Semiconductor: Material that can act either as a conductor or an insulator of electricity, depending on small changes in voltage
Silicon: Semiconductor material that serves as the basis for many circuits in industry
Transistor: Simple switch, made with a semiconductor material, that turns on or off depending on changes in voltage and can combine with other transistors to create complex devices
Integrated circuit: Many transistors (anywhere from several to billions) combined to make a small circuit on a chip
Wafer: Thin piece of semiconductor material (such as silicon) that we use as a base for building multiple integrated circuits
Lithography: Process of etching into or building onto the surface of a wafer in order to produce patterns of integrated circuits
Chip: Self-contained piece including the semiconductor surface and integrated circuit, independently packaged for use in electronics such as cellphones or computers
Active Si layer - silicon layer on top of the buried oxide (BOX) in SOI substrates.
Adhesion - ability of materials to stick (adhere) to each other.
Adhesion promoter - material used to improve adhesion of materials, typically photoresist to the substrate in a photolithographic processes. Some metals are also used to promote adhesion of subsequent layers.
Amorphous Si, a-Si - non-crystalline thin-film silicon having no long-range crystallographic order; inferior electrical characteristics as compared to single-crystal and poly Si but cheaper and easier to manufacture; used primarily to fabricate solar cells.
Angstrom, - unit of length commonly used in semiconductor industry, though it is not recognised as a standard international unit; 1 = 10-8 cm = 10-4 micrometer = 0.1 nm; The dimentions of a typical atoms
Bandgap, energy gap (Eg) - forbidden energy levels separating the valence and conduction bands. no electrons are allowed to have energies at these levels.
Bandgap engineering - processes in which the chemical composition of a semiconductor is altered in a controlled way to achieve a specific energy gap;
Batch process - process in which many wafers are processed simultaneously, as opposed to a single wafer process;
Boat - 1. a device made of high purity temperature resistant materials such as fused silica, quartz, poly Si, or SiC. designed to hold many semiconductor wafers during thermal or other processes; 2. device designed to simultaneously contain source material during evaporation while at the same time heating the source to its melting point; made of highly conductive, temperature resistant material through which current is passed.
Bonded SOI - SOI substrate formed by bonding two silicon wafers with oxidized surfaces such one wafer is formed with an oxide layer sandwiched between two layers of Si; one wafer is subsequently polished down to a specified thickness to form an active layer where devices will be fabricated.
Boron - element from group III of the periodic table; acts as an acceptor in silicon; Boron is the only p-type dopant used in silicon device manufacturing.
Bow - Concavity, curvature, or deformation of the wafer centerline independent of any thickness variation present.
BOX- buried oxide in SOI substrates.
Bridgman growth - A method of growing single-crystal semiconductors (typically III-V) using a multi-zone furnace in which the various elements are in contact with a seed; the melt is passed from higher to lower temperature zone, in a fassion similar to the float-zone (FZ) crystal growth method.
Chemical Mechanical Polishing, CMP - method of planarization, removing layers of solid by chemical-mechanical polishing.
Cleanroom - enclosed ultra-clean space necessary for semiconductor manufacturing. Airborne particles are removed from the space to specified minimum levels, room temperature and humidity are strictly controlled; clean rooms are rated and range from Class 1 to Class 10,000. The number corresponds to the number of particles per cubic foot.
Compound semiconductor - synthetic semiconductor formed using two or more elements mainly from groups II through VI of the periodic table; compound semiconductors do not appear in nature;
Conduction band - the upper energy band in a semiconductor separated from the valence band by the energy gap; The conduction band is not completely filled with electrons, hence, electrons are free to “conduct.”
Cryogenic pump - an efficient, clean high-vacuum pump operating in the pressure range from about 10-3 torr to 10-10 torr; removes gas molecules from vacuum by trapping them on cold surfaces;
Crystal - solid featuring periodic spatial arrangement of atoms throughout the entire piece of material
Crystal defects - imperfections of the crystallographic structure of a crystal. 1. point defects 2. line defects 3. planar defects 4. volume defects.
Czochralski Crystal Growth, CZ - process utilizing crystal pulling to obtain single-crystal solids; the most common method for obtaining large diameter semiconductor wafers (e.g. 300 mm Si wafers); desired conductivity type and doping level is accomplished by adding dopants to molten material. Wafers used in high-end Si microelectronics are almost uniquely CZ grown.
