What is X-Ray Lithography?

Introduction:

With each passing day, the manufacturing and production process of products is getting improved. Earlier most of the production and manufacturing operations were carried out manually. During industrial revolution use of machines was popularized and mechanical and manual machines were widely used in the industries. With the advancements in the field of technology such as invention of computers allowed the industries to adopt automation as the primary method of production and manufacturing of goods. These processes involve quite several complex and technical sub-processes. From categorizing the raw materials to manufacturing finished goods, several processes are used for production, categorization, assembling, moulding, diversification, wiring and printing and others. One such process is X-ray lithography.

What is Lithography?

It is the process of printing patterns on a thin film called resist, using localized interaction between this layer and the particle beam. Since ancient days, when lithography technique was used to imprint artworks or paintings on the paper or sheet. A smooth surfaced lithographic limestone was used on which the drawings or figures are drawn with help of oil, water, and wax, and then that drawing was imprinted on the paper. This technique was mainly used for printing text or artwork.

In modern times, the way lithography works has changed. Semiconductor industry used the concept of lithography and modernized it to manufacture Integrated Circuits and MEMS by photolithography. Today various types of lithography methods are popular such as:

·      Photolithography

·      X-Ray Lithography

·      Electron Beam Lithography

·      UV Lithography

·      Nano Lithography

·      Nano imprint Lithography

·      Soft Lithography

·      Scanning Probe Lithography

·      Colloidal Lithography, etc.

In this article we will discuss about the X-Ray Lithography, its advantages, application and how it works.

X-Ray Lithography:

X-Ray Lithography is a process why uses x-ray beams to imprint a geometric pattern from a mask to the resist on the substrate. X-Ray resists are the substance which shows chemical or physical changes due to the exposure of X-Ray. The resist should be sensitive to the X-Ray so that it can absorb the X-Ray easily. X-Ray Lithography is remarkably similar to Photolithography and UV Lithography, the only difference is use of X-Ray in X-Ray Lithography.

Applications of X-Ray Lithography:

X-Ray Lithography is widely used in the electronic industry. It has several applications such as:

Ø For fabrication of Gigabyte DRAM.

Ø In manufacturing of semiconductors.

Ø Used in MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems) technology such as Micro Sensors, Micro Actuators, Micro Electronics, and others.

Top X-Ray Lithography Companies:

USA, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea are some of the countries which develops the X-Ray Lithography process.

Companies like IBM, Motorola, NTT, Mitsubishi Electronics are some of the big names in the development and research of X-Ray Lithography.

Advantages of X-Ray Lithography:

·      It is a fast process of lithography.

·      It has High Resolution.

·      High Aspect Ratio.

·      Scattering effect is reduced by this method.

Disadvantages of X-Ray Lithography:

·      The cost of manufacturing masks is expensive.

·      It has thin lens.

·      Chances of Shadow Printing is more in this method.

·      Best results cannot be achieved in the absence of brighter X-ray source.

Conclusion:

The implications of X-Ray Lithography are many. It has revolutionized the fabrication process of semiconductors. It is a 70’s technology but still it is widely used today in almost every kind of electronic goods production. There is no doubt that X-Ray Lithography has changed the dynamics of fabrication and imprinting processes.

How computer chips are made

How computer chips are made

Computer chips are one of the most important components while manufacturing an electronic device or equipment. The chip is such a tiny piece of technology that literally keeps running our devices. The chip we use today is quite different from what it was when it was designed for the first time. Chips are maybe so tiny with respect to size but the process of manufacturing them is quite complex. A computer chip consists of transistors, capacitors, diodes. Several chip equipment manufacturers are providing different types of chips. The smaller the manufacturing process, the more transistors can fit on a single die. Intel is currently working on a 10nm chip size, while AMD is planning on developing 7nm. Taiwanese giant TSMC is working on 5nm chips. As the technology upgrades, the size of these chips keeps reducing fitting more and more transistors in a single chip. The process for producing a standard chip is almost the same except a few changes which are mostly related to the size of chips that are produced.

