Free Essay

Creation of Silicon Chips

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By baby16113
Words 1274
Pages 6
Creation of Silicon Chips

D'yara L.Williams
South Carolina State University
CS 304 - Introduction to Computer Organizatikns & Architecture
Dr. Y. Kim
Feburary 25, 2015 Did you know that microprocessors today have more than 30 layers of complex circuits compared to the 5 layered circuit discovered in 1971? Silicon chips are also known as a monolithic integrated circuits, die, or processors. They’re miniature electronic brains that are everywhere in the electronic world, which processes data in the form of electrical currents traveling along a circuit. The natural semi-conductor of integrated chips is manufactured using sand. Beach sand contains a high percentage of the principal ingredient, silica or silicon dioxide, the most abundant element on earth besides oxygen. The process of making silicon chips is called fabrication. A wafer is a thin silicon disk sliced from a cylindrical ingot that is used as the principal ingredient for building integrated circuits. The creation of silicon chips is processed by ensuring product specifications, architectural specifications, creating a logic design, compose a physical representation and finalizations. However, engineers experience a problem with desiring to make electronic devices simpler but more powerful.
Although the first computers came about before its invention, the silicon microprocessor is the advancement that made the modern computer era explode. The ability to create a microelectric chip out of silicon dioxide was what triggered computers best advancements in energy efficiency and performance. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004 which was not very powerful, and it could only add and subtract at four for bits at a time. Microprocessors are often classified by the number of transistors and other electronic components contained. According to Moore's Law, Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a piece of silicon wafer will double every year. Ten year later he updated his prediction and as the number of transistors went up the cost per transistor went down.
To begin with, before a chip is made engineers are to ensure the accuracy of the specifications by creating a design or blueprint. The starting material for a silicon chip is sand which has a high percentage of silica. This can be transformed into a semi conductor which has an excellent conductor or insulator of electricity with minor amount of impurities added. The element silicon dioxide is purified to less than one alien Atom per billion. The Czochralski process ensures removal of the crystal lattice cylinder, called an ingot. This silicon ingot has a diameter of 300 millimetres and weighs about 100 kilograms. The end is then cut into individual silicon discs called wafers with each about one millimeter thick. The wafers are polished to a flawless, mirror smooth surface. This way first then undergo a process known as photo lithography which in Prince a specific pattern on a wafer. It starts by applying a light sensitive, its resistant material called photoresist onto the wafer surface. The photoresist is hardened and parts of it are exposed to the ultra light, making it suitable. The light passes through a mess similar to a stencil like pattern for each layer of the chip which is being use during the fabrication process and then through the lands to shrink and print patterns on each layer of every chip of the wafer. A chemical process removes the soul of a photoresist, leaving a pattern photoresist image is determined by what was on the mast. Ions are embedded beneath the surface of the wafer and regions covered by photoresist. This alters the conductive properties of the silicon in selected locations. After the ion implantation, the photoresist is removed resulting in certain regions being doped with an atom which appear green in image. Although hundreds of chips are usually built on a single wafer. The next step focuses on the smaller pieces of the chips which is known as the transistor. Apply a hard mask material using photolithography to create a fin for a tri gate transistor. The removal of selected portions of materials to define patternerd layers on chips known as etching takes place when defected silicon has been successfully removed , leaving behind a fin with a layer of hard mask on top. After the hard mask is chemically removed it leaves behind a tall, but yet thin silicon fin that contains the channel of transistors. The channel of transistors isnthe region under the gate of a transistor where current flows when the transistor is in "on" state.
Photoresist is applied to portions of the transistor, and a thin silicon dioxide layer is created by inserting the wafer in an oxygen-flled tube-furnace. This layer becomes a temporary gate dielectric. Using photolithography, a temporary layer of polycrystalline silicon is created. This becomes a temporary gate electrode. In another oxidation step, a silicon dioxide layer is created over the entire wafer to insulate the transistor from other elements. The temporary gate electrode and gate dielectric are etched away in preparation for forming the fnal gate. This procedure is called gate-last. Multiple layers of high-k dielectric material are applied to the wafer surface using a method called atomic layer deposition. This material is etched away in some areas, such as the silicon dioxide layer. A metal gate electrode is formed over the wafer and removed from regions other than the gate electrode. The combination of this and the high-k dielectric material improves performance and reduces leakage.Three holes are etched into the insulation layer above the transistor. The holes are flled with copper or another material that creates metal connections to other transistors. The wafers are put into a copper sulphate solution. Copper ions are deposited onto the transistor using a process called electroplating. Copper ions settle as a thin layer of copper on the transistor surface. The excess material is polished off, revealing a specifc pattern of copper. Like a multi-level highway, metal layers interconnect the transistors in a chip. The design of the chip determines how the connections are made. Although chips look flat, they can have more than 30 layers of this complex circuitry. After wafer processing is complete, each chip on a wafer is tested for its functionality. The wafer is cut into pieces called die. Based on the responses received in the wafer sort test, die are selected for packaging. The substrate, the die, and a heat spreader are put together to form a completed processor. The green substrate creates the electrical and mechanical connections so that the processor can interact with the system. The silver-colored heat spreader is a thermal interface that helps dissipate heat. A completed processor, such as the 3rd generation Intel Core processor, is one of the most complex manufactured products on Earth. Processors undergo fnal testing for functionality, performance, and power. Based on fnal test results, processors with the same capabilities are grouped into transporting trays.Intel® processors, such as the 3rd generation Intel Core processor shown here, are sent to system manufacturers in trays, or they are boxed for retail stores.
Being able to make electronic components out of a single piece of silicon like transistors, and then connecting them lead the way for integrated circuits. In order to gain full beneficial of technology computer experience must be secured. The way a chip works is a result of how a chip’s gates and transistors are designed, and the use of the chip. In conclusion, for decades Intel’s continuity of research and development relies on new processes that allows technology to deliver more high performance, and energy efficient technologies.

