A History of the World Semiconductor Industry


Book Description

Development of the thermionic valve. Historical survey of early research in semiconductors. Development of the transistor. Major technical processes used in semiconductor device fabrication. Review of major factors affecting the growth of the United States semiconductor industry. Review of the factors affecting the growth of the Japanese and South Korean semiconductor industries. Review of the European semiconductor industry.




Fabless


Book Description

The purpose of this book is to illustrate the magnificence of the fabless semiconductor ecosystem, and to give credit where credit is due. We trace the history of the semiconductor industry from both a technical and business perspective. We argue that the development of the fabless business model was a key enabler of the growth in semiconductors since the mid-1980s. Because business models, as much as the technology, are what keep us thrilled with new gadgets year after year, we focus on the evolution of the electronics business. We also invited key players in the industry to contribute chapters. These "In Their Own Words" chapters allow the heavyweights of the industry to tell their corporate history for themselves, focusing on the industry developments (both in technology and business models) that made them successful, and how they in turn drive the further evolution of the semiconductor industry.




Chips and Change


Book Description

How the chip industry has responded to a series of crises over the past twenty-five years, often reinventing itself and shifting the basis for global competitive advantage. For decades the semiconductor industry has been a driver of global economic growth and social change. Semiconductors, particularly the microchips essential to most electronic devices, have transformed computing, communications, entertainment, and industry. In Chips and Change, Clair Brown and Greg Linden trace the industry over more than twenty years through eight technical and competitive crises that forced it to adapt in order to continue its exponential rate of improved chip performance. The industry's changes have in turn shifted the basis on which firms hold or gain global competitive advantage. These eight interrelated crises do not have tidy beginnings and ends. Most, in fact, are still ongoing, often in altered form. The U.S. semiconductor industry's fear that it would be overtaken by Japan in the 1980s, for example, foreshadows current concerns over the new global competitors China and India. The intersecting crises of rising costs for both design and manufacturing are compounded by consumer pressure for lower prices. Other crises discussed in the book include the industry's steady march toward the limits of physics, the fierce competition that keeps its profits modest even as development costs soar, and the global search for engineering talent. Other high-tech industries face crises of their own, and the semiconductor industry has much to teach about how industries are transformed in response to such powerful forces as technological change, shifting product markets, and globalization. Chips and Change also offers insights into how chip firms have developed, defended, and, in some cases, lost global competitive advantage.




Fundamentals of Semiconductor Manufacturing and Process Control


Book Description

A practical guide to semiconductor manufacturing from processcontrol to yield modeling and experimental design Fundamentals of Semiconductor Manufacturing and Process Controlcovers all issues involved in manufacturing microelectronic devicesand circuits, including fabrication sequences, process control,experimental design, process modeling, yield modeling, and CIM/CAMsystems. Readers are introduced to both the theory and practice ofall basic manufacturing concepts. Following an overview of manufacturing and technology, the textexplores process monitoring methods, including those that focus onproduct wafers and those that focus on the equipment used toproduce wafers. Next, the text sets forth some fundamentals ofstatistics and yield modeling, which set the foundation for adetailed discussion of how statistical process control is used toanalyze quality and improve yields. The discussion of statistical experimental design offers readers apowerful approach for systematically varying controllable processconditions and determining their impact on output parameters thatmeasure quality. The authors introduce process modeling concepts,including several advanced process control topics such asrun-by-run, supervisory control, and process and equipmentdiagnosis. Critical coverage includes the following: * Combines process control and semiconductor manufacturing * Unique treatment of system and software technology and managementof overall manufacturing systems * Chapters include case studies, sample problems, and suggestedexercises * Instructor support includes electronic copies of the figures andan instructor's manual Graduate-level students and industrial practitioners will benefitfrom the detailed exami?nation of how electronic materials andsupplies are converted into finished integrated circuits andelectronic products in a high-volume manufacturingenvironment. An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all theproblems in the book is available from the Wiley editorialdepartment. An Instructor Support FTP site is also available.




Handbook of Chemicals and Gases for the Semiconductor Industry


Book Description

The first comprehensive guide to the chemicals and gases used in semiconductor manufacturing The fabrication of semiconductor devices involves a series of complex chemical processes such as photolithography, etching, cleaning, thin film deposition, and polishing. Until now, there has been no convenient source of information on the properties, applications, and health and safety considerations of the chemicals used in these processes. The Handbook of Chemicals and Gases for the Semiconductor Industry meets this need. Each of the Handbook's eight chapters is related to a specific area of semiconductor processing. The authors provide a brief overview of each step in the process, followed by tables containing physical properties, handling, safety, and other pertinent information on chemicals and gases typically used in these processes. The 270 chemical and gas entries include data on physical properties, emergency treatment procedures, waste disposal, and incompatible materials, as well as descriptions of applications, chemical mechanisms involved, and references to the literature. Appendices cross-reference entries by process, chemical name, and CAS number. The Handbook's eight chapters are: Thin Film Deposition Materials Wafer Cleaning Materials Photolithography Materials Wet and Dry Etching Materials Chemical Mechanical Planarizing Methods Carrier Gases Uncategorized Materials Semiconductor Chemicals Analysis No other single source brings together these useful and important data on chemicals and gases used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The Handbook of Chemicals and Gases for the Semiconductor Industry will be a valuable reference for process engineers, scientists, suppliers to the semiconductor industry, microelectronics researchers, and students.




