Chapter 1
Introduction to the Semiconductor Industry
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Objectives
After studying the material in this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Describe the current economic state and the technical roots of the semiconductor industry. 2. Explain what is an integrated circuit (IC) and list the five circuit integration eras. 3. Describe a wafer, including how it is layered and describe the essential aspects of the five stages of wafer fabrication. 4. State and discuss the three major trends associated with improvement in wafer fabrication. 5. Explain what is a critical dimension (CD) and how Moores law predicts future wafer fabrication improvement. 6. Describe the different eras of electronics since the invention of the transistor up to modern wafer fabrication. 7. Discuss different career paths in the semiconductor industry.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Microprocessor Chips
Photo courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices
Photo courtesy of Intel Corporation
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.1
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Development of an Industry Industry Roots
Vacuum Tubes Radio Communications Mechanical Tabulators Inventors Disadvantages
The Solid State
Solid State Physics The First Transistor Benefits
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Vacuum Tubes
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.2
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The Semiconductor Industry
INFRASTRUCTURE Industry Standards (SIA, SEMI, NIST, etc.) Production Tools Utilities Materials & Chemicals Metrology Tools Analytical Laboratories Technical Workforce Colleges & Universities PRODUCT APPLICATIONS Consumers: Computers Automotive Aerospace Medical other industries Customer Service Original Equipment Manufacturers Printed Circuit Board Industry
Chip Manufacturer
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.1
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The First Transistor from Bell Labs
Photo courtesy of Lucent Technologies Bell Labs Innovations Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
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Photo 1.3
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The First Planar Transistor
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.2
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Circuit Integration Integrated Circuits (IC)
Microchips, chips Inventors Benefits of ICs
Integration Eras
From SSI to ULSI 1960 - 2000
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Jack Kilbys First Integrated Circuit
Photo courtesy of Texas Instruments, Inc.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.4
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Top View of Wafer with Chips
A single integrated circuit, also known as a die, chip, and microchip
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.3
2001by Prentice Hall
Circuit Integration of Semiconductors
Semiconductor Industry Time Period Prior to 1960 Early 1960s 1960s to Early 1970s Early 1970s to Late 1970s Late 1970s to Late 1980s 1990s to present Number of Components per Chip 1 2 to 50 50 to 5,000 5,000 to 100,000 100,000 to 1,000,000 > 1,000,000
Circuit Integration No integration (discrete components) Small scale integration (SSI) Medium scale integration (MSI) Large scale integration (LSI) Very large scale integration (VLSI) Ultra large scale integration (ULSI)
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Table 1.1
2001by Prentice Hall
ULSI Chip
Photo courtesy of Intel Corporation, Pentium III
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.5
2001by Prentice Hall
IC Fabrication Silicon
Wafer Wafer Sizes Devices and Layers
Wafer Fab Stages of IC Fabrication
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Wafer preparation Wafer fabrication Wafer test/sort Assembly and packaging Final test
2001by Prentice Hall
Evolution of Wafer Size
2000
1992 1987
1981
1975
1965
50 mm 100 mm 125 mm
150 mm
200 mm
300 mm
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.4
2001by Prentice Hall
Devices and Layers from a Silicon Chip
Top protective layer Metal layer Insulation layers Conductive layer
drain
Recessed conductive layer
Silicon substrate
Silicon substrate
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.5
2001by Prentice Hall
Stages of IC Fabrication
1.
Wafer Preparation includes crystal growing, rounding, slicing and polishing. Wafer Fabrication includes cleaning, layering, patterning, etching and doping.
Single crystal silicon
4.
Assembly and Packaging: The wafer is cut along scribe lines to separate each die. Metal connections are made and the chip is encapsulated.
Scribe line A single die Assembly Packaging
Wafers sliced from ingot
2.
3.
Test/Sort includes probing, testing and sorting of each die on the wafer.
Defective die
5.
Final Test ensures IC passes electrical and environmental testing.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.6
2001by Prentice Hall
Preparation of Silicon Wafers
Polysilicon Seed crystal Crucible
6. Edge Rounding
1. Crystal Growth
Heater
7. Lapping 2. Single Crystal Ingot
8. Wafer Etching 3. Crystal Trimming and Diameter Grind
Slurry Polishing head
9. Polishong 4. Flat Grinding
Polishing table
5. Wafer Slicing
10. Wafer Inspection
(Note: Terms in Figure 1.7 are explained in Chapter 4.)