References: http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/integrated_circuit/history/ http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-making-silicon.html

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Millipede

...cantilever/tip in a thin (50-nm) polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layer, resulting in a data storage density of 400-500 Gb/in.2 High data rates are achieved by parallel operation of large two-dimensional (2D) AFM arrays that have been batch-fabricated by silicon surface-micromachining techniques. The very large scale integration (VLSI) of micro devices (cantilevers/tips) on a single chip leads to the largest and densest 2D array of 32 x 32 (1024) AFM cantilevers with integrated write/read storage functionality ever built. Timemultiplexed electronics control the write/read storage cycles for parallel operation of the Millipede array chip. Initial areal densities of 100-200 Gb/in.2 have been achieved with the 32 × 32 array chip, which has potential for further improvements. In addition to data storage in polymers or other media, and not excluding magnetics, we envision areas in nanoscale science and technology such as lithography, high-speed/large-scale imaging, molecular and atomic manipulation, and many others in which Millipede may open up new perspectives and opportunities. KEYWORDS: Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Cantilevers, Thermo-mechanical, x/y/z scanning, biomorph effects, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon-nitride layer 1. INTRODUCTION: In the 21st century, the nanometer will very likely play a role similar to...

Words: 4402 - Pages: 18

Free Essay

Tm-Sg Mosfet

...charge balance by attracting more carriers into the channel, which leads to lowering the threshold voltage of the device. The channel becomes more attractive for electrons or in other words the potential energy barrier for electrons in the channel is lowered. Hence the term “barrier lowering” is used. DIBL increases as the channel length is reduced because the source and drain form pn junctions with the body, and so has associated built-in depletion layers associated with them that become significant partners in charge balance at short lengths even with no reverse bias applied to increase depletion widths. What is Hot carrier effect? It refers to an effect in MOSFETs , where a carrier is injected from the conducting channel in the silicon substrate to the gate dielectric. To become ‘hot’ and enter the conduction band of the gate...

Words: 1109 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Me and My Cat

...about $650 without a monitor or keyboard. Orders instantly soared, and Jobs and Wozniak quickly brought out the Apple II, which included a keyboard, color monitor, and expansions for peripheral devices (Birzer & Schweikart 2003). In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh, which was aimed at the business and education markets, by which time the company had already not only changed American industry but had reshaped entire areas of the West around silicon. In 1996, after a series of CEOs failed to keep Apple profitable, Steve Jobs returned under the rubric interim CEO and soon launched a new marketing and licensing relationship with Microsoft. In 2000 his direct sales concept, the Apple Store brought the company back to profitability (Birzer & Schweikart 2003). In 1994 Apple computers launched a new line of computers based on the PowerPC processor chip. The creation of the new chip was a joint venture between Apple Computers, IBM, and Motorola, and because the new chip was capable of being compatible with the market leading Intel chip, it was marketed as a major breakthrough in computer technology. If emulation software was purchased by a consumer, the consumer could run both software made for Apple computers and software made for Intel PCs on the same Apple machine. The machine was even being called a PC with a free Mac inside. Apple computers had controlled about 8-10 percent of the personal computer market since 1984, and recently it had been struggling financially (Gottinger...

