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Semiconductor Glossary book, click here to see new prices!
With over 2000 terms defined and explained, Semiconductor Glossary is the most complete reference in the field of semiconductors on the market today.
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Including some 500 new terms defined and remaining terms updated and modified, a 2nd edition book version of this glossary is now available.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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electron beam (e-beam) heating
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highly localized heating of material by bombardment with high energy electrons.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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electron beam (e-beam) lithography, EBL
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lithography technique which uses focused beam of electrons to expose the resist; no mask is used as pattern is "written" directly into the resist by very fast scanning of electron beam; pattern transfer resolution below 100 nm; resolution is limited by the proximity effect; EBL is commonly used to manufacture high resolution masks for photolithography and X-ray lithography.
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lithography
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process used to transfer pattern from the mask/reticle to the layer of resist deposited on the surface of the wafer; kind of lithography depends on the wavelength of radiation used to expose resist: photolithography (or optical lithography) uses UV radiation, X-ray lithography uses X-ray, e-beam lithography uses electron bean, ion beam lithography uses ion beam.
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photolithography, optical lithography
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pattern definition method which uses UV radiation to expose the resist; the most common lithography technique in semiconductor manufacturing; using extremely short wavelength UV (extreme UV; wavelenghts below 200 nm), projection printing (steppers), phase shift masks, and adequate resist technology photolithography is capable of resolution below 100 nm.
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proximity effect
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deleterious effect in e-beam lithography; scattering of electrons in irradiated resist; p.e. is responsible for the size of the exposed resist area being larger than the diameter of the incident electron beam; limits resolution of e-beam lithography.
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raster scan
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scanning mode in which beam is moving back and forth over the entire substrate; beam is turned on over designated area and then turned off until it will arrive at the next designated area.
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variable shape beam
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scanning mode in e-beam lithography in which shape of the beam is changing depending on the geometry of exposed area.
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vector scan
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scanning mode in which beam is scanning selected areas only; after scanning of selected area is completed beam is turned off and moved to another area to be scanned.
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X-ray lithography
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lithography method using X-ray to expose the resist; due to shorter wavelength of X-ray radiation (0.4 - 4 nm)XRL allows higher resolution than photolithography which uses longer wavelength UV irradiation; XRL requires special mask and resists sensitive to X-rays.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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electron beam (e-beam) resist
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resist used in e-beam lithography.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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electron beam, e-beam
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geometrically confined and accelerated by electrostatic interactions stream of electrons directed toward desired target; direction of the beam can be rapidly altered in the controlled fashion to scan the target; shape of the beam (cross section)can be precisely controlled and rapidly changed.
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electron beam (e-beam) evaporation
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material is evaporated as a result of highly localized heating by bombardment with high energy electrons generated in an electron gun and directed toward the surface of source material confined in the crucible; evaporated 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.
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electron beam (e-beam) lithography, EBL
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lithography technique which uses focused beam of electrons to expose the resist; no mask is used as pattern is "written" directly into the resist by very fast scanning of electron beam; pattern transfer resolution below 100 nm; resolution is limited by the proximity effect; EBL is commonly used to manufacture high resolution masks for photolithography and X-ray lithography.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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Fixed Shape Beam, FSB
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as opposed to variable shape beam; technical concept in the area of e-beam lithoraphy.
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electron beam (e-beam) lithography, EBL
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lithography technique which uses focused beam of electrons to expose the resist; no mask is used as pattern is "written" directly into the resist by very fast scanning of electron beam; pattern transfer resolution below 100 nm; resolution is limited by the proximity effect; EBL is commonly used to manufacture high resolution masks for photolithography and X-ray lithography.
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variable shape beam
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scanning mode in e-beam lithography in which shape of the beam is changing depending on the geometry of exposed area.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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ion beam
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geometrically confined and accelerated by electrostatic forces stream of ions directed toward desired target.
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ion sputtering, milling
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etching process; process in which high energy ions impinging on the surface of the solid cause ejection ("sputtering") of the host atoms; highly anisotropic and non-selective etching.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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ion beam lithography, IBL
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lithography technique in which resist is exposed by accelerated ions; due to the limited scattering of ions in the resist IBL may offer higher resolution than e-beam lithography.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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Molecular Beam Epitaxy, MBE
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physical deposition process (basically evaporation) carried out in ultra-high vacuum (below 10-8 torr) and at substrate temperature typically not exceeding 800 oC; due to unobstructed (molecular) flow of species to be deposited and chemical cleanliness of the substrate surface highly controlled growth of ultra-thin epitaxial layers is possible; the highest precision deposition method used in semiconductor processing.
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epitaxy
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process by which thin 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.
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superlattice
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semiconductor structure comprising of several ultra-thin layers (atomic layers) engineered to obtain specific electronic and photonic properties; slight modifications of chemical composition of each layer result in slight variations of energy bandgap from layer to layer: bandgap engineering; fabrication of superlattices requires high-precision heteroepitaxial deposition methods such as MBE and MOCVD; typically involves III-V semiconductors.
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Term (Index)
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Definition
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variable shape beam
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scanning mode in e-beam lithography in which shape of the beam is changing depending on the geometry of exposed area.
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raster scan
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scanning mode in which beam is moving back and forth over the entire substrate; beam is turned on over designated area and then turned off until it will arrive at the next designated area.
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vector scan
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scanning mode in which beam is scanning selected areas only; after scanning of selected area is completed beam is turned off and moved to another area to be scanned.
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Fixed Shape Beam, FSB
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as opposed to variable shape beam; technical concept in the area of e-beam lithoraphy.
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Jerzy Ruzyllo is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Penn State University.
This book gives a complete account of semiconductor engineering covering semiconductor properties, semiconductor materials, semiconductor devices and their uses, process technology, fabrication processes, and semiconductor materials and process characterization.
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