cu-rich films were typical fcc-Cu; however, a slight Ni component was co-deposited. Finally, we found that the formation of Cu film plated selectively on PCB without any lithography is possible using a neutral electroless plating process.

A revolutionary "Active Braze Coated Diamond" (ABCD) has been developed for bonding diamond grits firmly in the metal matrix. The molten braze is wetted and reacted with diamond to form strong chemical bond at the interface so that the diamond does not become knocked out of tools. The ABC is a nickel alloy that can form metallurgical diffusion bondswith the metal matrix. In essence, ABCD turns diamond into a metal grain so that the diamond tools can be made by conventional powder metallurgical process without being concerned about the poor bonding between matrix metal powder and the diamond as before.

금속 배선 공정에서 응용되고 있는 reflow에 관한 이론올 살펴보고, 금속 박막 reflow에 영향을 미치는 인자 및 re­flow와 grain growth의 관계를 고찰하였다. 금속 박막 reflow의 구동력은 표연 위치에 따른 chemical potential의 차이이며, 이러 한 구동력에 의하여 원자가 이동하게 된다. 반도체 소자의 금속 배선을 제작하는 조건에서 원자의 이동은 주로 surface diffusion에 의하여 이루어진다. 금속 박막의 reflow에 영향율 미치는 인자로는 reflow 온도, reflow 시간, reflow 분위기, 박막 두께, 박막 재료, underlayer 재료, 패턴 size, aspect ratio가 있으며, 박막을 reflow시키는 동안에 발생하는 grain growth에 의하여 reflow 특성이 변할 것으로 예상되므로 reflow 시 grain growth의 영향을 고려하여야 하리라 생각된다.

Reactive dc magnetron sputtering 법을 이용하여 증착한 molybdenum mitride 박막의 Cu 확산 방지막 특성을 조사하였다. Cu 확산 방지막으로서 molybdenum nitride 박막의 열적안정성을 관찰하기 위하여 molybdenum nitride 박막 위에 Cu를 evaporation 법으로 증착하고 진공 열처리하였다. Cu/r-Mo2N/si 구조는 600˚C, 30분간 열처리 시까지 안정하였다. 확산 방지막의 파괴는 650˚C, 30분간 열처리 시부터 격자 확산(lattice diffusion)이나 입계(grain boundary)과 결함(defect)을 통한 확산에 의해 나타나기 시작하였고, 이 때 molybdenum silicide과 copper silicide의 형성에 기인된 것으로 생각되었다. 열처리 이후 Cu/r-Mo2N/Si 사이의 상호반응이 증가하였다. 이는 Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy 그리고 Nomarski microscopy 등의 분석을 통해 조사되었다.