Modules / Glossary

Glossary

2,824 semiconductor terms and acronyms across 23 domains. In articles, guides, history entries and lifecycle pages, hover or tap a dotted-underlined term for its definition.

Acronyms and codes: every abbreviation the Hub uses, including the gate and discipline codes on the lifecycle charts.

Glossary topics: each domain on its own page, with its terms by group and the lifecycles, tools, standards and news that use them.

Type

All Acronym ⁸⁰⁹ Artefact ¹ Business ¹⁰³ Company ²⁶ Component ²⁴⁰ Concept ⁴ Interface ⁴ Material ⁴⁵ Metric ¹⁷³ Organisation ⁴⁶ Process ²⁵⁴ Role ¹⁰ Standard ²⁰² Technology ¹⁸⁹ Term ⁶³⁰ Tool ⁷⁸ Unit ¹⁰

Terms for the Power and compound lifecycle come from these domains: Power & Discretes, Process Technology, Reliability & Quality.

A to Z

All #A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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A

AnnealingProcess: A high-temperature step that repairs implant damage and moves dopants onto electrically active lattice sites. Modern flows use very short rapid thermal, spike, flash or laser anneals to activate dopants without letting them diffuse.
Also known as: RTA, Rapid thermal anneal, Spike anneal, Laser anneal
Shrinking anneal times from minutes to milliseconds is how ultra-shallow junctions became possible.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Ion implantation, Thermal budget, Diffusion, RTP
AutoclaveProcess: An unbiased moisture resistance test that holds parts in saturated steam at 121 °C and 100 percent relative humidity at two atmospheres, forcing rapid moisture ingress to expose package sealing, corrosion and delamination weaknesses.
Also known as: PCT, pressure cooker test
Defined in JESD22-A102 and increasingly replaced by unbiased HAST, which is less prone to producing non-representative failures.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
Related: uHAST, HAST, THB, Corrosion

B

Burn-inProcess: A production screen that operates parts at elevated voltage and temperature for hours so that latent defects fail before shipment, cutting early life failure rate. It costs test time, sockets and yield, and its effectiveness is measured by the fallout it catches.
Also known as: BI, static burn-in, dynamic burn-in, Burn in
Many high volume suppliers replaced blanket burn-in with statistical outlier screening once defect density fell, keeping it only for automotive and server parts.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
In the lifecycles:Final & System-Level Test (Chiplet lifecycle),Test Strategy & DFT Alignment (Test program lifecycle),Test Hardware Development (Test program lifecycle)
Related: ELFR, Bathtub curve, DPPM, Useful life, TDBI, Latent fault

C

Change controlProcess: The managed process for proposing, assessing, approving and recording changes to a design, process, document or product once it has been released. It checks the impact on quality, safety, customers and schedule before a change is made, and in the supply chain it triggers customer notification where agreements require it.
Also known as: Change management process
Reliability & Quality· Quality systems
In the lifecycles:Customer Sampling & Design-in (Product lifecycle),Design-in review (Product lifecycle),SoC Specification & Architecture (SoC lifecycle)
Related: PCN, ECO
Channel releaseProcess: The selective removal of the sacrificial silicon-germanium layers from a Si/SiGe superlattice, leaving free-standing silicon channels for the gate to wrap. Selectivity and sheet sag control are the critical parameters.
Also known as: Sheet release, SiGe removal
The step has no equivalent in FinFET flows and is a major reason GAA nodes carry higher process complexity.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Nanosheet, GAA, Epitaxy, CFET
Curve traceProcess: Measuring the current versus voltage characteristic of each pin against ground or supply to check for opens, shorts, leaky junctions and damaged protection devices. It is the first electrical step in almost every failure analysis.
Also known as: Curve tracing, IV trace
The shape of the damaged curve is often enough to distinguish an ESD strike on an input clamp from a supply level electrical overstress event.
Reliability & Quality· Failure analysis
Related: EFA, ESD, EOS, Failure analysis
Czochralski processProcess: The method for growing monocrystalline silicon ingots by dipping a seed crystal into molten silicon and slowly pulling while rotating. Nearly all prime silicon wafers used for ICs start as a Czochralski-grown boule.
Also known as: CZ, Crystal pulling
Float zone silicon is purer and is preferred for high-voltage power devices, but cannot be grown at 300 mm economically.
Process Technology· Substrates and wafers
Related: Float zone, Epi wafer, 300 mm wafer, Ingot

