Hafnium metal applications in the semiconductor industry

1. Preparation of thin-film materials:

High dielectric constant thin film: In semiconductor devices, it is necessary to use materials with high dielectric constant to make components such as capacitor, in order to reduce the size of the device. Hfnium oxide (HfO ₂) is an important high dielectric constant material, and hafnium metal can be used to prepare hafnium oxide film. This film has good electrical performance and stability, can meet the requirements of semiconductor devices for capacitive components, such as in dynamic random access memory (DRAM), can improve the storage density and read and write speed.

Barrier film: metal hafnium can also be used to prepare a barrier film to prevent the diffusion of metal ions in semiconductor devices. For example, in copper interconnect technology, copper ions can easily diffuse into the surrounding dielectric materials, leading to a decrease in device performance. Using a hafnium-based thin film as a barrier layer can effectively prevent the diffusion of copper ions and improve the reliability and stability of the device.

2. Suttering target in semiconductor manufacturing:

Hafnium can be made into sputtering target materials, through physical vapor deposition of semiconductor chips (PVD) and other technologies. These films can be used to make the gate, insulating layer, metal interconnection and other structures of transistors, which have important significance for improving the performance and integration of semiconductor devices. Hafnium target has good thermal conductivity, mechanical strength and chemical stability, which can maintain stable performance in the sputtering process, and ensure the quality and uniformity of the film.

3. dopants in integrated circuits: 

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor integrated circuits, it is necessary to doped semiconductor materials to change their electrical properties. The metal hafnium can be used as a dopant, introduced into a semiconductor material, varying its carrier concentration and conductive type. For example, in some special semiconductor devices, the performance and reliability of the device can be improved by the incorporation of hafnium elements.

4. Electrode material for semiconductor devices: 

metal hafnium has good electrical conductivity and high temperature resistance, and can be used as an electrode material for semiconductor devices. For example, in some high temperature, high voltage semiconductor devices, the need to use high temperature resistant electrode materials, metal hafnium can meet this requirement. In addition, the hafnium electrode can also form a good contact with other materials, reduce the contact resistance, and improve the performance of the device.