Rapid Thermal Processing (or RTP) refers to a semiconductor manufacturing process which heats silicon wafers to high temperatures (up to 1200° C. or greater) on a timescale of several seconds or less. The wafers are then cooled slowly to avoid breakage due to thermal shock. Such rapid heating rates are attained by high intensity lamps or laser process. These processes are used for a wide variety of applications in semiconductor manufacturing including dopant activation, thermal oxidation, metal reflow and chemical vapor deposition. Rapid Thermal Annealing (or RTA) is a subset of RTP. However, rapid thermal annealing of semiconductor devices using conventional devices and processing techniques results in unexpected dopant diffusion, dopant loss, and possible temperature and dopant activation non-uniformity.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds