Theoretical analysis of the chemistry and physics of process technologies used in micro-electronics fabrication. Topics include semiconductor growth, material characterization, lithography tools, photo-resist models, thin film deposition, chemical etching, plasma etching, electrical contact formation, microstructure processing and process modeling.

A detailed analysis of semiconductor processing technologies that form the basis for the physical realization of all semiconductor based device applications; from the realization of very large and ultra scale integrated circuits (VLSICs, ULSICs) and complex system-on-chip (SoC) application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to individual device research and development in photonics, photonic integrated circuits (PICs), micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS), etc. The primary objective of this course is to provide students with the fundamental understanding of standard unit processes involved in microfabrication, and providing familiarity with basic microfabrication tools. Although considerable focus will be given to Si-based microfabrication technologies, primarily because of its dominance in microelectronic industry today, the course material will be enriched with the cutting-edge compound semiconductor technologies (specifically GaAs/AlGaAs and InP/InGaAsP technologies) to provide a sound foundation for general semiconductor based fabrication, research and development.

Textbook:
Fabrication Engineering at the Micro- and Nanoscale (4th edition), Campbell, Oxford University Press
The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication; Campbell; Oxford University Press

Suggested references:
1. Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication; Jaeger; Prentice Hall
2. Silicon VLSI Technology; Plummer, Deal, Griffin; Prentice Hall
3. Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era; Wolf and Tauber; Lattice Press
4. Microelectronics Processing and Device Design; Colclaser; Wiley
5. VLSI Technology; Sze; McGraw-Hill