Semiconductor Manufacturing Process
Do you know that your refrigerator would be a cheap dud without a critical component? Did you know that your Television set would almost be a box with a glass in front without this component? Considered to be the building raw material for almost all the electronic equipments, Semiconductors are extremely tough to prepare and require a well-laid out semiconductor manufacturing process.
How are semiconductors manufactured through the semiconductor manufacturing process?
The manufacturing process for semiconductors is divided into two parts - Front end and Back end Manufacturing.
- Front-end Manufacturing - This stage of semiconductor manufacturing explains wafer processing and is performed in the Wafer Fab area. Each fabrication process has a series of 16-24 loops with each loop putting a layer on the device. Almost all the loops contain have steps of photolithography, ion-diffusion and etching. The entire process of front-end manufacturing is monitored by complex equipments that monitor activities like Materials supply, waste treatment, logistics and more. Most Front-end semiconductor manufacturing areas are very clean and they require to, as a small amount of pollution would deflate the manufacturing process completely. The process elements are Epi-taxy, Photo-resist, Photolithography, Etch, Strip, Diffusion and CMP. The Wafer Fabrication process ensures that the Materials management, Chemical Distribution and Automation aspects are handled well in a semiconductor manufacturing process.
- Back-end Manufacturing - The front-end manufacturing part of the process is responsible for creating the finished die. The back-end part is responsible for Testing, Assembling and Packaging. Manufacturers of semiconductors split the semiconductor wafer into individual die. These dies are then assembled into packages. The packages are then allows to be handled in the final applications. The semiconductors are tested for electrical metrics at both the levels - Wafer and Package. The process elements are Wafer test, Dicing, Die Bond, Wire Bond, Encapsulation, Test & Burn in. The Back end manufacturing process ensures that the finished die is tested, automated, assembled and packed in required units.
Generally, Silicon is used in making of semiconductor chips. A complete cycle of a semiconductor manufacturing process lasts between 6-8 weeks with the entire process being carried out in specialized laboratories called fabs.
Some other concepts of semiconductor manufacturing process explained..
- Physical Vapor Disposition (PVD) - Thin films are deposited to various surfaces one at a time using this technique.
- Chemical Vapor Disposition (CVD) - The technique used to produce thin films. This uses a chemical process to produce solid materials which are high in purity and performance.
- Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) - A technique which is used to deposit single crystals in the presence of high vacuum. MBE is characterized by its slow deposition rate.