Crystal pulling - process in which single-crystal seed is slowly withdrawn from the melt and material condenses at the liquid-solid interface gradually forming a rod-shaped piece of single-crystal material. Crystal pulling is the foundation of the Czochralski (CZ) single-crystal growth technique;
Degenerate semiconductor - semiconductor that is so heavily doped that its Fermi level is closer to one of the band edges (either conduction or valence) than 2 kT/q; properties of degenerate semiconductors must be described using the Fermi-Dirac statistics instead of Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics.
Denuded zone - very thin region on a semiconductor substrate surface cleared from contaminants and/or defects by gettering;
Dicing - process of cutting semiconductor wafer into individual chips each containing a complete semiconductor device. Large diameter wafer dicing is carried out by partially cutting the wafer along preferred crystallographic planes using high precision saw with ultra-thin diamond blade.
Die - a single piece of semiconductor containing entire integrated circuit which has not yet been packaged; A chip.
Diffusion pump - high vacuum pump operating in the ranges from 10-3 torr to 10-7 torr featuring relatively high pumping speed; Removes molecules from vacumm by trapping them with oil vapor. Removed from high-end applications because of the oil vapor backstreaming into the vacuum system and contaminating the chamber. Pressure 10-5 Torr or better is refered to as high vacuum (HV).
Direct bandgap semiconductor - semiconductor in which the bottom of the conduction band and the top of the valence band coincide with the same value of momentum; the wavelength of any emitted radiation is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor; examples include GaAs and InP.
Dopant - element introduced intentionaly into a semiconductor to establish either p-type or n-type conductivity; Common dopants in silicon are: Boron (p-type) and phosphorous, arsenic, and antimony (n-type).
Electron beam (e-beam) evaporation - source material is evaporated as a result of highly localized heating by bombardment with high energy electrons; the electron beam is spacially confined and accelerated by electrostatic interactions. The direction and crosssection of the beam can be precicely controlled and rapidly altered to scan the target; vaporated material is very pure; bombardment of metal with electrons is accompanied by generation of low intensity X-rays which may create defects in the oxide present on the surface of the substrate; typically, an anneal is needed to eliminate those defects.
Elemental semiconductor - single element semiconductor from group IV of the periodic table; Si, Ge, C, Sn.
Epi Layer - The term epitaxial comes from the Greek word meaning ‘arranged upon.’ In semiconductor technology, it refers to the single crystalline structure of the film. The structure comes about when silicon atoms are deposited on a bare silicon wafer in a CVD reactor. When the chemical reactants are controlled and the system parameters are set correctly, the depositing atoms arrive at the wafer surface with sufficient energy to move around on the surface and orient themselves to the crystal arrangement of the wafer atoms. Thus an epitaxial film deposited on a <111>-oriented wafer will take on a <111> orientation.
Epitaxial layer - layer grown in the course of epitaxy;
Epitaxy - process by which a thin “epitaxial” layer of single-crystal material is deposited on single-crystal substrate; epitaxial growth occurs in such way that the crystallographic structure of the substrate is reproduced in the growing material; also crystalline defects of the substrate are reproduced in the growing material. Although crystallographic structure of the substrate is reproduced, doping levels and the conductivity type of a epitaxial layer is controlled independently of the substrate; e.g. the epitaxial layer can be made more pure chemically than the substrate;
Evaporation - common method used to deposit thin film materials; material to be deposited is heated in vacuum (10-6 - 10-7 Torr range) until it melts and starts evaporating; this vapor condenses on a cooler substrate inside the evaporation chamber forming very smooth and uniform thin films; not suitable for high melting point materials; PVD method of thin film formation.
External, extrinsic gettering - process in which gettering of contaminants and defects in a semiconductor wafer is accomplished by stressing its back surface (by inducing damage or depositing material featuring different than semiconductor thermal expansion coefficient) and then thermaly treating the wafer; contaminants and/or defects are relocated toward back surface and away from the front surface where semiconductor devices can be formed.
Filament evaporation - thermal evaporation; source material is contacted to the filament (a refractory metal) and melted by high current flowing through the filament; alternativly, a “boat” which contains material to be evaporated may be made out of refractory metal;
Float-zone Crystal Growth, FZ - method used to form single crystal semiconductor substrates (alternative to CZ); polycrystalline material is converted into single-crystal by localy melting the plane where a single crystal seed is contacting the polycrystalline material; used to make very pure, high resistance Si wafers; does not allow as large wafers (< 200mm) as CZ does; radial distribution of dopant in FZ wafer is not as uniform as in CZ wafer.
Fluidized-bed reactor -
Gettering - process which moves contaminants and/or defects in a semiconductor away from its top surface into its bulk and traps them there, creating a denuded zone.
