2.2.3 Summary to: 2.2. Silicon

Silicon, and only Si, enables integrated circuits of amazing complexity, with billions of transistor on one chip
Chips on Part of wafer
Two kinds of integrated transistors exist.
  • MOS - the absolute majority
  • bipolar - if speed counts
Wafers diameter are up to 300 mm (2007), smallest (lateral) structures on a wafer are in or below the 100 nm range.  
Integrated circuits are packaged chips with some connections to the outside world
 
Besides integrated circuits, Si is increasingly used for other semiconductor products:
Part of solar cell
part of MEMS structure
Solar cells based on Si consume more Si than IC's, and demand rapidly increasing Si production. The key point of Si solar cell technology is to have high efficiencies h at low prices.  
Microelectronic and micro-mechanic (and micro-optics and micro-fluidic and...) = MEMS systems find increasing uses for many tasks.  
 
Exercise 2.2-1
All Class Exercises to 2.2

With frame Back Forward as PDF

© H. Föll (Semiconductor Technology - Script)