Materials Processing: Theory and Practices Series

Materials Processing - Theory and Practices, Volume 1: Fine Line Lithography reviews technical information as well as the theory and practices of materials processing. It looks at very large scale integration (VLSI) technology, with emphasis on the creation of fine line patterned structures that make up the devices and interconnects of complex functional circuits. It also describes a variety of other technologies that provide finer patterns, from modified versions of optical methods to electron-optic systems, non-plus-ultra of X-ray techniques, and dry processing that uses the chemical or kinetic energies of gas molecules or ions. Organized into five chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the fundamentals of electron and X-ray lithography, with a focus on resists and the way they function, and how they are used in microfabrication. It then discusses electron scattering and its effects on resist exposure and development, electron-beam lithography equipment, X-ray lithography, and optical methods for fine line lithography. It systematically introduces the reader to electron-beam projection techniques, dry processing methods, and application of electron-beam technology to large-scale integrated circuits. Other chapters focus on contact and proximity printing, projection printing, deep-UV lithography, and shadow printing with electrons and ions. The book describes reactive plasma etching and ion beam etching before concluding with a look at factors affecting the performance of the scanning-probe type of systems. This book is a valuable resource for materials engineers and processing engineers, as well as those in the academics and industry.

This book introduces to non-experts several important processes of impurity doping in silicon and goes on to discuss the methods of determination of the concentration of dopants in silicon. The conventional method used is the discussion process, but, since it has been sufficiently covered in many texts, this work describes the double-diffusion method.

Laser Materials Processing aims to introduce lasers and laser systems to the newcomers to laser terminology and to provide enough background material on lasers to reduce one's hesitation to employ these devices. The book covers the use of lasers in materials processing, including its application in cutting and welding, as well as the principles behind them; laser heat treatment; rapid solidification laser processing at high power density; shaping of materials using lasers; and laser processing of semiconductors. The selection also covers considerations in laser manufacturing and a survey in laser applications. The text is recommended for both experienced laser users, engineers, or scientists yet unfamiliar with the subject. The book is also recommended for those who wish to know about the importance of lasers in the field of materials processing, as the bulk of the book is devoted to the discussions of some of the most important materials processing activities in use or under development.

This volume collects together for the first time a series of in-depth, critical reviews of important topics in dry etching, such as dry processing of III-V compound semiconductors, dry etching of refractory metal silicides and dry etching aluminium and aluminium alloys. This topical format provides the reader with more specialised information and references than found in a general review article. In addition, it presents a broad perspective which would otherwise have to be gained by reading a large number of individual research papers. An additional important and unique feature of this book is the inclusion of an extensive literature review of dry processing, compiled by search of computerized data bases. A subject index allows ready access to the key points raised in each of the chapters.

The processing of semiconductor silicon for manufacturing low cost photovoltaic products has been a field of increasing activity over the past decade and a number of papers have been published in the technical literature. This volume presents comprehensive, in-depth reviews on some of the key technologies developed for processing silicon for photovoltaic applications. It is complementary to Volume 5 in this series and together they provide the only collection of reviews in silicon photovoltaics available. The volume contains papers on: the effect of introducing grain boundaries in silicon; the commercial production for multicrystalline silicon ingots and ribbon; epitaxial solar cell fabrication; metallurgical approaches to producing low-cost meltstock; the non-conventional bifacial solar cell approach.

The main emphasis of this volume is on III-V semiconductor epitaxial and bulk crystal growth techniques. Chapters are also included on material characterization and ion implantation. In order to put these growth techniques into perspective a thorough review of the physics and technology of III-V devices is presented. This is the first book of its kind to discuss the theory of the various crystal growth techniques in relation to their advantages and limitations for use in III-V semiconductor devices.