HMDS - Hexamethyldisilizane; ; improves adhesion of photoresist to the surface of a wafer; especially designed for adhesion of photoresist to SiO2; deposited on wafer surface immediately prior to deposition of resist.
Ingot - circular piece of single-crystal semiconductor material resulting from a crystal growth process; an ingot is ready to be shaped and sliced into wafers used to manufacture semiconductor devices.
Intrinsic gettering - process in which gettering of contaminants and/or defects in a semiconductor is accomplished (without any physical interactions with the wafer) by a series of heat treatments.
LEC - Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski growth.
Line defect - dislocation.
Mean free path, MFP - average length traveled by a charge carrier or particle between two successive collisions;
Metallurgical Grade Silicon, MG-Si
Miller indices - combination of three integers (possibly four), used to define the orientation of crystallographic planes in a crystal; a set of coordinates defining specific crystallographic planes in the crystal.
Multi-Wire Sawing -
Nanometer, nm - unit of length commonly used in semiconductor industry; one billionth of a meter, 10-9 m [nm]; terms such as microchip and microtechnology are being replaced with nanochip and nanotechnology.
N-type semiconductor - semiconductor in which the concentration of electrons is much higher than the concentration of holes (p>>n); electrons are majority carriers and dominate conductivity.
Oxygen in silicon - oxygen finds its way into silicon during the Czochralski (CZ) single-crystal growth process; in moderate concentration (below 1017 cm3) oxygen improves mechanical properties of a silicon wafer; excess oxygen acts as a n-type dopant in silicon.
Physical Vapor Deposition, PVD - deposition of thin film occurs through physical transfer of material (e.g. thermal evaporation and sputtering) from the source to the substrate; the chemical composition of deposited material is not altered in the process.
Planar defect - also known as area defect; basically an array of dislocations, e.g. grain boundaries, stacking faults.
Polishing - process applied to either reduce roughness of the wafer surface or to remove excess material from the surface; typically polishing is a mechanical-chemical process using a chemically reactive slurry.
Polycrystalline material, poly - many (often) small single-crystal regions are randomly connected to form a solid; size of regions varies depending on the material and the method of its formation. heavily doped poly Si is commonly used as a gate contact insilicon MOS and CMOS devices;
Prime Grade - The highest grade of a silicon wafer. SEMI indicates the bulk, surface, and physical properties required to label silicon wafers as “Prime Wafers”.
P-type semiconductor - semiconductor in which the concentration of holes is much higher than the concentration of electrons (n>>p); holes are majority carriers and dominate conductivity.
Quartz - single-crystal SiO2.
Reclaim Grade - A lower quality wafer that has been used in manufacturing and then reclaimed (etched or polished) and subsequently used a second time in manufacturing.
Refractive index, n - important optical characteristic of a material; defined as a ratio speed of light in free space over speed of light in the material.
Refractory metal -
Resistivity (Volume) - The resistance that a unit volume of a material offers to the passage of electricity, the electric current being perpendicular to two parallel faces. More generally, the volume resistivity is the ratio of the potential gradient parallel with the current in the material to the current density.
Rough, roughing pump - vacuum pump designed to reduce pressure from atmospheric to militorr range.
Roots pump - high efficiency roughing pump; used in oil vapor-free vacuum systems.
Roughness - lack of planarity of solid surface at the atomic level; a parameter that measures lack of planarity; in high quality Si wafers better than 0.1 nm.
Sapphire - single-crystal Al2O3; can be synthesized and processed into various shapes; highly resistant chemically; transparent to UV radiation.
Secondary Flat - The flat of shortest length appearing in the circumference of the wafer. The secondary flat has a specific crystallographic orientation relative to the wafer surface and the primary flat.
Seed crystal - single crystal material used in crystal growing to set a pattern for the growth of material in which this pattern is reproduced.
Semiconductor - solid-state material in which (unlike in metals and insulators) (1) large changes in electrical conductivity can be effected by adding very small amounts of impurity elements known as dopants, (2) electrical conductivity can be controlled by both negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes and (3) electrical conductivity is sensitive to temperature, illumination, and magnetic field; these properties result from the fact that the valence and conduction bands in semiconductors are separated by a energy gap that rarely exceeds about 3.5 eV. Semiconductors are found in the IVth group of the periodic table: diamond (C), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge) and tin (Sn); numerous compound semiconductors can be formed by combining elements from groups II-VI; also, some organic materials display semiconductor properties.
Wafer fabrication - process in which single crystal semiconductor ingot is fabricated and transformed by cutting, grinding, polishing, and cleaning into a circular wafer with desired diameter and physical properties.
