Semiconductor Glossary

A Resource for Semiconductor Community

Jerzy Ruzyllo

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9789814749565
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

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Semiconductor Glossary is a one of a kind contribution to the pool of publications in the field of semiconductor science and engineering. It was conceived in recognition of an apparent lack of references that would provide

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a see lattice constant.

a-Si see amorphous silicon.

AII-BVI, II-VI, semiconductors the II-VI compound semiconductors are synthesized using elements from group II and group VI of the periodic table; e.g., CdSe, ZnS.

elemental semiconductor, CdSe, CdTe, CdHgTe, ZnS, ZnO

AIII-BV, III-V, semiconductors the III-V compound semiconductors are synthesized using elements from group III and group V of the periodic table; e.g. GaAs, InP.

elemental semiconductor, GaAs, GaN, GaP, GaAlAs, InAs, InSb, InP

AIV-BIV, IV-IV semiconductors compound semiconductors with both elements forming a compound originating from group IV of the periodic table; e.g. SiC, SiGe.

elemental semiconductor, SiC, SiGe

AAS Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy; a surface characterization method.

abrupt heterojunction a junction between two crystalline semiconductors featuring different electron affinities and energy bandgaps; no graded changes in the materials composition in the junction region.

electron affinity, graded heterojunction

abrupt junction a p-n junction in which dopant concentration changes from p-type to n-type over the very short distance, i.e. transition region between p-type and n-type parts of the junction is very narrow.

linear junction

absorption specie or energy penetrates the surface and is bound or captured in the bulk of the solid where it is releasing its energy.

phonon, photon

absorption coefficient, α, [cm^-1] defines depth of penetration of a given medium with the light of a given wavelength; increases as wavelength is getting shorter.

radiation wavelength-energy conversion

acceptor p-type dopant; element introduced to semiconductor to generate free holes (by “accepting” electron from semiconductor atom and “releasing” hole at the same time); acceptor atom must have one valence electron less than the host semiconductor; boron (B) is commonly used acceptor in silicon technology; alternatives include indium (In) and gallium (Ga); gallium features high diffusivity in SiO₂, and hence, oxide cannot be used as the mask during Ga diffusion.

donor, doping

access time time needed for the bit of information to go to and return from the memory cell.

memory cell

accumulation condition of semiconductor surface region in MOS devices in which concentration of majority carriers is higher than concentration of dopant atoms.

depletion, inversion

activation energy defines reaction kinetics of the process; the minimum amount of energy required to initiate the reaction; expressed in units of eV.

active element (component) a device which displays asymmetric current-voltage characteristics, i.e. dependent upon the direction of the applied bias; is introducing net energy into the circuit; diodes and transistors are active elements.

passive element, diode, transistor

active Si layer a single-crystal Si layer overlaying buried oxide (BOX) in SOI wafers; “active” because transistors are built into it; as opposed to Si substrate (Si underneath BOX) which is a part of the SOI wafer providing mechanical support only; can be as thin as < 10 nm.

Silicon-on-Insulator; Ultra-Thin Body SOI, BOX, fully-depleted SOI

ADC Analog to Digital Converter.

additive process a process which adds material to the substrate, e.g. in the form of thin-film.

subtractive process

adhesion ability of materials to stick (adhere) to each other.

adhesion promoter

adhesion promoter a compound used to improve adhesion of materials; typically understood as a material improving adhesion of the photoresist to the wafer surface in the lithographic processes.

HMDS

adsorption binding between foreign molecules and the solid occurring only on the solid surface; specie is attached to the solid surface by weak physical forces (Van der Waals force).

desorption, van der Waals force

aerosol cleaning removal of the particulate contaminants from the wafer surface using frozen gas particles.

cleaning, dry cleaning, particles

AFM see Atomic Force Microscopy.

afterglow plasma, afterglow plasma generated radiation and ions which remain active downstream from the plasma; a plasma processing mode in semiconductor manufacturing.

downstream plasma, remote plasma

ALD, ALCVD Atomic Layer Deposition; Atomic Layer Chemical Vapor Deposition; see Atomic Layer Deposition.

AlGaAs GaAs with Al added in adequate amount to modify width of the energy gap; by gradually (layer-by-layer) varying Al content in GaAlAs continued variation of the energy gap of the material is accomplished.

bandgap engineering, GaAs

aligner a tool used in photolithography which allows desired positioning of the mask (or reticle) relative to a wafer prior to exposure of the photoresist; “aligner” is at the same time an exposure tool.

exposure, photolithography

alignment process of positioning of the mask (or reticle) relative to the wafer prior to exposure of the photoresist in photolithographic processes.

exposure, mask, reticle

alignment mark specially configured mark put on each mask to allow its precise alignment with the pattern on the wafer.

alignment

alloyed junction a junction formed by alloying metal acting as a dopant with semiconductor for the purpose of p-n junction formation; e.g. alloy of indium with n-type Si forms p-type region of the p-n junction.

diffused junction, implanted junction

alternative dielectrics dielectrics featuring dielectric constant k > 3.9 (3.9 is a dielectric constant of SiO₂) and acting as gate dielectrics in silicon MOS devices instead of SiO₂; referred to as “high-k dielectrics”; also dielectrics featuring dielectric constant k < 3.9 and used as ILD; referred to as “low-k dielectrics”.

high-k dielectric, low-k dielectric, ILD

aluminum, Al, conductor common metal in semiconductor processing; used for contacts and interconnects; very low resistivity (2.7 µΩ-cm); melting point 660°C; easy deposition by evaporation or sputtering; easy etching; shortcomings: electromigration, spiking of silicon, insufficient temperature resistance.

electromigration, spiking

aluminum, Al, contaminant common metallic contaminant in silicon processing; main source: APM cleaning solution and water; slows down thermal oxidation of silicon; affects oxide reliability; detection and measurement on Si surface e.g. by TOF-SIMS.

APM, TOF-SIMS

aluminum nitride, AlN a wide-bandgap semiconductor (E_g = 6.2 eV); features direct energy gap, used in UV detection devices.

boron nitride

aluminum oxide, alumina, Al₂O₃ oxide featuring energy gap E_g ~ 5 eV and dielectric constant k ~ 8; in the form of a single-crystal known as sapphire.

sapphire

ambipolar diffusion coefficient the effective diffusion coefficient of the excess charge carriers (electrons and holes) in semiconductor.

diffusion coefficient

ambipolar mobility the effective mobility of the excess charge carriers (electronics and holes) in semiconductor.

mobility

ambipolar transport the situation where excess electron and hole concentrations in semiconductor are nearly equal is known as quasi-neutrality co...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Front Matter
• Contents
• A