Wafer_(electronics) Wafer_(electronics)

Wafer (electronics) - Definition and Overview

Related Words: Astrophysics, Biophysics, Cryogenics, Crystallography, Geophysics, Mechanics, Optics, Philosophy

See Wafer (cooking) for the original meaning of the word.


In microelectronics, a wafer is a thin slice of semiconducting material, such as a silicon crystal, upon which microcircuits are constructed by diffusion and deposition of various materials. Wafers are thus of key importance in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. They are made in various sizes ranging from 1 inch (25.4 mm) to 300 mm (11.8 inches).

Note: Millions of individual circuit elements, constituting hundreds of microcircuits, may be constructed on a single wafer. The individual microcircuits are separated by scoring and breaking the wafer into individual chips ("dies").

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C

Copyright 2009 WordIQ.com - Privacy Policy  :: Terms of Use  :: Contact Us  :: About Us
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the this Wikipedia article.