Wafer flat - flat area on the perimeter of the wafer; location and number of wafer flats contains information on crystal orientation of the wafer and the dopant type (n-type or p-type).
Warp - Deviation from a plane of a slice or wafer centerline containing both concave and convex regions.
Zinc blend lattice - crystal structure which belongs to the cubic-crystal family; most ot the III-V compound semiconductors have a zincblend lattice.
Luminous Intensity
A unit for measuring light. Unit: cd (Candela)
Luminous Flux
A unit for measuring light. Unit: lm (Lumen)
Luminance Efficiency
Amount of light (lumens) discharged per unit power (1W) applied.
Silicon
An element with semiconductor properties, and the principal ingredient of silicon wafers.
Nano
A unit used to measure semiconductor circuit width. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter.
NAND Flash Memory
A type of flash memory where semiconductor cells are arranged serially.
Data storage methods of NAND flash memory
Storage devices such as memory cards, USB thumb drives, and SSDs use NAND flash memory to store data. NAND flash is categorized as SLC, MLC, TLC, or QLC depending on the method of data storage.
Stepper Exposure
A process in which light is projected through a mask to draw circuits onto a wafer.
NOR Flash Memory
A type of flash memory where semiconductor cells are arranged in parallel.
Diode
A semiconductor element with rectifying and light-emitting characteristics. Made of germanium or silicon.
LGP, Light Guide Plate
A component that regulates the brightness of a BLU (back light unit) and keeps lighting uniform.
Conductor
A material through which electricity or heat flows well. Examples include gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and aluminum (Al).
RAM (Random Access Memory)
Memory that records data, where recorded data can be read or modified.
ROM (Read Only Memory)
Memory where recorded data can be read, but not modified.
Lead Frame
A metal matrix which functions as the lead connecting a semiconductor chip with an outside circuit, and as a frame for fixing a semiconductor package to a board.
Mask
A glass sheet on which microscopic electronic circuits are drawn, used in the photolithography step of semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing.
Machine Learning
A technology by which a machine gathers and analyzes empirical data to improve its own performance.
Memory Semiconductor
A semiconductor used for storing data.
Mobile Application Processor
A system semiconductor installed in electronic devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs, functioning as a brain to carry out command interpretation, computation and control, etc.
Mobile DRAM
A memory semiconductor used to operate mobile devices.
Mid·High-Power LED Package
High-power LED packages generally exceed 1W (watt) in power consumption; LED packages with less than 1W in power consumption are called mid-power LED packages.
Semiconductor
A material whose electrical conductivity is between that of a conductor and an insulator.
Insulator
A material through which electricity or heat cannot easily pass through.
Units of Light
Luminous intensity (cd), luminous flux (lm), intensity of illumination (lux), brightness (nit), luminance efficiency (lm/W).
Oxide Film
A film protecting a silicon surface from impurities occurring in-process.
Color Temperature
A method of expressing the light from a light source. Expressed in K (Kelvin) units.
Color Gamut
A numerical value expressing a display’s ability to express color.
Cleaning
A process by which impurities on a wafer surface area are removed through chemical treatment, gas, or physical methods.
Yield
In semiconductors, yield is the percentage of products without defects passing inspection.
Smart Card
A semiconductor integrated circuit with various functions embedded in a plastic card.
Stack Method
A technology wherein integration is enhanced by stacking multiple layers of cells in a semiconductor chip.
System Semiconductor
Semiconductors that perform logical, computation, and control functions, etc.
Etching
A process in which parts other than the necessary circuit pattern are removed from a wafer.
Neural Processing Unit (NPU)
A processor that learns and processes data like the human brain.
ISOCELL
A new technology that uses physical barriers between pixels of a CMOS image sensor to reduce optical loss and interference, overcoming performance limitations.
Quantum Efficiency
The percentage by which photons or electrons in a material are converted into photons or electrons of a different energy.
Color Rendering Index
One of the properties of a light source. Expressed in CRI units.
Wafer
The key material used to create semiconductor integrated circuits. A thin and round sheet obtained by slicing a monocrystalline ingot obtained by growing silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.
Image Sensor
An element that reads and converts object data into an electric image signal.
Embedded Flash (eFlash) Logic Process
A flash memory circuit implemented inside a system semiconductor circuit.
Ingot
A column of silicon created by melting silicon at a high temperature.
Resistance
A property indicating the degree to which flow of current is obstructed.
Power IC
A semiconductor element that converts and controls electrical power appropriately for a system.
Illumination
A unit for measuring light. Expressed using lux units.
Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM)
A company that operates all semiconductor processes in-house, from semiconductor design to finished product manufacture.