D

DamasceneProcess: An interconnect scheme in which trenches and vias are etched into dielectric, filled with metal, and the excess polished away. The dual damascene version forms via and trench in a single metal fill.
Also known as: Dual damascene, Copper damascene
Damascene exists because copper cannot be practically plasma etched the way aluminium could.
Process Technology· Interconnect and BEOL
Related: Copper interconnect, CMP, Barrier layer, Low-k dielectric
DecapsulationProcess: Removing the mould compound or lid from a package to expose the die while leaving bond wires and die surface intact, done with hot acid jet etching, laser ablation or mechanical milling depending on the package.
Also known as: Decap, depotting
Electrical continuity is normally verified after decap to prove that the preparation, not the original failure, did not create the observed defect.
Reliability & Quality· Failure analysis
Related: PFA, SEM, Curve trace, Failure analysis
DiffusionProcess: The thermally driven spreading of dopant atoms through silicon. It was the original doping method, and is now mostly an unwanted side effect of thermal processing that blurs carefully implanted profiles.
Also known as: Dopant diffusion
Fabs still call the transistor-forming area the diffusion region, a holdover from when diffusion did the doping.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Ion implantation, Annealing, Thermal budget, Junction
Document controlProcess: The quality system process that makes sure controlled documents, such as specifications, procedures and drawings, are reviewed, approved, versioned, distributed and withdrawn in an orderly way, so that people always work to the current issue.
Also known as: Document management
Reliability & Quality· Quality systems
In the lifecycles:Design & Development Planning and Quality System Set-up (Medical lifecycle),Design plan approved (Medical lifecycle)
Related: QMS, Configuration management
Drop testProcess: A board level mechanical shock test in which a populated board is dropped in a fixture to a defined peak acceleration and pulse duration, with joints monitored continuously for resistance events until failure.
Also known as: Board level drop, mechanical shock
The dominant reliability concern for handheld products, where brittle intermetallic fracture rather than fatigue cracking usually dominates.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
In the lifecycles:Reliability Qualification (Photonics lifecycle),Reliability & Qualification (MEMS and sensors lifecycle)
Related: BLR, Solder fatigue, Vibration test, JESD22
Dry etchProcess: Removing material with a plasma of reactive ions, which etches mostly downward and so reproduces the mask shape with near-vertical sidewalls. It is the only practical way to pattern features at modern dimensions.
Also known as: Plasma etch, RIE, Reactive ion etching
High aspect ratio dry etch for memory channel holes is among the hardest processes in the industry.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Wet etch, ALE, Spacer, Damascene

E

EpitaxyProcess: Growing a crystalline layer that continues the atomic lattice of the underlying substrate. In logic it forms raised silicon-germanium or silicon-phosphorus source and drain regions and the alternating stacks used for nanosheets.
Also known as: Epi, Selective epitaxial growth, SEG
Selective epitaxy grows only on exposed silicon and not on dielectric, which is what makes raised source/drain practical.
Process Technology· Front-end process
In the lifecycles:Substrate & Epitaxy Supply (Power and compound lifecycle),Production Ramp (Power and compound lifecycle),Wafer Size Transition (Power and compound lifecycle)
Related: SiGe, Strain engineering, Channel release, Epi wafer

F

Failure analysisProcess: The disciplined investigation of a failed device, moving from non-destructive checks and electrical characterisation through fault localisation to physical inspection, in order to identify the failure mechanism and feed root cause analysis.
Also known as: FA
Sequence discipline is everything, because the destructive steps that reveal the defect also destroy the evidence for every earlier technique.
Reliability & Quality· Failure analysis
In the lifecycles:Post-EOL Support (Product lifecycle),Last-time ship (SoC lifecycle),Package Qualification & Production Release (Chiplet lifecycle)
Related: EFA, PFA, RCA, Decapsulation

