The connection and difference between chips, semiconductors and integrated circuits

Chips, semiconductors and integrated circuits are the key elements that drive modern technology. They are like the invisible nervous system that connects our digital world and drives the operation of countless smart devices. Many of our electronic products have these elements on them, what is the connection between the three of them? And what are the differences? Let’s uncover the secret together.

What is a semiconductor?
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity properties between a conductor (such as metal) and an insulator (such as plastic). The electrical conductivity of a semiconductor material can be changed by controlling external conditions (such as temperature, electric field or light).

What is a chip?
A chip (also called a microchip or microchip) is a thin sheet of semiconductor material on which a variety of electronic components, such as transistors, resistors and capacitors, are integrated. These components are connected to perform specific functions, such as data processing, storage, and communication in computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.

What is an integrated circuit?

Integrated circuits are technologies and products that integrate multiple electronic components onto a single semiconductor chip. Integrated circuits can be divided into two types: analog integrated circuits and digital integrated circuits. Analog integrated circuits deal with continuous signals, such as sound and images. Digital integrated circuits deal with discrete signals, such as binary data. The invention of integrated circuits has made electronic devices more compact, efficient, and powerful.

Semiconductor Manufacturing Process

Wafer fabrication: Silicon crystals are grown on silicon wafers to create wafers.

Wafer dicing: Cutting the wafers into appropriate size wafers.

Surface Treatment: Cleaning, polishing and chemical treatment of the wafer surface to improve its quality and stability.

Ion implantation: Materials such as nitrides or oxides are implanted into the wafer surface to form trenches or to increase the type of conductivity.

Wafer Cleaning: The wafer is cleaned to remove residues, burrs, etc.

Oxidation: A layer of oxide is grown on the wafer surface to increase the conductivity and corrosion resistance of the device.

Chemical plating: A layer of metal or metal oxide is coated on the wafer surface to increase the conductivity and corrosion resistance of the device.

Metal deposition: Depositing metal materials on the wafer surface to fabricate circuits and devices.

Cutting and binning: Cutting the device into appropriately sized wafers.

Package Testing: Wafers are packaged in the proper environment for testing and screening to ensure device quality and reliability.

Finished product inspection: The finished product is thoroughly inspected to ensure that it meets the required standards.

These steps are the basic process of semiconductor manufacturing, but in actual production, they may need to be adjusted and optimized for specific product types and process requirements.

Chip manufacturing process

The chip manufacturing process is very complex. Roughly speaking, this process includes: developing specifications, selecting the architecture, logic design, circuit design, wiring, manufacturing, testing, packaging, and total testing. The most important of these is the circuit design and manufacturing, and the chip manufacturing process can best reflect a company’s technical level
Manufacturing steps are as follows:

1. photolithography: photolithography is similar to traditional photolithography, where photoresist is first applied to the wafer, then the mask plate is exposed, the photoresist is developed, and then the exposed area is etched. Thus, the area on the wafer is left for etching or ion implantation.

2. ion implantation. Ion injection is to use the wafer as an electrode and add a high voltage between the ion source and the wafer, so those dopant ions will hit the wafer with very high energy, forming N or P-type regions on the wafer. After ion implantation, the wafer must be annealed at high temperature to repair the damage to the wafer after ion implantation. Ion implantation is mainly used to create different semiconductor regions. 3.

3. Diffusion. Diffusion has two roles in chip fabrication: one is to activate or inject impurities into the silicon wafer at high temperatures, and the other is to produce an oxide layer, which is produced at a temperature of 800 to 1050°C.

4. thin film deposition. Thin film deposition is the deposition of substances on the surface of the wafer. There are methods such as chemical vapor phase deposition and physical vapor phase deposition. Chemical vapor deposition is the injection of several gases on top of the silicon wafer and the chemical reaction is carried out and the material is deposited on the wafer. Physical vapor deposition is the process of depositing atoms on a silicon wafer from solid phase to gas phase to solid phase.

5. Etching. Etching is the selective etching or stripping of the semiconductor substrate surface or surface-covered film according to the mask pattern or design requirements. There are two types of etching, wet etching and plasma etching. Wet etching is to immerse the silicon wafer in a chemical solution to etch away the material to be removed. Plasma etching is the use of high-energy plasma beam to knock off the material to be removed.

6. chemical mechanical grinding. In order to make the surface of the silicon wafer flat after processing, the surface of the processed silicon wafer is ground.

The difference between integrated circuits and chips

1, the two express a different focus.

Integrated circuits focus on electronic circuits, is the underlying layout, and a broader range.
We will be a few diodes, triodes, capacitors, resistors mixed together, is an integrated circuit. This circuit can be an analog signal conversion, or have an amplifier function, or a logic circuit.
A chip is more intuitive, and is a fingernail-sized object with a few small feet, square or rectangular.
The chip is more focused on the function, for example: CPU is used for information processing, program operation; GPU is mainly picture rendering; memory, as the name implies, is used to store data.

2, the production method is different

The raw material for chip manufacturing is wafer (silicon, gallium arsenide), then lithography, doping, packaging, testing, in order to complete the production of chips.
Chip manufacturing must be used to lithography, etching machines and other advanced equipment.
The raw materials and processes used for integrated circuits are much more extensive. It is as long as the complete circuit (containing components such as transistors, resistors, capacitors and inductors) is miniaturized, connected together by wiring, made on a semiconductor wafer or dielectric substrate, and then packaged in a tube housing.
For integrated circuits, photolithography and etching machines are not necessary.

3、Package is different

The most common package of the chip is the DIP package, also known as dual in-line package technology, dual entry package. The number of pins in this package is generally no more than 100, and the pitch is 2.54 mm.
Integrated circuits are placed into protective packages to facilitate handling and assembly onto printed circuit boards and to protect devices from damage, and a large number of different types of packages exist.
Simply put, the chip packages are more regular and way more focused. And integrated circuit packages are different in size and shape, and more ways and means.

4、Different roles

Chip is to package more circuits, which can increase the number of transistors per unit area, thereby enhancing performance and increasing functionality.
Integrated circuits in all components in the structure has formed a whole, so that electronic components towards miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and high reliability a big step forward.
Moore’s law applies to both. That is, the number of components that can be accommodated on an integrated circuit will double every 18-24 months when the price remains the same, and the performance will double. This law reveals the speed of information technology progress.

Difference between chips and semiconductors

Classification differences:Unlike the material properties of semiconductors, chips are individual products of integrated circuits that are produced after various processes. Therefore, chip is a general term for semiconductor component products. By material properties, the two are very different in definition Different features:Chip is an integrated circuit, the manufacture of circuits on a semiconductor chip, the carrier of integrated circuits, is the sum of chip design technology and manufacturing technology.

Different functions:Chip is a method to achieve circuit miniaturization in electronics technology, usually manufactured on the surface of a semiconductor wafer. If the semiconductor is compared with paper fiber material, the integrated circuit is paper and the chip is a book. After the invention and mass production of chip transistors, various solid state semiconductor components such as diodes and transistors were widely used to replace the functions and functions of vacuum tubes in circuits.

Different application fields: Chip is mainly used in communication and network field, semiconductor is widely used in consumer electronics, communication system, medical device, etc.

Summary

From the perspective of technology and economic development, the impact of the semiconductor industry is the reform and development. At present, almost all electronic products are closely related to the products of the semiconductor industry. The future development and breakthroughs of the semiconductor industry will affect people’s daily life, and will also advance the progress of science and technology and create more value for future technology.