Deposition
A process wherein a thin film is applied to a wafer surface to impart electrical characteristics.
Integrated Circuit (IC)
A complex nano-scale electronic element or system wherein multiple electronic circuit elements are combined on a single board or with the board itself in a non-separable manner.
In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI)
A service wherein equipment installed in a vehicle provide information on vehicle status and navigation, as well as entertainment elements for a user.
Extraction Efficiency
The ratio between photons entering an LED and the photons discharged outward.
Capacitor
A device for temporary storage of electricity in an electronic circuit, also called a condensor.
Capacitance
The ability of a capacitor to collect and store electrical charge.
Color Bin
Binning refers to categorizing LED packages according to characteristics. Color binning involves categorizing packages according to light color.
Class
Unit expressing the cleanliness of a semiconductor clean room.
Transistor
A component of electronic circuits created by joining three layers of a silicon or germanium semiconductor. This semiconductor element performs amplifying and switching roles.
Trench method
Technology wherein a semiconductor chip surface is dug out in a trench shape and cells are arranged in the resulting trench to increase integration.
Foundry
An OEM-style semiconductor manufacturer.
Wavelength
The distance that a periodic wave such as a sound wave or electronic wave moves in a single period.
Packaging
A process wherein a semiconductor chip is packaged in a form suitable for the electronic device it is destined for.
Fabless
A company that designs semiconductors only, and does not operate its own production line.
Flash Memory
A type of semiconductor which is able to preserve data even when electrical power is removed.
Flip Chip
A technology used to improve the luminous efficiency of LEDs.
FinFET (Fin Field Effect Transistor)
A 3D process technology adopted to overcome the limitations of the conventional 2-dimensional structure.
Phosphor
A material used to change the color of light discharged by an LED chip.
Luminance
A unit for measuring light. Expressed in nit or cd/㎡ units.
ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)
An integrated circuit designed around special individual functions of a specific field of application or device.
BLU (Back Light Unit)
A component used as the light source for a liquid crystal display (LCD).
CCD Image Sensor
An image sensor that has a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) structure.
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
A type of integrate circuit used for forming digital circuits in microprocessors or S-RAM, etc.
CMOS Image Sensor (CIS)
A low-power image sensing element having a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) structure.
DDI (Display Driver IC)
An IC chip that drives displays such as TFT LCDs (Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display) or PDPs (Plasma Display Panels).
DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
A microprocessor made of up integrated circuits (IC), processing signals through digital computation.
DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)
The main type of RAM used in computers, for high speed and capacity.
EDS (Electrical Die Sorting) Process
A process wherein IC chips formed on a wafer are sorted based on whether or not they are electrically operational.
eMMC (Embedded Multi Media Card)
A memory semiconductor for storage, integrated into mobile devices for fast data processing.
5G A high-speed mobile communications technology whose maximum speed is 20Gbps. Characterized by ultra high-speed, low latency, and ultra connectivity.
‘GAA Structure’ Transistor
In GAA structure transistors to be introduced in 3nm and smaller circuits, gates surround all four faces of channels through which electric current flows. This allows for finer control of current flow and maximizes channel controllability.
HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
A mass storage device wherein data is stored on disc-shaped boards coated with magnetic material.
LED (Light Emitting Diode)
An electrically-driven light-emitting element made using Ga (gallium), P (phosphorus), and As (Arsenic).
MCP (Multi Chip Package)
A semiconductor in which multiple semiconductor chips are grouped into a single package.
MCU (Micro Controller Unit)
An integrated circuit (IC) that operates devices or controls certain systems.
NFC (Near Field Communication)
A wireless communication technology which allows data exchange at close range within 10cm.
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) A PCIe interface-based protocol to improve performance and design flexibility of SSD-equipped servers and PCs.
N-type Semiconductor
A semiconductor wherein certain impurities (group 5 elements) are added to a pure semiconductor to increase electron count.
PCI Express (PCIe) (Peripheral Component Interconnect-Express)
An interface standard which overcomes the per-second data transmission speed performance limitation of the conventional SATA interface.
P-type Semiconductor
A semiconductor wherein certain impurities (group 3 elements) are added to a pure semiconductor to increase hole count.
SATA (Serial ATA, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)
An interface standard using the serial transmission method.
SoC (System on Chip)
A technologically intensive semiconductor integrating an entire system into a single chip
SSD (Solid State Drive)
A next-generation mass storage device using memory semiconductors as a storage medium.
S-RAM (Static Random Access Memory)
A RAM in which data is preserved so long as electrical power is supplied.