 

The process starts with a kind of sand known as silica sand. This sand is the main component in the making of chips. As these chips base material is silicon, these chips are often called as silicon chips. China is the leading producer of silicon holding 64% share in 2019. Then the silica sand goes through several purification and filtration to deliver electronic-grade silicon, which has a purity of 99.99%. A purified silicon ingot, which weighs around 100kg, is shaped from melted silica and made ready for the next step. The circular silicon ingot is sliced into wafers as thin as possible while maintaining the material’s ability to be used in the fabrication process. The silicon wafers are then refined and polished in order to provide the best possible surface for the following fabrication steps. Elkem Silicon Materials is one of the world’s leading suppliers of silicon wafers. This polished wafer goes through a procedure called photolithography, in which layer of photoresist is spread thinly across the wafer. This layer is then exposed to a UV light mask, which is shaped in the pattern of the microprocessor’s circuits. ASML is one of the leading manufactures of Photolithography machines. Exposed photoresist is washed off and the silicon wafer is bombarded with ions in order to alter its conductive properties – this is called doping. Etching and electroplating are the next steps in the process. Once electroplating is completed, transistors are ready and now the layering of interconnects is remaining. All the transistors are connected which is known as microprocessor. The penultimate step is to test the chip by various methods and at last these chips are packed. Before shipping processors are tested for efficiency, frequency, and other metrics and once they pass all these tests, they are good to be shipped.

 

 This is how computer chips are made. This process is complex and if even a single step is missed out or not performed properly, the whole thing will fall apart resulting in failure of a device. Today almost every equipment and device use these chips. The consequences of a failure of even a single chip can be severe. Thus the process of manufacturing chips is quite crucial and should be handled with delicacy.

 

The Dramatic Journey of Japan in the Semiconductor Industry

 

The History of the Japanese Semiconductor Industry:

Since the invention of very first semiconductor, the semiconductor industry has changed dynamically. An industry which only had few players in its early stage is today a global industry with a huge number of companies manufacturing semiconductors. Some of them like Intel are old players while some of them are new entrants. Semiconductor Companies from USA, Japan, South Korea, and Europe were the pioneers of what we today know as the semiconductor industry. Among all these countries the journey of Japan’s semiconductor industry has been the most dramatic one.

Japan’s rise to prominence in the semiconductor industry was widely chronicled and analysed in the 1980s. A consensus emerged around a few key factors. Perhaps foremost among these was government backing. In the 1960s, dominant government agencies demanded tough terms, including technology transfers, from foreign companies such as IBM and Texas Instruments that wanted access to the growing Japanese market. In 1970’s Japan’s Government pursued a more active and liberal policy for the foreign companies allowing co-operation with foreign counterparts. Collaboration in field of research and technology sharing led to growth of Japan’s semiconductor industry. The main product behind this rally of growth in Japanese industry was DRAM, a memory chip used in computer hardware in which Japanese companies were dominating the market globally. Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, Toshiba were showing unanticipated growth rates and they were rapidly becoming the market leader in this technology. These companies were directly competing with American companies like IBM and Intel. The Japanese government invested more than 70 billion yen in the semiconductor industry to compete in the market and for research and development.

 

The Rise & Fall of Japanese Semiconductor Industry:

In early 1980’s Japanese companies implemented the strategy of low price to rapidly occupy the market. The strategy worked and japan soared to the top place in the semiconductor industry. By 1989 the global share of Japanese companies in the market was 52%, while the share of USA was only 37%. Among the top 10 companies, 6 of them were Japanese companies. This was a huge milestone for the japan but this also resulted in their downfall. This unprecedented success story blindsided Japanese companies as they took their competitor taken for granted. In the early 1990’s because of the technological revolution the demand for DRAM which was the key product in the success story of Japan fell. The low-cost price strategy affected Japan as Korea, Taiwan mastered the technology of DRAM and as they manufactured the new generation of DRAM, Japanese companies suffered losses.

