1. Sedimentation
The first step in manufacturing a chip is usually to deposit a thin film of material onto a wafer. The material can be a conductor, an insulator, or a semiconductor.
2. Photoresist coating
Before photolithography, a photosensitive material, "photoresist" or "photoresist," is first coated onto the wafer, and then the wafer is placed into the photolithography machine.
3. Exposure
A blueprint of the pattern to be printed is created on a photomask. After the wafer is placed in the lithography machine, a beam of light is projected onto the wafer through the photomask. Optical components inside the lithography machine shrink and focus the pattern onto the photoresist coating. Under the illumination of the beam of light, the photoresist undergoes a chemical reaction, and the pattern on the photomask is thus imprinted onto the photoresist coating.
4. Calculation of photolithography
The physical and chemical effects generated during photolithography can cause pattern deformation, so the pattern on the photomask needs to be adjusted beforehand to ensure the accuracy of the final photolithographic pattern. ASML integrates existing photolithography data and wafer test data to create an algorithm model for precise pattern adjustment.
5. Baking and developing
After the wafer leaves the photolithography machine, it undergoes baking and development to permanently fix the photolithographic pattern. Excess photoresist is washed away, leaving some blank areas in the coating.
6. Etching
After development, materials such as gas are used to remove excess blank areas, forming a 3D circuit pattern.
7. Measurement and Inspection
Throughout the chip manufacturing process, wafers are constantly measured and inspected to ensure zero error. The inspection results are fed back to the photolithography system for further optimization and equipment adjustments.
8. Ion implantation
Before removing the remaining photoresist, the wafer can be bombarded with positive or negative ions to adjust the semiconductor properties of some of the patterns.
9. Repeat the process steps as needed.
From thin film deposition to photoresist removal, the entire process covers the wafer with a pattern. To form an integrated circuit on the wafer and complete chip fabrication, this process needs to be repeated continuously, up to 100 times.
10. Packaged Chips
The final step is to dicing the wafer to obtain individual chips, which are then packaged in a protective casing. These finished chips can then be used to manufacture televisions, tablets, or other digital devices!