TSV (Through Silicon Via)
A packaging technology wherein a top chip and bottom chip are connected by electrodes through fine holes punched into the chips, instead of using conventional wire connections.
3D Vertical NAND Flash Memory
A type of NAND flash memory wherein conventionally single-layer cells are stacked vertically in three dimensions.
UFS (Universal Flash Storage)
Next-generation ultra-fast flash memory applying the ‘UFS 2.0’ interface, the latest internal memory standard issued by JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council).
bols
- symbol for Angstrom
- wavelength
- BGA micro ball grid
- m micron
- P microprocessor
- W microwave; microwatt
- 100 silicon <100> crystal facet
- 111 silicon <111> crystal facet
AC alternating current voltage
AES auger electron spectroscopy
AFM atomic force microscopy
AI aluminum
ALE atomic layer epitxy
ALSiCu aluminum / silicon / copper alloy
AMU atomic mass unit
APCVD atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition
APSM absorptive phase shift mask
Ar argon
ARC antireflective coating
ARDE aspect ratio dependent etching
As arsenic
ASTM American Society of Testing and Materials
ASIC application specific integrated circuit
ATE automatic test equipment
Au gold
B boron
B2H6 diborane
BARC bottom antireflective coating
BCC body-centered cubic crystal
BCI3 boron trichloride
BEOL back end of line
BF / DF bright field / dark field
BGA ball grid array
BHF buffered hydrofluoric acid
BiCMOS bipolar and complimentary metal oxide semiconductor combined into a single IC
BIM binary intensity mask
Bipolar two polarities; IC in which both electrons and holes flow
Bit binary information digit
BJT bipolar junction transistor
BOE buffered oxide etch
BPSG borophosphosilicate glass
BSE backscattered electron
BSG borosilicate glass
BSR ball size ratio
C carbon
CAD computer-aided design
CAIBE chemical assisted ion beam etch
CAM computer-aided manufacturing
CBE chemical beam epitaxy
CCD charge-coupled device
CD critical dimension
CEL contrast enhancement layer
CERDIP ceramic dual inline package
CF4 carbon tetrafluoride, freon-14
CFM contamination free manufacturing; cubic feet per minute
Cl chlorine
CL cathodoluminescence
Class 10 cleanroom classification of 10 particles (0.5 um in diameter) per cubic foot
CMOS complimentary metal oxide semiconductor
CMP chemical mechanical planarization; chemical mechanical polish
COB chip on board
COE common oxide etch
CPU central processing unit
CRT cathode ray tube
CTE coefficient of thermal expansion
Cu copper
C-V capacitance-voltage measurement
CVD chemical vapor deposition
CZ Czochralski method of crystal growing
C4/ controlled collapse chip connection
Flip Chip
DADBS diacetoxyditertianrybutoxysilane
DC direct current
DCS dichlorosilance
DE100 plasma etch gas mixture of CF4/O210%
DESIRE diffusion enhanced silylating resist
DGEBF diglycidyl ether of bisphenol
DI de-ionized water
DI-LDD double-implant lightly doped drain
DIP dual inline package
DLTS deep level transient spectroscopy
DMD deformable mirror device
DOE design of experiments
DOF depth of focus
DR design rules
DRAM dynamic random access memory
DSP digital signal processor
DUF diffusion under film
DUT device under test
DUV deep ultraviolet
e- electron
EBIC electron beam induced current
EBR edge bead removal
ECR electron cyclotron resonance
EDM electrodischarge machining
EDS energy-dispersive spectrometer
EDX energy-dispersive x-ray
EEPROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
EFO electronic flame-off
EG electronic grade
EGA enhanced global alignment
EHS environmental health and safety
EM electromigration; electromagnetic
EMP electron microprobe
Emax maximum exposure level (in a swing curve)
EMI electromagnetic interference
Emin minimum exposure energy (in a swing curve)
Eo exposure energy (in a swing curve)
EOT epitaxy over trench
EPROM erasable programmable read-only memory
Epi epitaxy or epitaxial layer
ESCA electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis
ESD electrostatic dishcarge
ESO emergency shut-off
EUV extreme ultraviolet
eV electron volt
F fluorine
FA failure analysis
FCC face centered cubic; Federal Communication Commision
FEA finite-element analysis
FEOL front end of line
FET field effect transistor
FIB focused ion beam
FOX field oxide regions
FPD focal plane deviation; flat panel display
FPGA field-programmable gate array
FPP four-point probe
FTIR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
FZ float zone
GaAs gallium arsenide
Gb gigabit
Ge germanium
GHz gigahertz
G Line exposure at 436 nm
