Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Volume 1 - Process Technology, Second Edition

-- Semiconductor International, 5/1/2001

Stanley Wolf and Richard Tauber
Lattice Press, $199.95
www.latticepress.com

There are many texts that deal with semiconductor processes and device production, any of which would probably serve adequately as general engineering reference sources. Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, however, stands out among them. Although the contents are what one would expect in a book of this kind — Crystal Growing and Wafer Preparation, Basics of Thin Films, Thermal Oxidation of Silicon, etc. — the unique aspect of this text is that it has been written by only two authors, based on seminars they presented through the University of California (Berkeley). Because of this, the entire work is refreshingly uniform in both style and analysis, and the descriptions and definitions of the various subjects it covers are clear, concise and consistent. The first edition of this work has been widely used as a university text, and there is no reason to believe this will not be the case with this new incarnation.

Since the book was written to be a text, not a handbook, each chapter provides valuable tutorial background material, gives a more comprehensive presentation, and may be read as a separate treatise on its subject. This is particularly useful for the engineer whose field of specialty may not lie in a chapter's particular coverage area. Another valuable facet of the work is that each chapter not only presents the basic physics and chemistry of the process it covers, but also provides examples of the equipment used to carry out these processes. Then, for the reader who afterward wishes to measure his understanding of the subject matter, there are problems to be solved at the end of each chapter.

Silicon Processing's second edition covers the many new processes and materials incorporated into IC fabrication since the first edition was published 15 years ago. These include 300 mm wafers; DUV lithography; chemically amplified resists; high-energy ion implantation; high-density plasma sources for CVD and etching; step-and-scan aligners; CMP; dual-damascene interconnects; copper metallization; and low-k dielectrics. The text resides in more than 900 pages and is supplemented by 600 illustrations and 1500 references.

If you are looking for a device manufacturing reference source that bridges the often enormous gap between highly specialized texts and general handbooks, you should consider getting Silicon Processing for your professional bookshelf.

— Alexander E. Braun

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» VIEW ALL TALKBACK THREADS

Related Content

• Topics
• Author

Related Content

 

By This Author

There are no other articles written by this author.

SPONSORED LINKS