Basics 2 min read
Photolithography
In order to alter specific locations on a wafer, a photoresist layer is first applied (as described in the section…
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Basics 3 min read
Deposition
In a process known as film deposition, a thin film of some substance is deposited onto the wafer by means…
Basics 2 min read
Making a base wafer
The substrate material, or base wafer, on which ICs are built is a semiconductor, such as silicon or gallium arsenide.…
Basics 1 min read
Digital design
Since digital circuits involve millions of times as many components as analog circuits, much of the design work is done…
Basics 2 min read
Analog design
As mentioned earlier, an analog circuit takes an infinitely variable real-world voltage or current and modifies it in some useful…
Basics 2 min read
Bipolar transistors
Bipolar transistors simultaneously use holes and electrons to conduct, hence their name (from “two polarities”). Like FETs, bipolar transistors contain…
Basics 1 min read
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductors
Recall that placing a positive voltage at the gate of an n-type enhanced-mode FET will turn the switch on. Placing…
Basics 3 min read
Basic Semiconductor Design
Any material can be classified as one of three types: conductor, insulator, or semiconductor. A conductor (such as copper or…
Basics 5 min read
Microprocessors
Microprocessors are the most-complicated ICs. They are composed of billions of transistors that have been configured as thousands of individual…
Basics 2 min read
Basic IC Types
Analog versus digital circuits Analog, or linear, circuits typically use only a few components and are thus some of the…
Basics 2 min read
Integrated circuit
Integrated circuit (IC), also called microelectronic circuit, microchip, or chip, an assembly of electronic components, fabricated as a single unit,…
Basics 1 min read
Crystal Oscillator Circuit
A crystal oscillator uses a crystal to develop some electrical signal at a certain frequency. When mechanical pressure is applied…
