IOP Groups
Semiconductors
The most extreme example of the prowess of plasma technology is in the creation of semiconductor devices. By suitable treatment with a sequence of plasma processes a wafer of silicon worth 100 Dollars can be transformed into a platform of complex electronic devices worth over a million. Key to this 'added value' is the unique ability of plasma to precisely etch away parts of the silicon to build the transistors and diodes that make up the final intetgrated circuit. The current generation of transistors measures 0.18 microns -- many times smaller than the width of a human hair -- and the semiconductor industry hopes to shrink them by a factor of 20 within a decade. Producing transistors involves many complex steps of etching trenches and gates on a semiconductor wafer.
For more information, jobs and introductory material see:
Semiconductor Industry..1
Semiconductor Industry..2
Semiconductor Industry..3
^ To the top ^