The following paragraphs are intended to give the reader a primer on the principle processes used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. The process of semiconductor manufacturing or integrated circuits (commonly called ICs or chips) typically consists of more than 100 steps, during which hundreds of copies of an integrated circuit are formed on a single wafer.

Generally, the process involves the creation of 8 to 20 patterned layers on (and into) the wafer, ultimately forming the complete integrated circuit. This layering process creates (interconnected) electrically active regions on the semiconductor wafer surface.

Silicon Wafer Manufacturing

Semiconductor manufacturing begins with production of the wafer, i.e., a thin, round slice of a semiconductor material varying in size from 3 to 8 inches, and now also extending to 12 inches in diameter. The finished wafer is approximately 15 mil thick. The materials are primarily silicon; however, gallium arsenide, silicon carbide, germanium and others undergo similar processes.

In our process, purified polycrystalline silicon created from sand, one of the most abundant materials available on our planet, is heated to a molten liquid. A small piece of solid silicon (seed) is placed on top of the molten liquid. As the seed is slowly withdrawn (by mechanical means) from the melt, the liquid quickly cools to form a single crystal ingot.

This crystal ingot is then ground to a uniform diameter. A diamond saw blade slices the ingot into thin wafers. The cut wafers are then processed through a series of machines where they are ground (optically) smooth and chemically polished. The wafers are now ready to be sent to the wafer fabrication area "foundry," where they are used as the foundation for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs).