United States

This study reports a laser annealing technique to activate dopants in Si for semiconductor application. In this study, a CW laser of 532 nm was used to anneal the phosphorus (P) doped Si wafer, and the effects of laser power and scan speed on electrical, microstructural and chemical characteristics of the P-doped Si were investigated. It was found that the amorphized Si during the dopant implantation process was successfully recrystallized to either polycrystalline Si or single crystal Si by laser annealing. The sheet resistance decreased with increasing laser power or decreasing scan speed due to the improved crystallinty of Si. The full epitaxial growth of Si was achieved by inducing the complete melting of the amorphized Si, and under the this condition, a minimum sheet resistance was obtained. According to the dopant concentration analysis, it was found that dopant diffusion to the depth direction was very limited. The redistribution of dopants was only generated near the shallow surface region. As a result, relatively uniform concentration of the dopant was achieved, which is advantageous for the formation of the sallow junction. The results of this study show that the potential benefits of the laser annealing technique for improving the properties of semiconductor materials. Further research to explore various characteristics of the laser annealed Si is in progress.

ICALEO 2023

Dopant Activation Annealing of Si Using CW Laser of 532 NM

sheet resistance

laser annealing

epitaxial growth

dopant activation

poster

**General Chair Welcome**

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Welcome to ICALEO® 2023!
	
We were excited to host the world’s leading international conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics in Chicago. The Laser has been shown to have the potential to revolutionize solutions for major global challenges like energy usage and supply, global warming, and CO2 footprint. Even the fusion energy breakthrough is based on laser technology. The conference, with peer-reviewed scientific and technical presentations, focused on the newest results in Micro Applications, Macro Applications, Additive Manufacturing, Beam Shaping and Frontiers in Laser Applications. Additionally, the Battery-Manufacturing Track gave an overview of the process combined with the newest advances in laser application results. 

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**Klaus Löffler **  
ICALEO General Chair   
Managing Director, Precitec GmbH

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ICALEO® brings together the brightest minds, seasoned professionals, and pioneering researchers from around the world. With a laser-focused agenda, ICALEO offers an exceptional platform to delve into the cutting-edge advancements, diverse applications, and transformative research that define lasers and electro-optics.

The processability of pure Inconel X750 and Inconel X750 mixed with 15% vol. of titanium carbide particulate through laser Directed Energy Deposition (l-DED) was evaluated. The powders used had a particle size in a range unusual to l-DED processing (0.18 µm to 24.05 µm), this case study presents the difficulties in processing a thin quadri-modal powder and describes possible measures to mitigate them, while also reporting, likely for the first time, on the l-DED processing of Inconel X750 and such related MMC. The choice in reinforcement particle size and composition aimed for a reduction in material density and insertion of additional reinforcement mechanisms.&nbsp; Both powders used were analysed in an FT4 rheometer and compared to a reference Inconel 625 powder. l-DED was made viable, but results show that the powders tested here represent a lower limit for the rheological properties accepted by usual l-DED systems. A methodology to quantify the stability of a given processing condition is presented and validated, indicating also that low powder flows are recommended when processing powders of this sort. Inconel X750 demonstrated sensibility to oxidation during processing as depletion of Nb and Ti was detected in the deposits. Nor the MMC, nor the pure material cracked or showed excessive porosity. Microstructural characterization of non-heat-treated materials also showed microsegregation of Nb and Ti and a slight degradation of the added particulate.

Processability of Thin-Powdered Inconel X750 and TiC Metal Matrix Composite by Laser-Directed Energy Deposition

Dicing is one of the main processes during the packaging of semiconductors and the fabrication of electronic devices. As the design of semiconductor chips and electronic devices has become more complex over the years, conventional fabrication methods like saw-dicing present limitations regarding precision, flexibility, and quality. In this study, we present an ultrafast laser based dicing technique for cutting epoxy molding compound with fused silica filler of two different sizes of 32 microns and 55 microns. A three-dimensional two-temperature model (3D-TTM) was used to explore a wide range of process parameters of the dicing process with validation from the experiments using a femtosecond laser. The effect of the process parameters on the efficiency and ablation profile was systematically studied. The effect of the fused silica filler size on the heat transfer and ablation behavior was also discussed in detail. One of the key novelties of the presented work is that the 3D-TTM can be used to find the optimal cutting conditions beyond the capability of the experimental setup. In this study, the 3D-TTM was also used to predict the optimal parameters for a picosecond laser of a different beam wavelength. The study shows that finding the optimal parameters using the 3D-TTM is more effective and lower cost than experimental methods. The study also illustrates the unique advantage of the ultrafast laser based dicing method, making it a technique with huge potential in the fabrication of next-generation semiconductor chips and electronic devices.

