Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Conventional semiconductor manufacturing techniques may be unable to meet technological demands in certain cases, and alternatives need to be investigated. We propose in situ sequential processing, which we define as ‘multiprocessing’, as a possible innovation. We demonstrate a specific manifestation of multiprocessing, namely the integration of a novel in situ pre-clean using anhydrous hydrogen fluoride with chemical vapor deposition of silicon, leading to the growth of high-quality single-crystal silicon epitaxy. Further, we show that the multiprocessing technology is viable for manufacturing, since it is simple, rapid, has a low thermal budget and does not suffer from cross-contamination. Finally, we discuss the possible role of multiprocessing in semiconductor manufacturing.