GND electrical ground
GOI gate oxide integrity test
GOX gate oxide
GSMBE gas source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
GUI graphical user interface
HAZ heat affected zone
HBT heterojunction bipolar transistor
HCI hot carrier injection
HCI hydrochloric acid
HDP high density plasma
HEMT high electron mobility transistor
HeNe helium/neon laser
HEPA high efficiency particulate
Attenuation filter
HF hydrofluoric acid
Hg mercury
HiPOx high pressure oxidation
HLF horizontal laminar flow
H Line exposure at 405 nm
HMCZ horizontal magnetic-field-applied
Czochralski method
HMDS hexamethyldisilazane
HREM high resolution electron microscopy
HRTEM high resolution transmission electron microscopy
HV high voltage; high vacuum
IBE ion beam etch
IC integrated circuit
ICP inductive coupled plasma
ID inside diameter
ILD interlevel dielectrics
I Line exposure at 365 nm
IMP ion metal plasma
InP indium phosphide
I/O input/output
IPA isopropyl alcohol
IR infrared
ITP implantation through polysilicon
IV current voltage test
JFET junction field effect transistor
JIT just-in-time inventory; just-in-time manufacturing
K potassium
KGD known good die
Kilo (K) thousand
KOH potassium hydroxide
L/S lines and spaces
LASER light amplification by stimulated
Emission of radiation
LCD liquid crystal display
LCVD laser enhanced chemical vapor deposition
LDD lightly doped drain
LEC liquid encapsulated Czochralski growth method
LED light emitting diode
LEED low energy electron diffraction
LFM lateral force microscopy
LFMCZ low flux magnetic-field-applied Czochralski method
Lg gate length
LOCOS local oxidation of silicon
LPCVD low pressure chemical vapor deposition
LPE liquid phase epitaxy
LRP limited reaction processing
LSD least significant digit
LSI large scale integration
LSPE lateral solid phase epitaxy
LTE low temperature epitaxy
LTO low temperature oxide
LTV local thickness variation
Mb megabit
MBE molecular beam epitaxy
MCM multi chip module
MCZ magnetic-field-applied Czochralski method
MEMS microelectromechanical system
MERIE magnetically enhanced reactive ion etch
MESFET metal-semiconductor field effect transistor
MFC mass flow controller
MFM magnetic force microscopy
MG metallurgical grade; mechanical grade
MHz megahertz
MICs mobile ionic contaminants
Micro- micro-Fourier transform infrared
FTIR spectroscopy
Mil one thousandth of an inch
MISFET metal-insulator field effect transistor
MLM multilevel metal
MLR multilevel resist
mm millimeter
MMIC monolithic microwave integrated circuit
MMOS memory metal-oxide-semiconductor device
MOCVD metalorganic chemical vapor deposition
MODFET modulation-doped field effect transistor
MOS metal-oxide-semiconductor
MOSFET metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor
MOVPE metalorganic vapor phase expitaxy
MPU microprocessor unit
MQW multiquantium well device
MSDS material safety data sheet
MSI medium scale integration
MST manufacturing support trainer
mT millitorr
MTBF mean time between failure
MTF mean time to failure; modulation transfer function
n n-type dopant: neutron
n- n-type lightly doped
n+ n-type heavily doped
N negative
N2 nitrogen
NA numerical aperture
NAA neutron activation analysis
NaOH sodium hydroxide
NC normally closed; numerical control
nm nanometer
NMOS n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor
NO normally open
NPN n-type/p-type/n-type transistor
NTRS National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors
NUV near-ultraviolet
O2 oxygen
OAI off-axis illumination
OD outside diameter
OISF oxidation induced stacking faults
OPC optical particle counter; optical proximity correction
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
p p-type dopant
p- p-type lightly doped
p+ p-type heavily doped
P postive: phosphorous
p+ proton
Pbase base pressure
PAC photoactive compound
PBA polybuty acrylate
PBGA plastic ball grid array
PC personal computer; printed circuit
PCB printed circuit board; plug control bar
PCM portable conformable mask
PDIP plastic dual inline package
PE plasma etch
PEB post-exposure bake
PECVD plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
PEL permissible exposure limit
PGA pin grid array
pH density of hydrogen ions
PH3 phosphine
PHCVD photon-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
PID proportional-integral-derivative feedback
PL photolithography; projection lens; photoluminescence
PM preventative maintenance
PMD poly-metal interlevel dielectric
PMOS p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor
P-N p-type/n-type diode junction
