Local Oxidation Of Siliconfor Isolation

The need for a reduction of the spacing between devices in integrated circuits has led to the development of several device isolation process schemes. In this chapter, we give an overview of the most important trends in isolation technologies, starting with the conventional LOCOS structure. A novel isolation structure that combines several of the features used in advanced isolation structures is demonstrated and is used to investigate the trade-offs between the process steps that lead to a reduction in active area loss and the electrical performance of the isolation structure in terms of junction leakage.