I

Ion implantationProcess: Introducing dopants by accelerating ionised atoms into the wafer, with dose and energy setting concentration and depth. It replaced thermal diffusion because it gives far tighter control of doping profiles.
Also known as: Implant, Ion implant
Implantation damages the crystal lattice, so every implant must be followed by an activation anneal.
Process Technology· Front-end process
In the lifecycles:Process Module Development (Process node lifecycle)
Related: Annealing, Diffusion, Thermal budget, FEOL

M

Measurement system analysisProcess: Studies that check whether a gauge, metrology tool or tester measures well enough for its purpose, by quantifying bias, linearity, stability, repeatability and reproducibility. It is one of the automotive core quality tools, alongside APQP, PPAP, FMEA and SPC.
Also known as: Gauge R&R, Gage R&R, MSA
Reliability & Quality· Quality systems
In the lifecycles:Production Part Approval & Launch (Automotive lifecycle),Process Design & Development (APQP lifecycle),Product & Process Validation (APQP lifecycle)MSA in Acronyms and codes
Related: APQP, SPC, Metrology, Control plan

N

Nano-probingProcess: Contacting individual transistor terminals on a delayered die with piezo-driven tungsten or AFM tips inside a scanning electron microscope, so that a suspect device can be characterised electrically in place.
Also known as: Nanoprobing, AFP
The endgame technique for subtle defects, able to separate a marginal transistor from a contact or via problem when imaging shows nothing wrong.
Reliability & Quality· Failure analysis
Related: PFA, SEM, FIB, EFA

P

Power cyclingProcess: A reliability test in which a module is repeatedly self-heated by load current and cooled, producing large junction temperature swings. It targets the die-attach and bond-wire interfaces and is quoted as cycles to failure for a given delta T.
Also known as: PC test, Active cycling, PTC, power temperature cycling
AQG 324 defines the automotive power-cycling requirements that module suppliers must demonstrate.
Power & Discretes· Thermal and reliability
In the lifecycles:Package & Module Development (Power and compound lifecycle),Reliability & Ruggedness Qualification (Power and compound lifecycle),Module qualified (Power and compound lifecycle)
Related: Thermal cycling, Wire bond lift-off, Sintered die attach, Tj, Temperature cycling, Solder fatigue
Product qualificationProcess: The planned set of stress tests and evaluations showing that a part, built on its production process and package, will be reliable in its intended use. It follows a qualification standard for the market, such as JEDEC or AEC-Q100, and is repeated in part when the design, process, package or site changes.
Also known as: Reliability qualification, Device qualification, Requalification, Requal
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
In the lifecycles:Silicon Validation & Reliability (Hard IP lifecycle),Hard macro sign-off (Hard IP lifecycle),Test chip tape-out (Hard IP lifecycle)
Related: Qualification sample, HTOL, AEC-Q100, JESD47, Qualification family

S

Sintered die attachProcess: Attaching a die using silver or copper particles that are compacted and diffused into a solid metal joint below the metal's melting point. The resulting layer has far higher thermal conductivity and melting point than solder.
Also known as: Silver sintering, Ag sintering
Essentially mandatory for SiC modules, where solder would fatigue long before the die reached its temperature limit.
Power & Discretes· Power packaging
Related: Power module, Power cycling, Tj, Solder fatigue
Smart CutProcess: Soitec's layer transfer process that implants hydrogen to create a cleave plane, bonds the wafer to a handle, and splits off a thin, uniform silicon film. It is the standard way SOI and many engineered substrates are made.
Also known as: Smart-Cut
Smart Cut is also used for piezoelectric and compound semiconductor engineered substrates, not just silicon.
Process Technology· Substrates and wafers
Related: SOI, BOX, 300 mm wafer, Ion implantation

