Fundamentals of Microchip Design and Fabrication

The course has been newly updated to include all of the latest 
developments in Microchip Design and Fabrication and is technically
current through May 2013.

Course Description:

To the uninitiated, microchip technology is a bewildering subject filled with confusing jargon, strange equipment and exotic technology. Indeed, microchip manufacturing is so complex that the engineers involved in the field appear to be speaking an incomprehensible dialect of English that is all their own.

This course demystifies the subject of microchip design and fabrication by presenting a clear and concise overview of the subject in language that can be understood by non-technical personnel. It begins with defining basic electrical principles such as current, voltage and resistance, and then describes how fundamental devices such as transistors, capacitors and diodes function. It then progresses to descriptions of the microchip design process and illustrates the manner in which modern IC circuits are laid-out.

The course next covers CMOS devices (PMOS and NMOS), and digital versus analog circuitry, followed by the presentation of a simplified microchip fabrication sequence and the equipment used in the fabrication process.

Finally, an overview of the packing process is presented and the various types of packing types are described.

The class is taught in a highly interactive style with key question reviews for each module. In-class exercises are provided, as well as a set of high-quality color notes that are profusely illustrated.

Download this seminar brochure as a .pdf file

Date: To Be Announced


Location: To Be Announced


Tuition: $695

What’s Included:

• A full day of instruction by an industry expert with an in-depth understanding of the course material.
• A high quality set of course notes that are in full color.
• Continental breakfast, hot buffet lunch and snacks at the morning and afternoon breaks.

Who is the seminar intended for:

• New-hire engineers, technicians, designers, and managers
• Marketing personnel, Sales representatives, Public Relations personnel
• Legal counsel
• Technical Writers
• Tool and Material vendors
• Production personnel, Customer service, and application engineers
• Any employee who requires an overview of microchip design and fabrication

Course Topics:

Basic Electronics - Voltage, Current, Resistance, electrical circuits, Ohm's Law, electrical components (transistors, capacitors, diodes, resistors)

Semiconductor Fundamentals - the PN junctions (forward and reversed bias), MOSFETs, PMOS, NMOS, CMOS

Microchip Design - Logic gates, physical layout, Logic design, simulation tools, chip layout, design rule checks, mask generation, silicon prototype and debug, design revision and final qualification

Silicon Processing Technology - Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Cleaning technology, Electro-plating, Etch, Ion Implantation, Lithography, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), and Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP)

Microchip Fabrication - A step-by-step fabrication sequence for a modern microchip is described in detail

Microchip Packaging - the backend process flow, wire bonding, Chip Scale Packaging (CSP), Stacked CSP, Wafer Level Packaging (WLP), the flip-chip process, System-in-Package (SiP), Multi-Chip-Modules (MCM), System on Chip (SoC), stacked die, Package-in-Package (PiP), 3D Packaging

The Instructor:

Jerry Healey

Jerry Healey has been a technical professional in the semiconductor industry for over 20 years, 8 years of which were spent as a Device Engineer at Motorola Semiconductor. He was formerly an instructor for UC Berkeley Extension (College of Engineering), and more recently was employed as a Process Integration Engineer at the Advanced Technology Development Facility, where he worked on advanced technology node development.

He is a renowned lecturer in the field of silicon processing, and his areas of expertise include process integration, technology transfer of new processes from R&D into manufacturing, embedded non-volatile memory processing, and mixed signal devices. His audiences remember him for the breadth of his knowledge regarding semiconductor manufacturing, his engaging lecture style, and the insightful color graphics he uses to illustrate his lectures.

An award winning public speaker, Mr. Healey has taught numerous courses to thousands of practicing engineers and scientists over the past 15 years. He has also authored numerous papers in the field of silicon processing, and is currently the president of Threshold Systems, a firm that provides consulting services and technical training seminars to the semiconductor industry.

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