Application of Ultrafast Laser Dicing in the Semiconductor Packaging Process

Aluminum alloys are increasingly being considered the material of choice in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing due to their lightweight characteristics. As multi-material manufacturing expands, weld quality monitoring becomes more important because of EVs’ high safety standards. By monitoring the weld quality, inspecting time can be saved and it tends to replace non-destructive testing as well. Proper interface width in overlap joint configuration ensures stable weld strength. Especially, the interface widths are known to directly influence the mechanical properties during interfacial failures. Therefore, predicting the interface width accurately is critical during the welding property monitoring process. In this study, we present a method that is able to predict interfacial width in overlap joint configuration for laser welding of aluminum alloy using sensors and a CNN-based deep learning model. A spectrometer and a CCD camera were attached to the head. The inputs for the multi-input CNN-based deep learning prediction models were spectral signals, represented by light intensity through the spectrometer, and the molten pool's dynamic images filmed by a CCD camera. The output was the interfacial width collected from the cross-sectional analysis. Through this, we show high prediction accuracy in predicting the interfacial width in overlap joint configuration for laser welding of aluminum alloy.

Prediction of the Interface Width in Over Lap Joint Configuration for Laser Welding of Aluminum Alloy Using Sensors

Cars consume a lot of energy to move their own weight. By reducing the thickness of the plates used to build car bodies, without losing ductility, strength and energy absorption after impact, the weight of the vehicle is reduced and, consequently, its energy efficiency is increased. However, one of the biggest problems faced when forming sheet metal to obtain a suitable geometry is the springback effect. In this work, the influence of laser welding parameters on the springback of DP600 two-phase steel sheets was studied, varying parameters such as: the punching speed in the bending test, the initial bending internal angle, and the observation of the springback variation with time. Tensile tests, Vickers hardness and optical microscopy analysis were carried out to correlate the results with the mechanical properties of the material. Laser welding was used to join DP600 steel plates with the weld bead being in the position where the bending occurs. Controlling the springback value ensures better quality in vehicle manufacturing. It is concluded that, by increasing the punch lowering speed, the springback values were increased. However, by increasing the initial internal bend angle from 30 to 90 degrees, the springback values were decreased. It was also verified that by increasing the observation time, the springback variation continued to increase 5 days after the bending test, until stabilization.

The Influence of Laser Welding Parameters on the Springback of DP600 High-Strength Steel Thin Sheets

An accepted approach to computing laser-induced peak surface temperature is to employ the enthalpy formulation of the transient heat conduction equation [Grigoropulos et al, 1995; Iyer et al, 2017]. This approach is generally implemented using an explicit numerical scheme to solve the thermal transport equation. While it offers the advantage of modeling the solid-melt phase transition automatically, the approach results in instability-like behavior in the computed surface temperature. When laser-induced ablation becomes significant, the heating rate in the surface cell becomes unrealistically large. This results in spikes in the computed peak surface temperature due to large errors in calculating the heating rate. In this paper, we present a new approach, which we refer to as the Moving Frame Solver, that employs a moving coordinate frame of reference, located at the receding evaporating surface. We also use an analytical representation for the phase transition region of the enthalpy-temperature relationship. The Moving Frame Solver combined with an implicit scheme leads to a stable solution without surface temperature, pressure or velocity spikes. In other words, any instability in these computed parameters due to use of an explicit scheme has been eliminated. Details of the new thermal solver and example calculations are presented. Numerical experiments suggest that the surface cell size needs to be small, ~ 0.1 mm, to obtain a highly accurate solution with a typical metal such as aluminum. Using the Moving Frame Solver with a refined grid near the surface, but coarse elsewhere, enables accurate and stable surface temperature computation.

A New Thermal Solver for Mitigating Surface Temperature Instability Induced by Laser-Induced Heating

The global mobility and regenerative power revolution is in full swing. Demand for components for electric cars, alternative drives and energy storage is rising continuously. 
At the heart of many solutions is the laser. Especially high power and mid power nanosecond Laser for surface treatment in many different applications. 
Another field to enhance power efficiency is to avoid electrical losses. One main driver of losses in EV’s or high currant cabinets are screwed busbar connections. State of the art solutions to prevent contact resistances losses are expensive environmental critical coating processes with deformable high conductive metals like nickel. Several papers have shown that mechanical pretreatment of the busbar surface in the interaction zone of screwed joining can lead to a significant drop down of the contact resistance. In our investigation we show that Laser surface treatment is an ideal tool to transfer these results in a highly flexible and productive way. 
We will demonstrate with an industrial relevant case study the potential to significantly decrease the contact resistance on screwed connections of copper busbars by means of laser surface treatment. 
Therefore, 3 different Laser sources, different treatment strategies were performed. All busbars were screwed and electrically qualified by a calibrated µ-Ohmmeter. The investigation leads to the conclusion, that a tailored laser surface treatment combines highest productivity, lowest contact resistance without any additional coating steps, a long shelf lifetime and highest reproducibility.

