Technological definitions (misc.)

Question 1

through-put

Answer 1

the rate of production or the rate at which something can be processed.

Question 2

condenser

Answer 2

a device that is used to condense a fluid from its gaseous state to liquid.

Question 3

diode

Answer 3

• Two-terminal electronic component that conducts primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance to the flow of current in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other.
• A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals.

Question 4

substrate

Answer 4

The material on which a process is conducted

Question 5

Viton

Answer 5

Brand of synthetic rubber and fluoropolymer elastomer commonly used in O-rings, chemical-resistant gloves, and other molded or extruded goods.

Question 6

taper

Answer 6

Gradual diminution of thickness, diameter, or width in an elongated object

Question 7

photoresist

Answer 7

Light-sensitive material used in several industrial processes to form a patterned coating on a surface.

Question 8

turbomolecular pump

Answer 8

• Used to obtain and maintain high vacuum.
• These pumps work on the principle that gas molecules can be given momentum in a desired direction by repeated collision with a moving solid surface.
• In a turbomolecular pump, a rapidly spinning fan rotor ‘hits’ gas molecules from the inlet of the pump towards the exhaust in order to create or maintain a vacuum.

Question 9

diaphragm gauge

Answer 9

Used to measure liquids and gases

Question 10

pirani gauge

Answer 10

Robust thermal conductivity gauge used for the measurement of the pressures in vacuum systems

Question 11

photoresist

Answer 11

Light-sensitive material used in several industrial processes to form a patterned coating on a surface.

Question 12

ionization gauge

Answer 12

When operating below the Pirani gauge range (10-3 mbar), an ion gauge can be used to measure pressure.

Question 13

dicing

Answer 13

• Process by which die are separated from a wafer of semiconductor following the processing of the wafer.
• Process of cutting semiconductor wafer into individual chips following completion of device (both discreet and integrated) manufacturing; in the case of large diameter wafer dicing is carried out by partially cutting the wafer along preferred crystallographic planes using high precision saw with ultra-thin diamond blade.
• Wafers are typically mounted on dicing tape which has a sticky backing that holds the wafer on a thin sheet metal frame.
• Dicing tape has different properties depending on the dicing application.
• UV curable tapes are used for smaller sizes and non-UV dicing tape for larger die sizes.
• Once a wafer has been diced, the pieces left on the dicing tape are referred to as die, dice or dies.
• The area that has been cut away are called die streets which are typically about 75 micrometres (0.003 inch) wide.
• Once a wafer has been diced, the die will stay on the dicing tape until they are extracted by die handling equipment, such as a die bonder or die sorter, further in the electronics assembly process.
• The size of the die left on the tape may range from 35 mm (very large) to 0.1 mm square (very small).

Question 14

PCM

Answer 14

Process Control Monitoring

• In the application of integrated circuits, it’s the procedure followed to obtain detailed information about the process used.

Question 15

photolithography

Answer 15

• Process used in microfabrication to pattern parts of a thin film or the bulk of a substrate.
• It uses light to transfer a geometric pattern from a photomask to a light-sensitive chemical “photoresist”, or simply “resist,” on the substrate.
• A series of chemical treatments then either engraves the exposure pattern into, or enables deposition of a new material in the desired pattern upon, the material underneath the photo resist.
• For example, in complex integrated circuits, a modern CMOS wafer will go through the photolithographic cycle up to 50 times.

Question 16

CAD

Answer 16

Computer Aided Design

CAD (computer-aided design) software is used by architects, engineers, drafters, artists, and others to create precision drawings or technical illustrations. CAD software can be used to create two-dimensional (2-D) drawings or three-dimensional (3-D) models.

Question 17

photodiode

Answer 17

• Semiconductor device that converts light into current.
• The current is generated when photons are absorbed in the photodiode.
• A small amount of current is also produced when no light is present.
• Photodiodes may contain optical filters, built-in lenses, and may have large or small surface areas.
• Can be used for remote controls.

Question 18

LCD

Answer 18

Liquid Crystal Display

Question 19

TFT

Answer 19

Thin Film Transistor

• Special kind of field-effect transistor made by depositing thin films of an active semiconductor layer as well as the dielectric layer and metallic contacts over a supporting (but non-conducting) substrate.
• A common substrate is glass, because the primary application of TFTs is in liquid-crystal displays.
• This differs from the conventional transistor, where the semiconductor material typically is the substrate, such as a silicon wafer.