Words: 696 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Extending Human Life One Chip at a Time

...Extending Human Life One Chip at a Time COM 172 March 21, 2012 Dr. Yvette Irizarry Extending Human Life One Chip at a Time How long would you like to live? It is undeniably that scientists and technology are predestined to mend and prolong people natural lifespan expectancy. This, due to the emergence and advancements of a new technology era with highly specialized medical doctors, along with; biologists and bioengineers, electronics, chemists and chemical engineers, physicists, and mechanical engineers all working together in an orchestrated choreographed process around the globe. Novelties in nanotechnology, sustained living tissue reproduction, bio-hybrid organ devices and microfluidics platforms have evolved from a concept of fantasy to a revolutionized reality. Available technology has migrated into the medical world, allowing scientists to develop several human organs utilizing microfluidics platform technology. Harvard University has developed a highly refined lung on-a-chip that embodies numerous forms of tissues. “We started with the simplest embodiment of human airway and capillary cells, and then introduced immune cells” (Ingber, 2010, p. 661). The chip consists of micro-channels parted by a malleable micrometer tissue. A single conduit encompasses air sacks lining like human lungs, and the other channel conveys capillaries, and to emulate blood flow, it has liquids flowing. The chip highlights the cells’ behavior and fluctuations when they are stretched....

Words: 1724 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

The Birth and Evolution of Transistors and Impact on the Transport Industry

...Electronics rely heavily on electronic switching and amplification to generate and capture the various signals which allow them to operate. A controllable valve that allows a small signal to control a much larger signal does this, and could be related to a controllable valve used in the control of water flow. This was once done by a device known as vacuum tube but was later brought down to a much lower production scale for a variety of industrial, economical and business related reasons. Bell Laboratories, the research arm of telecommunications company American Telephone and Telegraph’s (AT&T) director Mervin Kelly put together the first team of researchers and scientists placed on the task of research and development of a solid state-semiconductor later called a transistor that would supersede vacuum tubes and provide numerous advantages. The success of this development would prove to change the computing, electronics and telecommunications systems altogether. Up until the invention of the transistor a vacuum tube was used in the control, amplification and generation of electrical signals. Vacuum tubes are tubes usually made from glass and designed in an airtight manner as to keep the flow of “cathode rays” from external disturbance as they pass from each terminal and laid the foundation for numerous technical innovations, such as the light bulb discovered by Thomas Edison (fig. 1). Joseph John Thomson further made a vacuum tube and placed a third terminal to attain a grasp...

Words: 1787 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Case Study : Samsung

...change of value through different industry sectors is described as the industrial value chain as shown in Figure 1 below (Betz, 2011). The industrial value chain begins with the resource acquisition industry sector like silica extraction for computer chips. The end users for this silica are the silica refiners which is the next industry sector. After refining the silica, the silicon is used by computer part manufacturers to turn it into chips and computer parts which is the third industry sector. Next sector is the computer manufacturers like Apple and Dell. After this the value chain has service companies for the computers as well as the retail network to sell the computers as the next industry sector. Betz in this case study reviews Samsung Electronics, an electronics company which created laptop components but moved through the value chain to become a leading laptop manufacturer (Betz, 2011). Figure 1: Industrial value chain (Betz, 2011) Betz describes the evolution of laptop computers from without disk drive earlier model to the heavy IBM and Toshiba models in 1986. Toshiba redesigned the laptop to lighter version and became successful by 1990. With the advance of laptop adoption, operating system company Microsoft and chip manufacturer Intel grew alongside. Samsung became a major global parts supplier for laptops by 2001 (Betz, 2011). In 2001 Samsung proceeded to cross the chasm from being a parts supplier to a computer manufacturer when it sent its laptop, which was...

Words: 720 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Mems

...CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are small integrated devices or systems that combine electrical and mechanical components. They range in size from the sub micrometer level to the millimeter level and there can be any number, from a few to millions, in a particular system. MEMS extend the fabrication techniques developed for the integrated circuit industry to add mechanical elements such as beams, gears, diaphragms, and springs to devices. Examples of MEMS device applications include inkjet-printer cartridges, accelerometer, miniature robots, microengines, locks inertial sensors microtransmissions, micromirrors, micro actuator (Mechanisms for activating process control equipment by use of pneumatic, hydraulic, or electronic signals) optical scanners, fluid pumps, transducer, pressure and flow sensors. New applications are emerging as the existing technology is applied to the miniaturization and integration of conventional devices. These systems can sense, control, and activate mechanical processes on the micro scale, and function individually or in arrays to generate effects on the macro scale. The micro fabrication technology enables fabrication of large arrays of devices, which individually perform simple tasks, but in combination can accomplish complicated functions. MEMS are not about any one application or device, nor are they defined by a single fabrication process or limited to a few materials. They are a fabrication approach that conveys...

