CAD
Computer-Aided Design. The use of computer aids (hardware and software) in the electrical
and physical design and verification of new things. Historically, CAD has been more used to
describe the physical design rather than the electrical design, although currently the distinction
is so blurry as to be meaningless. CAD allows engineers to design integrated circuits of continually increasing complexity with decreasing product-to-market
times. Capacitor
A sponge which soaks up energy and releases it, gradually or all at once as needed. ex. a capacitor in a camera soaks up power from a tiny battery and dumps it out in a sudden flash from the bulb. Chip
A small piece of semiconducting material (usually silicon) on which an integrated circuit is embedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inches and can contain millions of electronic components (transistors). Computers consist of many chips placed on electronic boards called printed circuit boards. There are different types of chips. For example, CPU chips (also called
microprocessors) contain an entire processing unit, whereas memory chips contain blank memory. Also called a die
Cleanroom
The super clean environment in which semiconductors are manufactured. In these rooms the humidity, temperature, and particulate matter are precisely controlled within specified units. The "class" of the clean room defines the maximum number of particles of 0.3 micron size or larger that may exist in one cubic foot of space anywhere in the designated area. For example, in a Class 1 clean room only one particle of any kind may exist in one cubic foot of space. Newer clean rooms are typically Class 1-10, and are needed for manufacturing ICs with feature size close to 1 micron. CMOS
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. A MOS device containing both N-channel and P-channel MOS active elements. One of two basic processes (MOS and Bipolar) used to fabricate integrated circuits. Conductor
Any material, such as aluminum, copper or gold, that offers little resistance to the flow of
electrical current. Diode
A dam which blocks current under some conditions but allows it to flow under others. An eletric eye is a beam focused on a diode. If someone block the beam to the diode it release current to the alarm signal. Doping
Atoms with one less electron than silicon (such as boron), or one more electron than silicon (such as phosphorous), are introduced into the area exposed by the etch process to alter the electrical character of the silicon. These areas are called P-type (boron) or N-type (phosphorous) to reflect their conducting characteristics. Deposition
The procedure in which materials are deposited onto a substrate. Usually refers to thin
conducting or insulating films used to form MOS gates, capacitors, thin-film resistors, and the
interconnect system for an IC. Electron
An elementary atomic particle that carries the smallest negative electric charge (1.6x10-19
coulombs). Electrons are light in mass, (1/1837 of the mass of the hydrogen atom), highly
mobile, and orbit the nucleus of an atom.
Etch
The process of removing material from a wafer (such as oxides or other thin films) by
chemical, electrolytic or plasma (ion bombardment) means. Examples: nitride etch, oxide
etch.
Hole
A mobile electron vacancy in a semiconductor that acts like a positive electron charge
(+1.6x10-19 coulomb) with a positive mass. Unoccupied spot among the electrons that are
bound in their orbits. Under the application of an electric field, holes move in the opposite
direction from electrons, thereby producing an electric current. Holes are induced into an
integrated circuit by adding small quantities of an acceptor dopant to the host silicon crystal.
See acceptor.
Impurity
In semiconductor technology, a material such as boron, phosphorus or arsenic added in small
quantities to a crystal to produce an excess of electrons (donor impurity) or holes (acceptor
impurity). Also called "dopant".
Insulator
A material that is a poor conductor of electricity or heat, and used to separate conductors
from one another or to protect personnel from active electrical devices. Examples: silicon
dioxide (glass), silicon nitride, rubber, ceramics, wood.
Mask A transparent (glass or quartz) plate covered with an array of patterns used in making integrated circuits. Each pattern consists of opaque and transparent areas that define the size and shape of all circuit and device elements. The mask is used to expose selected areas of photoresist, which defines areas to be etched. Masks may use emulsion, chrome, iron oxide, silicon or other material to produce the opaque areas. Resistor A nozzle that restrics flow of electircity giving control over the current at any poiint. Ex: volume control dial on a TV..adjusting volume adjusts a resistor which reduces flow of current to the speaker to decrease the noise level. Semiconductor
A material that is neither a good conductor of electricity (like copper) nor a good insulator (like rubber). The most common semiconductor materials are silicon and germanium. Computer chips, both for CPU and memory, are composed of semiconductor materials. Semiconductors make it possible to miniaturize electronic components, such as transistors. Not only does miniaturization mean that the components take up less space, it also means that they are faster and require less energy. Transistor A semiconductor device that uses a stream of charge carriers to produce active electronic effects. Found in virtually every electronic device, it has two basic applications. The first, modulation of an electronic current, came first in the form of an amplification of an electric signal in a radio. The second application, switching, is of utmost importance in computer operations which are based on millions of lightning fast on-off decisions. |
