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In 2022, faced with the accelerated evolution of the global situation, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and various challenges, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, various regions and departments efficiently coordinated pandemic prevention and control with economic and social development, intensified macroeconomic regulation to respond to unexpected shocks, and overall industrial production remained stable throughout the year, with new momentum continuing to grow, providing a solid guarantee for maintaining the stability of the economic and social situation. With the continuous development of the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the urgent and growing demand for next-generation high-performance semiconductors is rapidly increasing. To meet this demand, pioneering advancements in materials and innovative semiconductor structures have become crucial. For the first time, researchers have developed a 4-inch heterostructure manufacturing technology using Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) technology. This innovative technology can produce low-power, high-performance semiconductors, breaking through the limits of traditional silicon-based solutions. The research team, led by researcher Hyeong-U Kim from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) Semiconductor Manufacturing Research Center, collaborated with Professor Taesung Kim’s team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, creating history. The team successfully manufactured 4-inch heterostructure semiconductors using plasma technology for the first time in the world. This technology is expected to apply next-generation semiconductor materials such as TMDc for AI semiconductors. The research institute stated, “Transition metal dichalcogenides are candidate materials for next-generation semiconductors, with their atomic-level two-dimensional structure providing silicon-like performance, low-power operation, and fast switching speeds.” They are “particularly suitable for neuromorphic systems and are used in machine learning, deep learning, and cognitive computing.” These dichalcogenides include molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten disulfide (WS2), and molybdenum selenide (MoSe2). Two types of heterostructures were grown: WS2 and graphene were created by depositing 1nm of tungsten onto a graphene transfer wafer, followed by H2S plasma sulfuration. The orthorhombic 1T phase (metallic) of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is located on top of the hexagonal 2H phase MoS2, and vice versa. Specifically, the research team achieved this advancement using PECVD equipment, creating two innovative 4-inch wafer-level heterostructures. The first is a heterostructure combining WS and graphene, achieved through the deposition of only 1 nanometer of tungsten (W) metal layer on the graphene transfer wafer, followed by HS plasma sulfuration. Additionally, the team made significant breakthroughs in developing metal-semiconductor heterostructures by integrating two different phases of molybdenum disulfide (MoS) into thin films. Compared to the stable hexagonal 2H phase, the 1T phase presents a metastable orthorhombic structure, posing challenges for large-area wafer production. However, the team successfully produced a 4-inch wafer of the 1T phase, paving the way for the realization of 1T-2H heterostructures. Traditional methods of creating heterostructures (such as stacking) are limited to small sizes (only a few microns) and often face reproducibility issues. The research team utilized PECVD to create 4-inch wafer-level heterostructures, addressing these issues. This innovation paves the way for the creation of 3D integrated structures, significantly reducing power loss and heat dissipation, thereby improving performance and energy efficiency—key elements for low-power, high-performance AI semiconductors. KIMM researcher Hyeong-U Kim stated, “This newly developed technology not only meets the requirements for wafer size and reproducibility but also allows for experimental validation that was previously limited to academic research.” “Using the widely used tool in the semiconductor industry, PECVD, this technology has great potential for mass production and may help improve the performance and commercialization of AI semiconductors.” KIMM has registered proprietary technology for the manufacturing of two types of 4-inch heterostructure wafers in the United States and South Korea.
Source: Organized from the internet
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