Words: 6684 - Pages: 27

Free Essay

Micromachining

...000 μm size range as shown in the figure below. The Micro-Machining regime is characterized by the requirement of producing high accuracy complex geometric features in a wide variety of materials in the above-defined size range. These requirements impose the use of considerably downsized tooling (micro-tools, e.g. endmills in the 50 to 500 micron diameter range), small undeformed chip thicknesses and feedrates (submicron to a few microns) and speed settings (50K to 200K RPM might not be uncommon) that would be considered technologically infeasible at the conventional macro-scale. As a consequence, the principal distinction between Macro and Micro-Machining operations emerges and manifests itself as the dominance of ploughing and rubbing phenomena at the cutting edge over shearing and the necessity to take micro-structural effects into consideration. (2) The second viewpoint approaches the definition of the Micro-Machining regime from the standpoint of the magnitude of the undeformed chip thickness being removed in the cutting process. It is difficult to define a clear-cut value of the undeformed chip thickness that would differentiate the macro-, micro/meso- and nano-scale cutting regimes since other factors such as grain-structure, cutting edge radius, etc., also come into play. The authors of this report would suggest the following classification: Miniaturization is the order of the day. Until recently a decade ago traditionally watch parts...

Words: 3756 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Netw583 Course Project

...NETW583 Course Project Intel Corporation has been great in the past when it had seen success. But of the last couple decade its success has not been top shape. But to achieve this success they are reaching for they will need an effective deployment strategy within their market, Intel Corporation needs to implement a technology strategy that will showcase its encompasses ability to involve business groups throughout the planning process, while maintaining integration of the processes from within things like their corporate planning schedule, Intel’s plans should rapidly change within the market, and staying abreast of the technology curve while simultaneously achieving the largest returns conceivable on every initiative and areas of focus. Intel’s has shown us a strong desire to maintain accomplishments in the production of the fastest and most powerful CPU’s in the industry. An effective approach to Intel retaining these goals would be for Intel to know exact what strategy is effective to manages strategic planning. Intel’s strategic planning process should be able to address long-term direction for IT leaders and develop strategies that address future goals and objectives. Furthermore, the integration of Intel’s strategic planning calendar with the corporate planning cycle will ensure that Intel will preserve the synchronicity of these aspects with the company’s planned direction. Also, the collaboration and consolidation of Intel’s experts and ideas garnered from all Intel...

Words: 3679 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Johnny Eng

...tone. Fire fighter moving in area but no water available, Miles away in a military base, radar screen blinks off for number of missiles and aircrafts appearing on screen. Confusion grows, tanks begin to move across the streets, all communication systems collapse and people are sitting as blind. What is this all about, it is a cyber-attack acting as a force multiplier. 2. Cyber warfare is an outcome of information age technologies like satellites, electronic mailing system, internet, computers and micro-chips. Advancements in these technologies have converted the planet earth into a global village affecting all facets of human activity including warfare. Cyber warfare can influence all three components of the nation-state: the people, the government, and the military. This is a new paradigm of warfare in which there is no need to send a formation of soldiers or a fleet of warships, instead computer viruses and logic bombs in microprocessor control units and memory chips, may cause a wide spread disruption of every tier of society including military systems. 3. Cyber warfare, which is a new battle concept in the information age, was first used by US forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. That effort was primitive and was limited only to the reading of E-mail sent between Iraqi commanders. US Air Force used sophisticated tools during 78-day air campaign against Yugoslavia. By then, the Pentagon was able to infiltrate Belgrade's advanced computer-integrated air defense...

Words: 4308 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

The Five Generations of Computers

...The Five Generations Of Computers The 21st century is the age of computer technology and it has brought about a major change in every aspect of our life. “It has largely changed the way we communicate and the way information exchange is used in today's world. The computer is a growing creation that is a result of advances of many other generations of computers, for example, the common personal computer, personal tablets, and even our smartphones, all came from the concepts of the previous 4 generations of computers” according to (Duncan, Becky) in her article over the importance of computers. This time and age we are now using the fifth generation of computers. Computers are so beneficial to the world today because, Computers are now a part of everyone's existence, including work, school, learning and play. Many modern activities, such as social media, information sharing and business applications require computers, and people cannot complete these actions without one. “The computer is an electronic device used in almost every field even where it is most unexpected. It is made up of two things one is the hardware and other is software. All physical components of computer like keyboard, mouse, monitor etc. comes under the hardware while all the programs and languages used by the computer are called software.” (Trigg, Paula). These days’ computers are the tools for not only engineers and scientists but also they are being used by millions of people around the world. First Generation...

