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CMOS, BiCMOS and Bipolar Process Integration

Semiconductor and integrated circuit developments continue to proceed at an incredible pace. For example, today’s mixed-signal chips perform a wide range of applications unheard of a few years ago, including wireless applications, high speed communications, and signal processing. These challenges have been accomplished because of the integrated circuit industry’s ability to track something known as Moore’s Law. A corollary to Moore’s Law is that frequencies on mixed-signal devices continue to rise. This has been accomplished by making devices smaller and smaller. The question looming in everyone’s mind is “How far into the future can this continue?” CMOS, BiCMOS, and Bipolar Process Integration is a 3-day course that offers detailed instruction on the physics behind the operation of a modern mixed-signal integrated circuit, and the processing technologies required to make them. We place special emphasis on current issues related to designing and manufacturing the next generation devices. This course is a must for every manager, engineer and technician working in the semiconductor industry, using semiconductor components or supplying tools to the industry.

By focusing on the fundamentals of transistor operation and performance, participants will learn why advances in the industry are occurring along certain lines and not others. Our instructors work hard to explain how semiconductor devices work without delving too heavily into the complex physics and mathematical expressions that normally accompany this discipline.

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Cost

$1,695

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Please email the printable registration form for public courses to us at the email address on the form to complete your order.

Additional Information

If you have any questions concerning this course, please contact us at info@semitracks.com.

Refund Policy

If a course is canceled, refunds are limited to course registration fees. Registration within 21 days of the course is subject to $100 surcharge.

What Will I Learn By Taking This Class?

Participants learn basic but powerful aspects about the semiconductor industry. This skill-building series is divided into three segments:

  1. Basic Device Operation. Participants learn the fundamentals of transistor operation. They learn why BiCMOS devices dominate the mixed-signal industry today.
  2. Fabrication Technologies. Participants learn the fundamental manufacturing technologies that are used to make modern integrated circuits. They learn the typical CMOS, Bipolar and BiCMOS process flows used in integrated circuit fabrication.
  3. Current Issues in Process Integration. Participants learn how device operation is increasingly constrained by three parameters. They also learn about the impact of using new materials in the fabrication process and how those materials may create problems for the manufacturers in the future.
  4. An Overview of Issues Related to Process Integration. Participants learn about the image of new materials, yield, reliability and scaling on technology and process integration. They receive an overview of the major reliability mechanisms that affect silicon ICs today.

Course Objectives

  1. The seminar will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the semiconductor industry and its technical issues.
  2. Participants will understand the basic concepts behind transistor operation and performance.
  3. The seminar will identify the key issues related to the continued growth of the semiconductor industry.
  4. The seminar offers a wide variety of sample problems that participants work to help them gain knowledge of the fundamentals of device operation and manufacturing.
  5. Participants will be able to identify basic and advanced technology features on semiconductor devices. This includes features like silicon-germanium, emitter islands, copper, and low-k dielectrics.
  6. Participants will understand how reliability, power consumption and device performance are interrelated.
  7. Participants will be able to make decisions about how to construct and evaluate new CMOS, BiCMOS, and bipolar technologies.

Course Outline

Day 1

  1. Introduction
  2. Basic Semiconductor Concepts
    1. Diffusion/Drift
    2. PN Junction Diodes
    3. Bipolar Junction Transistor
    4. MOS Transistor
    5. Additional Concepts
      1. Avalanche Breakdown
      2. Zener Breakdown
      3. Tunneling
      4. Schottky Barriers
  3. General Scaling Issues
    1. Constant Field Scaling/Constant Voltage Scaling
    2. Process Integration Issues
      1. Transistors (Ion vs Ioff, Mobility Enhancement, short channel effects, etc.)
      2. Interconnect (RC delay, power dissipation, etc.)
    3. Limitations to Scaling

Day 2

  1. Conventional CMOS
    1. Well/Substrate Engineering
    2. Device Isolation
    3. Gate Stack
    4. Contacts/Silicide
    5. Scaling Issues
    6. Basic CMOS Flow Presentation
  2. Conventional BiCMOS
    1. Bipolar Transistor Fundamentals
    2. BiCMOS Process Overview
    3. Scaling and Limitations
    4. Basic BiCMOS Flow Presentation
  3. Bipolar Enhancement Techniques
    1. SiGe
    2. SiGe:C
  4. Power Technologies
    1. LDMOS
    2. DECMOS
    3. BCD
  5. Additional Analog Circuit Elements
    1. Resistors
    2. Capacitors
    3. JFETs

Day 3

  1. Interconnects
    1. Aluminum Interconnects, Issues
    2. Copper Interconnects, Issues
    3. Low-k Dielectrics
  2. CMOS/Bipolar/BiCMOS Reliability Considerations
    1. Electrostatic Discharge
    2. Electromigration and Stress Migration
    3. Soft Errors, Plasma Damage
    4. Dielectric Reliability
    5. Bias Temperature Instabilities
    6. Hot Carrier Reliability
    7. Burn-In
  3. Yield Considerations
    1. Yield Detractors
    2. Models
    3. Monitors
  4. Conclusion/Wrap Up

Instructional Strategy

By using a combination of instruction by lecture, classroom exercises, and question/answer sessions, participants will learn practical information on semiconductor devices and the operation of this industry. From the very first moments of the seminar until the last sentence of the training, the driving instructional factor is application. We use instructors who are internationally recognized experts in their fields that have years of experience (both current and relevant) in this field. The handbook offers hundreds of pages of additional reference material the participants can use back at their daily activities.

Instructor Profile

Christopher Henderson, President of Semitracks

Christopher Henderson

Christopher Henderson received his B.S. in Physics from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and his M.S.E.E. from the University of New Mexico. Chris is the President and one of the founders of Semitracks Inc., a United States-based company that provides education and semiconductor training to the electronics industry.

From 1988 to 2004, Chris worked at Sandia National Laboratories, where he was a Principal Member of Technical Staff in the Failure Analysis Department and Microsystems Partnerships Department. His job responsibilities have included failure and yield analysis of components fabricated at Sandia's Microelectronics Development Laboratory, research into the electrical behavior of defects, and consulting on microelectronics issues for the DoD. He has published over 20 papers at various conferences in semiconductor processing, reliability, failure analysis, and test. He has received two R&D 100 awards and two best paper awards. Prior to working at Sandia, Chris worked for Honeywell, BF Goodrich Aerospace, and Intel. Chris is a member of IEEE and EDFAS (the Electron Device Failure Analysis Society).

At Semitracks, Chris teaches courses on failure and yield analysis, semiconductor reliability, and other aspects of semiconductor technology.