PNP p-type/n-type/p-type transistor
POCL phosphoxychlorine
Poly polycrystalline silicon
POU point of use
PPB parts per billion
ppm parts per million
PPMA parts per million atomic
PPT parts per trillion
PTFE polytetrafluorethylene
PR photoresist
PROM programmable read-only memory
PS power supply
PSG phosphosilicate glass
psi pounds per square inch
PSM phase shift mask
Pt platinum
PUPS programmable ultrasonic power supply
PVA polyvinylacetate
PVD physical vapor deposition
PWP particles per wafer per pass
QA quality assurance
Qbd charge to breakdown
QC quality control
QDR quick dump rinse
QFP quad flat package
Q&R quality and reliability
RAM random-access memory
R&D research and development
RBS Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy
RCA clean cleaning solution developed by the RCA company
RF radio frequency
RIBE reactive ion beam etch
RIE reactive ion etch
RMS root mean square
R&M repair and maintenance
ROM read-only memory
RTA rapid thermal anneal
RTN rapid thermal nitridation
RTO rapid thermal oxidation
RTP rapid thermal processing
RTV room temperature vulcanized
S&R step and repeat
SA self-aligned
SAM scanning acoustic microscopy
SAW surface acoustic wave
Sb antimony
SBGA super ball grid array
SC semiconductor
SC1 standard cleanup #1 (a version of the RCA cleanup)
SC2 standard cleanup #2 (a version of the RCA cleanup)
SCALPEL scattering with angular limitation projection electron-beam lithography
SCCM standard cubic centimeters per minute
SCM scanning capacitance microscopy
SD source-drain
SE secondary electrons
SEBT selective epitaxy base transistor
SEEW selective epitaxial emitter-window
SEG selective epitaxial growth
SEM scanning electron microscope
SEMI Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International
SEU single event upset
Si silicon
SI semi-insulating
Si3N4 silicon nitride
SIA Semiconductor Industry Association
SiC silicon carbide
SIMION simulation of ion trajectories
Silox silicon dioxide used as a protective coating
SIMS secondary ion mass spectroscopy
SiO2 silicon dioxide
SI unit international system of units
SIPOS semi-insulating polysilicon
SLM standard liter per minute; single-level metal
SOG spin-on glass
SOI silicon-on-insulator
SOP small outline package
SOS silicon on sapphire
SPC statistical process control
SPICE simulated programming with integrated circuit emphasis
SPM scanning probe microscopy
SRM site risk management
SQC statistical quality control
SRAM static random access memory
SRD spin rinse drier
SRP spreading resistance profiling
SSI small scale integration
SSOP shrink small outline package
STEM scanning transmission electron microscopy
STI shallow trench isolation
STM scanning tunneling microscope
STP standard temperature and pressure
Ta tantalum
TAB tape automated bonding
TaSi2 tantalum silicide
TARC top antireflective coating
TC thermocouple
TCA trichloroethene
TCAD technolgy computer-aided design
TCE trichloroethylene or trichloroethene
Or thermal coefficient of expansion
T/C thermocompression bonding
TCP tape carrier package
TCPTM Transformer Coupled PlasmaTM
TCS trichlorosilane
TDDB time-dependent dielectric
breakdown
TEM transmission electron microscopy
TEOS tetraethylorthosilicate
TFT thin film transistor
Ti titanium
TiN titanium nitride
TiSi2 titanium silicide
TIR total indicator reading
TLV threshold limit value
TMAH tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide
TMB trimethylborate
TMP (-ite) trimethylphosphite
TMP (-ate) trimethylphosphate
TOC total oxidizable carbon
TOF time of flight
TQC total quality controlTQFP thin quad flat package
T/S thermosonic bonding
TTL through-the-lens or transistor-
transistor logic
TTV total thickness variation
TW thermal-ware
UHV ultra high vacuum
ULPA ultra low penetration air filter
ULSI ultra large scale integration
UPS ultraviolet photoelectron
Spectroscopy
U/S ultrasonic bonding
UV ultraviolet light
UVOC ultraviolet ozone cleaning
Vcc voltage source
Vdd voltage source
VLF vertical laminar flow
VLSI very large scale integration
VMCZ vertical magnetic-field –applied
Czochralski method
VPE vapor phase epitaxy
Vt threshold voltage
W tungsten
WAT wafer acceptance test
WIWNU within wafer nonuniformity
WIP wafers in process; work in process
WLBI wafer level burn-in
WLR wafer level reliability
WPH wafers per hour
WSI wafer scale integration
WSi2 tungsten silicide
WSM wafer starts per month
XPS x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
XRD x-ray diffraction
XRF x-ray fluorescence
XRT x-ray topography
Xsc scattering cross-section
YR yield ramp
Z impedance