Words: 1670 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Intel

...Moore, Intel manufactures the Intel computer processors, Intel Overdrive CPU upgrades, networking devices, and is considered by most to be 'the' company that has influenced the hardware market. The Company offers platforms that incorporate various components and technologies, including a microprocessor and chipset, a stand-alone system-on-chip (SoC) or a multichip package. The Company offers microprocessors with one or multiple processor cores. In addition, its Intel Core processor families integrate graphics functionality onto the processor die. The Company offers and develops SoC products that integrate the Company’s central processing units (CPU) with other system components, such as graphics, audio, imaging, communication and connectivity, and video, onto a single chip. The Company offers a multichip package that integrates the chipset on one die with the CPU and graphics on another die, connected through an on-package interface. The Company also offers fifth generation Intel Core processor, code-named Broadwell. The Company offers manufacturing technologies and design services for its customers. Its foundry offerings include full custom silicon, packaging, and manufacturing test services. It also provides semi-custom services to tailor Intel architecture-based solutions with customers' intellectual property blocks. The Company also offers design kits, intellectual property blocks and design services. PC Client Group The Company’s PC Client Group operating segment offers products...

Words: 5624 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Gnfgj

...Perhaps the earliest device for working out sums was the abacus. This began as a clay tablet into which grooves were cut. Pebbles were then placed or taken away from grooves to perform addition and subtraction. (Our word calculation comes from the Latin word calculus meaning 'pebble'). Because the pebbles were likely to become mislaid, they were later replaced by beads threaded on to wires and mounted in a frame. By moving the beads backwards and forwards, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication could be done. In 1614 John Napier, an astronomer, invented a ready-reckoned, known as Napier's bones, to help him make complex calculations accurately. From this was developed in 1621 the earliest form of the slide rule. The first real mechanical calculating machine, working with wheels, gears and dials, was made by a Frenchmen, Blaise Pascal, in 1642. This machine used a number of wheels mounted parallel to each other, with 10 teeth mounted round the circumference of each. A carry-over mechanism was incorporated so that when one wheel made a complete revolution, the wheel to its immediate left was turned through one segment-representing one ' 10'. The machine was operated by turning the wheels backwards and forwards, thus performing addition and subtraction. The design for the first real computer was drawn up by an Englishman, Charles Babbage, in 1832. This was another mechanical machine but, like today's computers, it was designed to work automatically from a series...

Words: 2114 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Google

...society. The term innovation can be defined as something original and, as a consequence, new, that "breaks into" the market or society. A definition consistent with these aspects would be the following: "An innovation is something original, new, and important in whatever field that breaks in to a market or society".[1] While something novel is often described as an innovation, in economics, management science, and other fields of practice and analysis it is generally considered a process that brings together various novel ideas in a way that they have an impact on society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a better and, as a result, novel idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself. Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better. In business and economics, innovation is the catalyst to growth. With rapid advancements in transportation and communications over the past few decades, the old world concepts of factor endowments and comparative advantage which focused on an area’s unique inputs are outmoded for today’s global economy. Economist Joseph Schumpeter, who contributed greatly to the study of innovation, argued that industries must incessantly revolutionize the economic structure from within, that is innovate with better or more effective processes and products, such as the shift from...

Words: 1548 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The History of Computers

...The first computers were people! That is, electronic computers (and the earlier mechanical computers) were given this name because they performed the work that had previously been assigned to people. "Computer" was originally a job title: it was used to describe those human beings (predominantly women) whose job it was to perform the repetitive calculations required to compute such things as navigational tables, tide charts, and planetary positions for astronomical almanacs. Imagine you had a job where hour after hour, day after day, you were to do nothing but compute multiplications. Boredom would quickly set in, leading to carelessness, leading to mistakes. And even on your best days you wouldn't be producing answers very fast. Therefore, inventors have been searching for hundreds of years for a way to mechanize (that is, find a mechanism that can perform) this task. This picture shows what were known as "counting tables" [photo courtesy IBM] A typical computer operation back when computers were people. The abacus was an early aid for mathematical computations. Its only value is that it aids the memory of the human performing the calculation. A skilled abacus operator can work on addition and subtraction problems at the speed of a person equipped with a hand calculator (multiplication and division are slower). The abacus is often wrongly attributed to China. In fact, the oldest surviving abacus was used in 300 B.C. by the Babylonians. The abacus is still in use today...

Words: 4881 - Pages: 20