Run-to-Run Control in Semiconductor Manufacturing


Book Description

Run-to-run (R2R) control is cutting-edge technology that allows modification of a product recipe between machine "runs," thereby minimizing process drift, shift, and variability-and with them, costs. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in a variety of processes, such as vapor phase epitaxy, lithography, and chemical mechanical planarization. The only barrier to the semiconductor industry's widespread adoption of this highly effective process control is a lack of understanding of the technology. Run to Run Control in Semiconductor Manufacturing overcomes that barrier by offering in-depth analyses of R2R control.




Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook


Book Description

WORLD-CLASS SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS This is a comprehensive reference to the semiconductor manufacturing process and ancillary facilities -- from raw material preparation to packaging and testing, applying basics to emerging technologies. Readers charged with optimizing the design and performance of manufacturing processes will find all the information necessary to produce the highest quality chips at the lowest price in the shortest time possible. The Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook provides leading-edge information on semiconductor wafer processes, MEMS, nanotechnology, and FPD, plus the latest manufacturing and automation technologies, including: Yield Management Automated Material Handling System Fab and Cleanroom Design and Operation Gas Abatement and Waste Treatment Management And much more Written by 60 international experts, and peer reviewed by a seasoned advisory board, this handbook covers the fundamentals of relevant technology and its real-life application and operational considerations for planning, implementing, and controlling manufacturing processes. It includes hundreds of detailed illustrations and a list of relevant books, technical papers, and websites for further research. This inclusive, wide-ranging coverage makes the Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook the most comprehensive single-volume reference ever published in the field. STATE-OF-THE-ART SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES: SEMICONDUCTOR FUNDAMENTALS How Chips Are Designed and Made * Substrates * Copper and Low-k Dielectrics * Silicide Formation * Plasma * Vacuum * Photomask WAFER PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES Microlithography * Ion Implantation * Etch * PVD/ALD * CVD * ECD * Epitaxy * CMP * Wet Cleaning FINAL MANUFACTURING Packaging * Grinding, Stress Relief, Dicing * Inspection, Measurement, and Testing NANOTECHNOLOGY, MEMS, AND FPD GAS AND CHEMICALS Specialty Gas System and DCA * Gas Abatement Systems * Chemical and Slurries Delivery System * Ultra Pure Water FAB YIELD, OPERATIONS, AND FACILITIES Yield Management * Automated Materials Handling System * Metrology * Six Sigma * Advanced Process Control * EHS * Fab Design and Construction * Cleanroom * Vibration and Acoustic Control * ESD * Airborne Molecular Control * Particle Monitoring * Wastewater Neutralization Systems




Semiconductor Industry


Book Description

Given the myriad exhaust compounds and the corresponding problems that they can pose in an exhaust management system, the proper choice of such systems is a complex task. Presenting the fundamentals, technical details, and general solutions to real-world problems, Semiconductor Industry: Wafer Fab Exhaust Management offers practical guidance on selecting an appropriate system for a given application. Using examples that provide a clear understanding of the concepts discussed, Sherer covers facility layout, support facilities operations, and semiconductor process equipment, followed by exhaust types and challenges. He reviews exhaust point-of-use devices and exhaust line requirements needed between process equipment and the centralized exhaust system. The book includes information on wet scrubbers for a centralized acid exhaust system and a centralized ammonia exhaust system and on centralized equipment to control volatile organic compounds. It concludes with a chapter devoted to emergency releases and a separate chapter of examples illustrating these systems in use. Drawing on the author's 20 years of industry experience, the book shows you how to customize strategies specific to your needs, solve current problems, and prevent future issues in your exhaust management systems.




Securing the Future


Book Description

Based on the deliberations of a high-level international conference, this report summarizes the presentations of an exceptional group of experts, convened by Intel's Chairman Emeritus Gordon Moore and SEMATECH's Chairman Emeritus William Spencer. The report documents the critical technological challenges facing this key industry and the rapid growth in government-industry partnerships overseas to support centers of semiconductor research and production in national economies. Importantly, the report provides a series of recommendations designed to strengthen U.S. research in disciplines supporting the continued growth of semiconductor industry, an industry which has made major contributions to the remarkable increases in productivity in the U.S. economy.




Introduction to Quality Management in the Semiconductor Industry


Book Description

The "Students' Version is a "black and white" only version with a slightly reduced number of pages as compared to the full version of this text book. The primary purpose of our book is to provide the "fast lane" to practical quality engineering and management in the semi-conductor industries. In line with this objective, this book is meant to be more a guide to practical quality engineering and management, rather than a scientific treatise. Although it has been written for the semiconductor technology community, it goes without saying that it is useful for almost all other industrial areas, since in a way semiconductor technology (in particular micro-electronics) is a good model case how 100% stringent QM can be implemented in practice.