 

After suffering the losses from 1990’s, Japanese semiconductor companies started to heal themselves and to limit the loss. The government also intervened in stabilizing the industry. New technologies were introduced, and several new projects were initiated to inject the Japanese companies with a boost. The certain sector showed growth while some were able to manage their position after the sudden downfall. Even after facing such a downfall, Japanese enterprises occupy 50% or more shares in 14 important materials, such as silicon wafer, synthetic semiconductor wafer, mask, photoresist, pharmaceutical industry, target material, protective coating film, lead frame, ceramic plate, plastic plate, tab, COF, welding wire, packaging material, etc. the Japanese semiconductor material industry has maintained an absolute advantage in the world for a long time. Still, they must learn from their past mistakes and should be prepared for any kind of advancements or changes in this ever-changing market.

 

 

 

Is It Good to Invest in a Semiconductor Stock

Semiconductor Industry is a Huge Industry

The semiconductor market is the key sector to watch because chips play a vital role in new technologies. To find the best semiconductor stocks first a person needs to understand the health of the markets that purchase the chips for their products. Semiconductor companies design or manufacture computer chips and related components. They are a part of the technology sector. They are also the manufacturers, which means their business is cyclical, as a business is for companies is any manufacturing or commodity industry. Choosing stocks in this industry can be tricky and investing can be highly volatile. There different company who analysis and work in this segment you can visit VLSIresearch

Computer chips are the chips which have many uses but in the decade ahead semiconductor stocks will likely focus on two areas of growth.  The U.S.  is the country which accounted for nearly half of the $418 billion in global semiconductor spending in 2019. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, the chips have grown to become the nation's fourth-largest export. With the one- fifth of the semiconductor makers the budgets being spent on the research and development. In other areas of the economy, the small hardware components are mainly responsible for many technological advancements.

The two companies like Skyworks Solutions and  NVIDIA are two of the industry who are the most promising investments. As the leaders in connectivity and GPUs, respectively and the emerging markets they have focused on have meant higher than average profit margins. These are the two companies which had money to invest in research to continue developing new products, pursuing new markets, and growing their revenue. The Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) this standout in connectivity is a key Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) supplier, having ridden the smartphone boom over the last decade. That market has matured in recent years, but  Skyworks has used its connectivity chip know-how to expand into new areas like the Internet of Things and 5-G networks. It has avoided some of the steeper falloffs in sales that other connectivity chipmakers have experienced while setting itself up for higher revenue in the years to come as mobile networks evolve. Wearable devices to the household appliances to the industrial equipment have started with the smartphone boom which has morphed into connected things. It has helped to lead the charge in developing 5G network equipment. It has also been replacing the lower sales and increasingly commoditized hardware from its legacy smartphone business with newer 5G equipment. 

Different Type Od Sector To Invest In Semi Industry

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the company which has promising investments. It is a company that started out designing GPUs for the high-end computer game graphics that has been pushing the boundaries of the GPU into new markets. The company has also developed an extensive software library which is often free to use for its customers. It helps to smooth out the process of applying its chips to novel use cases like self-drive cars and artificial intelligence. For the AI industry as a GPU pioneer, it has a big head to start designing semiconductors. Spending on which is expected to increase nearly 30% a year. It will approach  $100 billion by the year 2023, according to tech researcher IDC. 

While looking for the semiconductor stocks to invest in, first a person should consider the key areas. Generally, investors prefer companies that can grow sales over time, but revenue growth matter even more for semiconductor stocks. Hardware like computer chips tends to get commoditized over time. If the new market grows quickly, then the other firms pile in with similar products, supply swells, prices fall, and the sales shrink. If a company don't constantly innovate and did not find the new outlets for its sales, the cycle could wind up being a roller coaster ride ending nowhere. The other keys that should be considered like the higher than the average profit margins. The higher the margins the smaller the holes in the net and the more dollars a company hols on to. The more dollars a company holds on to the greater its the ability to reinstall in research and improving its operations to ensure that it nets don't spring any large holes. So, a person should look at a semiconductor company's gross profit and operating profit. The higher the gross and operating profit margins, the better to a company's closet peers. For investing a person should look for the strong balance sheets. The people should check how much cash and debt a semiconductor company has on its balance sheet. Plenty of cash relative to debt means a company has lots of wiggle room to invest or make an acquisition. To invest in semiconductor stocks can be a volatile journey. Investors would do the best to buy during sales cycle slumps and reassess a company's performance relative to peers during boom periods.