T

Technology transferProcess: Moving a process, product or test flow from one site, fab or partner to another, with its recipes, specifications, equipment settings and know-how, and proving that the receiving site matches the original before volume production.
Also known as: Process transfer
Process Technology· Process flow
In the lifecycles:Volume production release (Process node lifecycle),Process Transfer & First Wafers (Fab build lifecycle),Technology and capacity choice (Fab build lifecycle)
Related: Copy exact, Product qualification, PCN
Temperature cyclingProcess: Repeated cycling of a device between hot and cold extremes in air, for example minus 55 to 125 °C, to accelerate fatigue at interfaces caused by thermal expansion mismatch. Failures appear as cracks, delamination and open solder joints.
Also known as: TC, TMCL, thermal cycling, TCT
Defined in JESD22-A104; automotive grade parts typically require 1000 or more cycles versus a few hundred for consumer.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
In the lifecycles:Package Qualification & Production Release (Chiplet lifecycle),Screening & Lot Acceptance (Space lifecycle),Reliability Qualification (Photonics lifecycle)
Related: Thermal shock, Coffin-Manson model, Solder fatigue, Delamination, CTE, BLR
Thermal cyclingProcess: A passive test in which the whole assembly is cycled between temperature extremes in a chamber, stressing the joints between materials of differing expansion coefficients. It targets substrate-to-baseplate solder rather than the die attach.
Also known as: TC test, Passive cycling
Ceramic choice, alumina versus silicon nitride, shows up most clearly in thermal cycling rather than power cycling results.
Power & Discretes· Thermal and reliability
In the lifecycles:Package & Module Development (Power and compound lifecycle),Reliability & Ruggedness Qualification (Power and compound lifecycle),Module qualified (Power and compound lifecycle)
Related: Power cycling, DBC, AMB, Baseplate
Thermal oxidationProcess: Growing silicon dioxide by exposing silicon to oxygen or steam at high temperature, consuming silicon in the process. It gives the highest quality silicon-to-oxide interface, which is why it was the standard gate oxide method for decades.
Also known as: Oxidation, Furnace oxidation
The exceptional quality of thermally grown SiO2 on silicon is the historical reason silicon beat germanium.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Gate oxide, LOCOS, Thermal budget, RTP
Thermal shockProcess: A harsher variant of temperature cycling in which parts are transferred between hot and cold liquid or fast transfer air chambers, giving very short transition times and much higher instantaneous strain rates on package interfaces.
Also known as: TS, liquid to liquid thermal shock
Defined in JESD22-A106; used as a fast screen for gross package weaknesses rather than as a life model for solder joints.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
Related: Temperature cycling, Delamination, JESD22, Solder fatigue

V

Vibration testProcess: Mechanical qualification in which a device or assembly is subjected to swept sine or random vibration over a defined frequency band and duration, checking for lead fracture, solder joint cracking, wire sweep and loss of continuity.
Also known as: Variable frequency vibration
Defined in JESD22-B103 and mandatory for automotive and aerospace parts, where mission profiles include continuous engine or airframe excitation.
Reliability & Quality· Qualification testing
Related: Drop test, BLR, JESD22, AEC-Q100

W

Wafer cleaningProcess: The repeated removal of particles, organics, metal contamination and native oxide between process steps. Cleans outnumber every other step type in a fab flow and directly determine defect density and yield.
Also known as: Wet clean, RCA clean, Pre-clean
The RCA clean sequence developed at RCA Laboratories in the 1960s remains the conceptual basis for modern wet cleans.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Wet etch, Dry etch, CMP, FEOL
Wet etchProcess: Removing material with liquid chemistry, which is typically isotropic and highly selective between materials. It is used for cleans, sacrificial layer removal and stripping rather than for defining critical patterns.
Also known as: Wet chemical etch
Wet processing dominates the many cleaning steps that outnumber patterning steps in a real fab flow.
Process Technology· Front-end process
Related: Dry etch, Wafer cleaning, Channel release, Etch selectivity

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NPI & Stage-Gate Models: Getting a Chip From Design-Complete to Volume-Ready · NPI & Stage-Gate Models Obsolescence Management: What Happens After a Chip Stops Being the New Thing · Obsolescence Management PDLC: The Chip Product Development Lifecycle, From Spec to Tapeout · Chip Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC)Qualification & Reliability: Proving a Chip Will Survive Its Warranty Life · Qualification & Reliability The Product Lifecycle (PLC): How MRDs, PRDs, and Stage-Gate Reviews Work · Product Lifecycle (PLC)Yield Learning & Production Ramp: Reading the Curve From First Silicon to Volume · Yield Learning & Production Ramp