Optimizied Contact Resistance at Bolted Copper Busbars by Means of Ns-Laser Surface Treatment

Tungsten has been used in many industrial fields such as automobile industry, medical industry and so on, because of having its high creep strength and high corrosion resistance. Recently, the W is expected to apply for divertor surface of nuclear fusion reactor to prevent of wear and tear from charged and neutral particles form plasma. In case of thermal shielding properties such as divertors, it is important to smooth the surface, but the tungsten is difficult to process because of its high hardness and susceptibility to cracking and chipping. Therefore, we focused on laser processing. Pulsed laser can produce high power density over 1015 W/cm2 as ablation process, while the average power relatively low. On the other hand, continuous wave (CW) laser produces continuous power, an output power became high over 10 kW.&nbsp; Although the difference between CW and pulsed lasers is obvious in processing tungsten, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of which processing is more suitable for surface processing. 
　In this study, we tried to smooth the tungsten plate surface by irradiating it with a high-power CW laser and a femtosecond laser which is an ultrashort pulsed laser and investigated the differences in the processing characteristics of tungsten.

Comparison of Surface Integrity for Tungsten Plate with CW and Ultra Short Pulse Laser

In this paper, the necessity and theoretical analysis of the flat-top nanosecond green laser annealing process are overviewed for semiconductor Si wafers. The previous technology for rapid thermal annealing on silicon wafers was based on flash ramp annealing (FLA) with uniform illumination, which involves volume heating for the entire Si wafer and uses 3–10 msec heating time. Due to the continuous technological development toward advanced semiconductor chips with narrower linewidth and pitch, top-surface-only heating demand with a very short period has been increasing to minimize the diffusion and get clear and good pattern lines. It made the development of nanosecond 532nm laser annealing technology possible, but there is a lack of information on the required energy, energy density, and relevant technological analysis. After considering the Si absorption coefficient of 7850/cm at 532nm, the specific heat capacity, the heating area of 10mm x 10mm, the heating depth of 5um, the heating volume, the heating mass, and the 4% initial reflectivity, the required pulse energy using a 1J/10nsec/532nm pulse green laser was analyzed to get various heating temperatures. Also, considering 600 ea 10mm by 10mm chips on a 300mm Si wafer, a possible ideal maximum annealing speed was calculated, which resulted in an annealing speed of one minute per wafer. Regarding green laser annealing, the technology necessity, the market trend, the power budget simulation for volume production, and the comparison to FLA are discussed.

Analysis of Flat-Top Nanosecond Green Laser Annealing Process for Semiconductor Si Wafers

Experiments were carried out to investigate the surface morphology and ablation threshold of titanium in air and in water irradiated with Nd:YAG laser. In the experiment, a Nd:YAG laser (wavelength of 532 nm, a pulse width of 10 ns, and a repetition rate of 10 Hz) was focused to a diameter of 33 μm (FWe-1M) by a convex lens with a focal length of 200 mm, and was irradiated to titanium surface at a incident angle of 0 degree in the atmosphere or water. Titanium surface was mechanically polished and to be obtain an optical grade.Laser energy was controlled by a&nbsp;polarizing prism and a half wave plate in the range of&nbsp; 1μJ to 40μJ (corresponding laser fluence&nbsp;of 0.11J/cm2 to 4.61J/cm2). The melting threshold was estimated from the crater diameter depended on laser fluence.The melting threshold was 0.30 J/cm2&nbsp;in air. On the other hand, the melting threshold was 0.43J/cm2&nbsp; in water. The higher melting threshold in water might be suggested due to the cooling effect of water. The cooling effect in water was also confirmed in the melting threshold calculation using the one-dimensional thermal diffusion model. In addition, as comparing the surface morphology of the crater produced by laser in air and in water, it was confirmed by observation with FE-SEM that the formed shapes were different.

Surface Morphology and Ablation Threshold of Titanium in Air and Water Irradiated by Nd:YAG Laser

YAG laser (wavelength of 532 nm and a pulse width of 10 ns) was irradiated to SUS430 surface to produce a periodic structure with an interspace of approximately laser wavelength. 
The material is used mirror-polished SUS430 (25 mm x 25 mm, thickness 1 mm). 
For the periodic structure formation experiment, the melting threshold fluence (FMelt) of SUS430 was evaluated from the laser fluence dependence of the crater diameter, and it was found to be FMelt = 1.18 J/cm2. 
A periodic structure was produced at a laser fluence F=0.8 J/cm2 below the melting threshold and near the ablation threshold (Fth=0.96 J/cm2). 
Escherichia coli DH5α with a size of about 500 nm to 1000 nm was used for film adhesion method as an antibacterial method. The periodic structure given to the material surface was about 500 nm, which was smaller than that of Escherichia coli DH5α. 
In the film adhesion method, first, the cultured bacterial solution was dropped on the surface, covered with a film, and cultured for 24 hours. 
After that, the bacterial solution was diluted and cultured again in a solid medium for 24 hours, and the antibacterial function was examined from the number of colonies formed. 
As a result, it was found that the number of colonies of SUS430 with microstructure was 198 compared to the number of colonies of 1244 of the bacterial solution, which is about an order of magnitude decrease.

Next from ICALEO 2023

Processability of Thin-Powdered Inconel X750 and TiC Metal Matrix Composite by Laser-Directed Energy Deposition