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Questions tagged [semiconductor-process-technology]

14 votes
6 answers
7k views

Why are microprocessors made using silicon and not germanium? [closed]

I heard that microprocessors are usually made using silicon, yet germanium has a better conductive state. Why isn't germanium not chosen instead, taking to account that better conductors provide ...
kopon stanley's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
62 views

How accurate are internal terminators on chips with high speed differential inputs?

I'm aware that due to process variation, some analog parameters of semiconductor devices can vary; sometimes quite a lot. (E.g. the SST3904 transistor specifies a DC current gain somewhere between 100 ...
Rocketmagnet's user avatar
  • 27.5k
4 votes
2 answers
833 views

Why are drain and source not actually perfectly symmetric?

In textbook treatments, one has that the source and drain of a MOSFET are completely symmetrical and therefore interchangeable -- the distinction is only made by which is at a higher voltage in the ...
EE18's user avatar
  • 1,161
0 votes
0 answers
104 views

Reasons for lower flicker noise in PMOS vs. NMOS - buried channel, mobility

There have been other questions on the site about why PMOS devices are observed to have less flicker noise than NMOS devices, for example this one, but I'm not sure it's correct. On mobility - the ...
Halleff's user avatar
  • 677
0 votes
1 answer
91 views

Is there a CMOS-based analog compute chip that uses hybrid technology nodes? (e.g. 14 nm for digital part such as SRAM and 28 nm for analog part)

In CMOS-based analog computing, there always are mixture of analog and digital parts. For example, the computation is performed in analog domain and the storage of on-chip data in performed in digital ...
Yu Qian's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
174 views

Why do JFET use buried channels?

All sketches of JFET construction that provide an actual 3D impression suggest that the channel is buried, e.g. here. I imagine that the formation of such a channel geometry requires at least two ...
tobalt's user avatar
  • 22.4k
2 votes
1 answer
45 views

Suggested Configuration of Sputtering System?

hopefully this is in the right section, a lot of electrical engineers work in semiconductors. I have an old hummer II desktop sputter coater I am trying to make use of. The documentation of something ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
4 answers
226 views

How does one manufacture a P-N junction?

When I read a physics textbook about a P-N junction, it will tell me that you connect a P-doped semiconductor to an N-doped semiconductor, and you form a depletion region. From what I know about ...
Roy's user avatar
  • 185
1 vote
1 answer
72 views

Custom semiconductor processes with 3rd party foundry

There's foundries with established processes which give you a process kit to simulate things like transistors etc. But suppose someone wanted to develop a custom imaging sensor which requires ...
FourierFlux's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
708 views

What are the ways in which semiconductor-grade neon is critical for manufacturing?

This is a question about material use specifically in semiconductor manufacturing. CNN's Ukraine halts half of world's neon output for chips, clouding outlook begins: Ukraine's two leading suppliers ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 3,439
0 votes
1 answer
141 views

OpenLane .gds file simulation/verification

Is there any way/software to simulate a .gds file. I know this file is only a geometry file so it doesn't really contain any information about the physical connections between stuff, it only seems to ...
Reon's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
1 answer
135 views

Ambiguity of the "intrinsic" layer in a PIN diode

I'm having trouble understanding the fundamental makeup of large PIN diodes, specifically those used in radiation detection devices. For example, high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors are often ...
thegreatemu's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
172 views

What is the current state of the art design rule for SiC VLSI? Technological impediments to making a SiC microcontroller for a Venus lander at 460 °C?

A sub-discussion below Is there any demonstrated or even proposed technology that can sterilize a spacecraft with 100% certainty and yet leave it electronically functional? in Space Exploration SE ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 3,439
10 votes
1 answer
4k views

Why do silicon wafers look rainbow colored?

. Image taken from Can somebody identify this 12" silicon wafer? So this silicon wafer looks multicolored (and beautiful). But how does it get multicolored like a rainbow? What is the reason for ...
Shashank V M's user avatar
  • 2,331
5 votes
1 answer
609 views

Is there any specific application for an indirect band gap semiconductor?

I know that direct band gap semiconductors are very attractive for optical emission, and even though indirect band gap are used as well, I keep wondering: is there any technology that specifically ...
Bidon's user avatar
  • 289

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