Introduction of the semiconductor fabrication processing

IC-manufacturing process is a multiple-step sequence of photographic and chemical processing steps during which electronic circuits are gradually created on a wafer made of pure semiconducting material. Figure 1 illustrates one cycle of the main steps and their sequence. The final products will come out after repeating several times this basic cycle. And wafer cleaning is happening throughout the whole fabrication process.

The main steps of the semiconductor manufacturing are Layering ,Photo-lithography,Etching,Doping,Resist removal and Wafer cleaning.
Layering techniques are used to grow thin layers of film on the surface of a silicon wafer.
Photo-lithography is a process used in micro fabrication to selectively remove parts of a thin film (or the bulk of a substrate). It uses light to transfer a geometric pattern from a photomask to a light-sensitive chemical (photo-resist) on the substrate.
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal.
Doping refers to the process of introducing impurity atoms into a semiconductor region in a controllable manner in order to define the electrical properties of this region
After the etching or ion implantation step, the photoresist needs to be stripped away.
Cleaning techniques are used to remove particulates and chemical impurities so contaminant-free surfaces can be obtained. However, such cleaning-methods must also be able to do this without damaging the surface.



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