How to Understand the Basics of Semiconductor Manufacturing by Nav Sooch

 

While semiconductor chips may appear small and insignificant, they're packed with powerful electronic components that seamlessly power our phones, laptops, and cars.

Semiconductor fabrication is an intricate and time-consuming process, and this article will introduce how semiconductors are constructed.

What is a Semiconductor?

Semiconductors are materials that conduct electricity partially, falling between an insulator like wood and pure conductors like copper. Semiconductors typically comprise crystalline materials like silicon; doping may alter their properties to produce integrated circuits or transistors with desired electrical characteristics.

Materials scientists define semiconductors as crystals with defects; to physicists, it has two energy bands called conduction band and valence band, which contain empty states where electrons can participate in current flow. To break through electron gridlock in the valence band, dopants must be added; their type will determine whether a semiconductor is N- or P-type.

Nav Sooch articulates that semiconductors can be found at the core of every electronic device, from space shuttles and electric cars to your everyday outlets and circuit breaker boxes at home. As these semiconductors form the backbone of our modern society and play an essential role in its prosperity and advancement, nations often compete to access superior semiconductors - which explains why many consider semiconductors "the world's most valuable raw material."

What is a Wafer?

Wafers are circular plates or discs used as the raw material for building integrated circuits (ICs). A wafer's surface contains die-square grids of electronic circuit elements forming its core - that make up its form.

Wafers are made from silicon that has been purified, melted, and cut into thin slices using diamond knives. Nav Sooch conveys that manufacturers then score along cleavage planes so that individual circuit elements can be diced off without using more material, known as wafer separation.

Wafers are then processed to form various layers and patterns of circuit elements, using multiple processes such as depositing metal (which can be accomplished via physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, and molecular beam epitaxy), depositing metallic layers using patterning processes (physical vapor deposition), pattern etch processes (both wet and dry), patterning techniques and chemical mechanical planarization processes (CMP).

According to the insights of Nav Sooch, etching involves using either liquid or gas etchant to selectively remove portions of a wafer surface until desired circuit patterns remain behind. Patterning can then be completed using photolithography or electron-beam lithography.

Wafer test processes (also called sort or probe) occur on each patterned wafer, involving various testing procedures, including marking the die as good or bad and comparing it with other sorted wafers in an inventory die bank until customer demand arises for finished ICs.

What is a Die?

Die manufacturing is an essential step in the creation of microchips in smartphones. A die is a pre-formed tool used with a press to shape raw materials like plastic or metal with greater precision and functionality than molds could offer.

Die classification can take various forms, but one of the most accessible and valuable approaches is based on whether they're cutting or forming stock material. Any die that shears the material into pieces would be classified as a cutting die. At the same time, any that doesn't would fall under the developing die category - though remember that even those that perform both functions could fall under different classifications depending on how they're utilized.

Once a die has been created, it's placed inside a die press and subject to immense pressure, causing it to perform as intended - cutting material into specific finished shapes as indicated by its 'die line' in proofs.

As per Nav Sooch, die features to keep in mind include a stripper plate (to separate the workpiece from the die after every stroke), guide pins and pressure plates to spread the force across an entire piece, as well as various coining and drawing die types that use similar tools but accomplish different jobs. Nav Sooch Marriage

What is a Chip?

A chip is a fingernail-sized wafer of semiconductor material embedded with integrated circuitry that powers millions of devices like computers, cellphones, medical equipment, and appliances. Semiconductors are essential in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), making them integral parts of global economies worldwide. Nav Sooch highlights that semiconductor manufacturers form an important sector within global economies.

Silicon crystal is the primary component of semiconductor devices. Still, pure silicon may not provide optimal conductivity in various electrical applications, so phosphorus or boron may be added in small amounts for additional N-type or P-type semiconductor formation. Applying hostile voltage forces electrons through this semiconductor, creating an electric current with quantifiable results. Nav Sooch Marriage

ICs contain numerous transistors arranged in patterns on an integrated circuit chip. When a positive voltage is applied to the chip, this causes its transistors to turn on and deliver an electric current through it - acting like an electrical circuit and capable of performing complex tasks based on input from sensors or memory.   

Once a chip is ready for sale, it must be packaged and sold as an individual unit. A typical package contains a label with the manufacturer's name or logo, part number information, four-digit date codes, and any details regarding its electrical specifications.