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Ayomide Akin-Akinnate

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Today, i learnt about how to fabricate a chip by watching a presentation of Hackaday Supercon-Sam Zeloof who fabricated a chip in his garage. According to him, it took 66 steps and an estimate of 12 hours to get done with the process. It is also important that the fabrication is done in a very clean room. The fabrication tecniques are sectioned into three: 1. Patterning: To fabricate a chip, the schematic of the integrated circuit is designed on a software. After this, the silicon wafer is prepared by polishing it to ensure that the surface is very flat and clean. The wafer is then cleaved or scored into smaller dices by the use of a laser. The mask of the pattern already created for the integrated circuit is placed on the silicon wafer and this pattern gets etched out through a process known as photolithography. Photolithography simply means writing with light, to do this; a light sensitive material (eg polymer) and the mask is put on the wafer so that when the light is shone on it. 2. Doping: Doping is a critical step in semiconductor fabrication that involves introducing controlled impurities into specific regions of the silicon wafer to alter its electrical properties. The doping process is essential for creating semiconductor junctions and controlling the conductivity of the silicon, which is crucial for the operation of transistors and other semiconductor devices on the chip.e I learnt that there are two main techniques used for doping in semiconductor fabrication: Ion Implantation: In ion implantation, dopant ions are accelerated to high speeds and then implanted into the surface of the silicon wafer. The dopant ions penetrate the surface of the wafer and come to rest at a controlled depth, determined by the energy of the ion beam. This technique allows for precise control over the dopant concentration and distribution in the wafer. Diffusion: In diffusion doping, the silicon wafer is heated in the presence of dopant gases, such as boron or phosphorus. The dopant atoms from the gas diffuse into the silicon lattice, replacing silicon atoms and creating regions with altered electrical properties. Diffusion doping is a slower process compared to ion implantation and typically results in less precise control over dopant concentration and distribution. Once the doping process is complete, the dopants are activated by annealing the wafer at high temperatures. This helps to redistribute the dopant atoms within the silicon lattice and repair any damage caused during the doping process. The activated dopants create regions of n-type or p-type semiconductor material, depending on the type of dopant used (e.g., phosphorus for n-type and boron for p-type). 3. Layering: Layering is also crucial in chip manufacturing as it enables the creation of complex circuitry in a compact space, allowing for the integration of millions or even billions of transistors onto a single chip. After this is testing of the IC circuit for functionality before using it

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Ayomide Akin-Akinnate

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