Microelectronics Engineering

Microelectronics Engineering is the area of engineering that focuses on the design and fabrication of electronic devices/systems or subsystems using integrated circuits. Microelectronic Engineers are employed in the rapidly changing industry of microelectronics and microelectronic packaging by companies such as Intel, IBM.

Rapid advances in computer architecture, hardware, software technology and tools, and numerical and non-numerical algorithms, are making significant contributions to the development of computational models and methods to analyze and design complex engineering systems.

Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. Microelectronics, as the name suggests, is related to the study and manufacture, or microfabrication, of electronic components which are very small (usually micrometer-scale or smaller). These devices are made from semiconductors. Many components of normal electronic design are available in microelectronic equivalent: transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes and of course insulators and conductors can all be found in microelectronic devices.

Digital integrated circuits (ICs) consist mostly of transistors. Analog circuits commonly contain resistors and capacitors as well. Inductors are used in some high frequency analog circuits, but tend to occupy large chip area if used at low frequencies; it can replace them in many applications.

As techniques improve, the scale of microelectronic components continues to decrease. At smaller scales, the relative impact of intrinsic circuit properties such as interconnections may become more significant. These are called parasitic effects, and the goal of the microelectronics design engineer is to find ways to compensate for or to minimize these effects, while always delivering smaller, faster, and cheaper devices.

Microfabrication or micromanufacturing are the terms to describe processes of fabrication of miniature structures, of micrometer sizes and smaller. Historically the earliest micromanufacturing was used for semiconductor devices in integrated circuit fabrication and these processes have been covered by the term " semiconductor device fabrication," " semiconductor manufacturing," etc. Practical advances in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and other nanotechnology, where the technologies from IC fabrication are being re-used, adapted or extended have led to the extension of the scope and techniques of microfabrication.

Miniaturization of various devices presents challenges in many areas of science and engineering, for example, computer science.

Microfabrication is actually a collection of technologies which are utilized in making micro devices. Some of them have very old origins, not connected to manufacturing, like lithography or etching. Polishing was borrowed from optics manufacturing, and many of the vacuum techniques come from 19th century physics research. Electroplating is also a 19th century technique adapted to produce micrometer scale structures, as are various stamping and embossing techniques.

To fabricate a micro device, many processes must be performed, one after the other, many times repeatedly. These processes typically include depositing a film, patterning the film with the desired micro features, and removing (or etching) portions of the film. For example, in memory chip fabrication there are some 30 lithography steps, 10 oxidation steps, 20 etching steps, 10 doping steps, and many others are performed. The complexity of microfabrication processes can be described by their mask count. This is the number of different pattern layers that constitute the final device. Modern microprocessors are made with 30 masks while a few masks suffice for a microfluidic device or a laser diode. Microfabrication resembles multiple exposure photography, with many patterns aligned to each other to create the final structure.

Microfabricated devices are not generally freestanding devices but are usually formed over or in a thicker support substrate. For electronic applications, semiconducting substrates such as silicon wafers can be used. For optical devices or flat panel displays, transparent substrates such as glass or quartz are common. The substrate enables easy handling of the micro device through the many fabrication steps. Often many individual devices are made together on one substrate and then singulated into separated devices toward the end of fabrication.

Railway development has been growing rapidly in many parts of the world due to its cost effectiveness, extensive transport capacities, and relatively low environmental impact. Microelectronics Engineering is widely used in modern railways. Modernization operating automatic system on railways demands of using nanotechnology.

Quantum logic element can eliminate the latency caused in the data transfer and processor determination by complex routing algorithms, simultaneously avoiding deadlock without sacrificing the shortest path. Quantum dot architecture based parallel computers will reduce latency, thereby helping to exploit the potential of parallel computing.

 

Exercise 1