Semiconductor Technology from A to Z

Fundamentals

• The atomic structure
• The elements, the periodic table
• Chemical bonds
• Conductors – Insulators – Semiconductors
• Doping: n- and p-semiconductors
• The p-n junction
• Transistors and Memory

Wafer Fabrication

• Silicon
• Production of raw silicon
• Fabrication of the single crystal
• The wafer

Oxidation

• Overview
• Fabrication of oxide layers
• LOCOS technology

Deposition

• Plasma, the fourth aggregation state of a material
• Chemical vapor deposition
• Physical deposition methods

Photolithography

• Exposure and resist coating
• Exposition methods
• Photoresist
• Development and inspection
• Photomasks
• Optical Proximity Correction (OPC)
• DUV vs. EUV
• EUV Tool Technology

Wet Chemistry

• Etch processes
• Wet etching
• Wafer cleaning

Dry Etching

• Overview
• Dry etch processes
• Reactor Types
• Etching of Compound Semiconductors and High-k Materials

Doping Techniques

• Diffusion
• Ion Implantation

Metallization

• Requirements on metallization
• Aluminum technology
• Copper technology
• Metal semiconductor junction
• Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP)
• Wiring

Metrology

• Film thickness measurement
• Particle inspection
• CD Measurement
• Overlay Measurement

Wafer Test

• Wafer Test
• Final Test and Binning

Assembly

• Dicing
• Die Attach
• Bonding
• Encapsulation

Advanced Packaging / 3D Integration

• Limits of Classical Integration
• Through-Silicon Via (TSV)
• 2.5D Integration: The Interposer
• 3D Stacking
• Chiplets & Heterogeneous Integration
• Applications & Outlook

Reliability

• ESD Protection Structures
• Electromigration, TDDB and NBTI/PBTI
• Burn-in and HTOL Testing

Devices

• Zener and Avalanche Diodes
• The Schottky Diode
• The Tunnel Diode
• Thyristors and Triacs
• Field-Effect Transistor Families: An Overview
• Field-effect transistors
• Construction of a FinFET
• The Junction FET (JFET)
• The Metal-Semiconductor FET (MESFET)
• Bipolar transistors
• Characteristic Curves and Transistor Equations
• Si Power Devices (Power MOSFET, IGBT)
• CMOS vs. Bipolar
• Bulk vs. SOI

Digital technology

• From transistor to logic gate
• The CMOS Fabrication Flow
• Arithmetic Circuits: Adders and Multipliers
• Sequential Logic: Flip-Flops, Latches, and Clock Trees
• Static Timing Analysis: Setup and Hold Time
• Static and Dynamic Power Dissipation, Leakage Currents
• The SRAM Cell
• The DRAM Cell
• DRAM Fabrication: The Trench Capacitor Process
• The Flash Memory Cell
• Circuit Layouts
• Design Rules
• Layout versus Schematic (LVS)
• Processor Architecture
• Control Unit and Instruction Execution
• CPU vs. GPU
• FPGA vs. ASIC: Synthesis Flow and HDL
• Why New Memory Technologies?
• MRAM – Magnetoresistive RAM
• ReRAM – Resistive RAM
• PCM – Phase-Change Memory
• Comparison & Context

Analog & Mixed-Signal Design

• Operational Amplifiers
• ADC Architectures
• DAC Architectures
• Bandgap References
• Comparators
• PLL – Phase-Locked Loop
• Voltage Regulators: LDOs and Switching Regulators
• Noise in Semiconductor Devices

Optoelectronics & Photonics

• Fundamentals of Optoelectronics
• Light-Emitting Diodes (LED)
• Laser Diodes
• Photodiodes & Photodetectors
• Integration & Applications
• Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices
• Solar Cells

Micromechanics

• Introduction to MEMS
• Anisotropic Etching of Silicon
• Sacrificial Layer Technique
• Bulk vs. Surface Micromachining
• The MEMS Accelerometer
• The Microphone and Pressure Sensor
• DRIE: Deep Reactive Ion Etching

Compound Semiconductors

• Fundamentals & Material System
• Crystal Growth & Substrates
• SiC Power Devices
• GaN Power Devices
• Applications & System Comparison
• HEMT and HBT for RF Applications
• InP-Based Photonic Devices

How does it work?

• Fabrication Processes
• Devices & Digital Technology
• Optoelectronics
• Packaging & Other Topics