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.7
2001by Prentice Hall
Wafer Fab
Photo courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices-Dresden, S. Doering
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.6
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Sample of Microchip Packaging
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.8
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Semiconductor Trends
Increase in Chip Performance
Critical Dimension (CD) Components per Chip Moores Law Power Consumption
Increase in Chip Reliability Reduction in Chip Price
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Critical Dimension
Common IC Features
Line Width Contact Hole Space
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.9
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Past and Future Technology Nodes for Device Critical Dimension (CD)
1988 CD ( m) 1.0
1992 0.5
1995 0.35
1997 0.25
1999 0.18
2001 0.15
2002 0.13
2005 0.10
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Table 1.2
2001by Prentice Hall
Increase in Total Transistors/Chip
1600 Microprocessor Total Transistors in Millions 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200
1997 1999
2001 2003 2006 2009 Year
2012
Redrawn from Semiconductor Industry Association, The National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, 1997. Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.10
2001by Prentice Hall
Moores Law for Microprocessors
The number of transistors on a chip double every 18 months.
100M 500
Pentium Pentium Pro
10M
Transistors
80486
1M
80386 80286 8086
25
100K
1.0
10K
8080 4004
.1
1975
1980
1985 Year
1990
1995
.01 2000
Used with permission from Proceedings of the IEEE, January, 1998, 1998 IEEE Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.11
2001by Prentice Hall
Size Comparison of Early and Modern Semiconductors
1990s Microchip (5~25 million transistors) 1960s Transistor
U.S. coin, 10 cents
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.12
2001by Prentice Hall
Reduction in Chip Power Consumption per IC
10 Average Power in micro Watts (10-6 W) 8
0 1997 1999 2001 2003 Year Redrawn from Semiconductor Industry Association, National Technology Roadmap, 1997
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2006
2009
2012
Figure 1.13
2001by Prentice Hall
Reliability Improvement of Chips
700 600
Long-Term Failure Rate Goals in parts per million (PPM)
500 400 300
200 100 0 1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
Year
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.14
2001by Prentice Hall
Price Decrease of Semiconductor Chips
104 102 1 Relative value 10-2 10-4 10-6
ULSI Electron tubes Standard tube Miniature tube Bipolar transistor Integrated circuits MSI LSI VLSI Semiconductor devices Device size = Price =
10-8
1930 10-10
1940
1950
1960 Year
1970
1980
1990
2000
Redrawn from C. Chang & S. Sze, McGraw-Hill, ULSI Technology, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996), xxiii. Figure 1.15 Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology 2001by Prentice Hall
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
The Electronic Era
1950s: Transistor Technology 1960s: Process Technology 1970s: Competition 1980s: Automation 1990s: Volume Production
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
Start-Up Cost of Wafer Fabs
$100,000,000,000 Actual Costs Projected Costs $10,000,000,000
Cost
$1,000,000,000
$100,000,000
$10,000,000
1970
1980
1990
2000 Year
2010
2020
Used with permission from Proceedings of IEEE, January, 1998 1998 IEEE Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.16
2001by Prentice Hall
Career Paths in the Semiconductor Industry
Fab Manager Maintenance Manager Maintenance Supervisor Equipment Engineer Production Manager Engineering Manager Process Engineer Associate Engineer MS
Production Supervisor
BS BSET*
Equipment Technician Maintenance Technician Manufacturing Technician
Yield & Failure Analysis Technician Process Technician Lab Technician
AS+ AS HS +
Wafer Fab Technician Production Operator
* Bachelor of Science in Electronics Technology
HS Education
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.17
2001by Prentice Hall
Productivity Measurements in a Wafer Fab
Misprocessing
Photo Production Bay
12
Ion Implant Production Bay Scrap
Diffusion Production Bay Production Equipment
Rework
9 6 3
Production Equipment
Inspection
Cycle Time per Operation
Time In Time Out
Production Equipment
Inspection
Inspection
Wafer Starts
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 31
Wafer Moves
Wafer Outs
1 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 30 31
Production Equipment
Inspection
Production Equipment
Inspection
Production Equipment
Inspection
Etch Production Bay
Thin Films Production Bay
Metallization Production Bay
Production Cycle Time = (Date and Time of Wafer Start) - (Date and Time of Wafer Out) Wafer Outs = Wafer Starts - Wafers Scrapped Operator Efficiency = Theoretical Cycle Time / Actual Cycle Time
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Figure 1.18
2001by Prentice Hall
Equipment Technician in a Wafer Fab
Photograph courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.7
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Technician in Wafer Fab
Photo courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
Photo 1.8
2001by Prentice Hall
Review Chapter 1
Summary Key Terms Review Questions Selected Industry Web Sites References
19 19 20 20 20
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda
2001by Prentice Hall
