A Study on the Bromine-induced Corrosion/Defects in Wafer Fabrication
by Hua Younan* 
, Liao Jinzhi Lois, Zhu Lei, Liu Binghai, Li Xiaomin
WinTech Nano-Technology Services Pte. Ltd.,10 Science Park Road, #03-26, The Alpha Science Park II, 117684, Singapore
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 2, Page # 8-14, 2024; DOI: 10.55708/js0302002
Keywords: Failure Analysis, Br corrosion, The worm-like defects, Al metal & wafer fabrication
Received: 03 October 2023, Revised: 07 January 2024, Accepted: 08 January 2024, Published Online: 17 February 2024
APA Style
Younan, H., Jinzhi Lois, L., Zhu, L., Binghai, L., & Xiaomin, L. (2024). A Study on the Bromine-induced Corrosion/Defects in Wafer Fabrication. Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, 3(2), 8-14. https://doi.org/10.55708/js0302002
Chicago/Turabian Style
Younan, Hua, Liao Jinzhi Lois, Zhu Lei, Liu Binghai, and Li Xiaomin. “A Study on the Bromine-induced Corrosion/Defects in Wafer Fabrication.” Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences 3, no. 2 (2024): 8-14. Accessed February 15, 2024. https://doi.org/10.55708/js0302002.
IEEE Style
H. Younan et al., “A Study on the Bromine-induced Corrosion/Defects in Wafer Fabrication,” Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 8-14, 2024, doi: 10.55708/js0302002.
For the semiconductor manufacturing processes, metal corrosion by halogen elements (e.g. fluorine, chlorine, and bromine) is always a critical issue. For the aluminum back-end-of-processes, these halogen elements tend to form aluminum halide defects on the surface of aluminum pads or aluminum metal wires, which can directly lead to the failure and reliability issues of the devices. While there have been some reports on the analysis and mechanisms of fluorine and chlorine pollution and their aluminum halide defects, there is a lack of research on the analysis and mechanism studies of bromine (Br) contamination and its associated aluminum bromide defects. In this work, we conducted the comprehensive study on Br-induced Al metal corrosion using Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM and EDS. Our study indicated that the Br-induced defects primarily consist of aluminum tribromide (AlBr3) and aluminum oxobromide (AlXBrYOZ), which are formed through a series of physical and chemical reactions. We propose a chain chemical reaction mechanism that is closely linked to the chemical corrosion processes induced by bromine.
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