SemiAcademy micro-credential
Semiconductor Processing
Ten modules on the main steps of turning a silicon wafer into working devices.
At a glance
- Time needed
- About 40 hours, at your own pace
- Level
- Intermediate
- Who it is for
- Students and technicians who want to understand how devices are fabricated
- Prerequisites
- None. No semiconductor background is assumed; comfort with algebra and short calculations helps.
- Format and what you need
- Online and self-paced; a web browser.
- Badge
- Semiconductor Processing digital badge
What you will be able to do
- Classify materials as conductors, semiconductors or dielectrics from their band gap and optical behavior, and name applications for each.
- Explain intrinsic and doped silicon, drift and diffusion current, and the p-n junction; analyze simple diode circuits.
- Work safely and cleanly in a cleanroom: explain contamination control and cleanroom classes, gown correctly, and match fab hazards to their controls.
- Describe how wafers are made, and explain and calculate thermal oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation and annealing.
- Explain photolithography, vacuum, plasma and etching, and use the resolution, depth-of-focus, mean-free-path and etch-time relationships.
- Compare deposition methods, explain CMP and copper dual-damascene interconnect, and calculate sheet and wire resistance.
- Explain how MOSFETs and CMOS logic work, and sequence the steps of a CMOS process flow.
- Choose the right metrology, inspection or test method, interpret wafer maps, and calculate dies per wafer, yield and cost per good die.
- Apply probability distributions, control charts and capability indices to decide whether a process is stable and capable, and propose improvements.
- Describe how sensors, controllers and actuators automate a fab, from wafer transport to factory software and process control.
How the course is organized
- Start Here — Course Orientation
- Module 1 — Materials and Their Electrical Classes
- Module 2 — Semiconductor Device Physics
- Module 3 — Cleanroom Practice, Contamination Control and Safety
- Module 4 — Crystal Growth and Thermal Processing
- Module 5 — Patterning: Lithography, Vacuum, Plasma and Etch
- Module 6 — Thin Films, Planarization and Interconnect
- Module 7 — Building a Transistor: the MOSFET and CMOS Process Flow
- Module 8 — Metrology, Inspection, Test and Yield
- Module 9 — Statistical Process Control for Semiconductor Manufacturing
- Module 10 — Fab Automation and Equipment
- Course Completion
How to earn the badge
- Score at least 16 of 20 on each of the ten module quizzes . This is also what unlocks each next module.
- Reach at least 90% overall: 180 of the 200 available points .
- Complete the post-course survey .