Microelectronics Industry and Growth

The remarkable success of information and telecommunication technology within the last few decades has been facilitated by the phenomenal growth of the microelectronics technology. While nanotechnology has future prospects, microelectronics has already transformed global competition and commerce. It offers strategic advantages to firms, institutions and nations through its capacity to develop products and services cheaply and efficiently. It is the engine that drives present global commerce and industry.

The world has experienced many new dimensions in knowledge acquisition, creation, dissemination and usage courtesy of this technology. The advancement of Internet and digital photography could all be linked to better performance from microchips. When microelectronics technology advances, a dawn emerges in global economy in speed, efficiency and capacity.

Microelectronics is considered a very revolutionary technology noting the disruptions it has brought to the dynamics of the global economy via its different applications since its invention by Jack Kilby in the late 1950s. Of the gross world product (GWP), estimated (2007) at about $55 trillion (currency) (The Economist, 2008), microelectronics contributes more than 10%. Microelectronics is very pivotal to many emerging industries in the 21st century with a central position in the global economy. Because Internet, medicine, entertainment and many other industries cannot substantially advance without this technology, it has a vantage position in engineering education in many developed nations.

These nations invest heavily in microelectronics education as in the United States, Canada and Western Europe where the MOSIS, CMC and Europractice programs respectively enable students to fabricate and test their integrated circuits for full cycle design and learning experience on integrated circuits. On the other hand, developing nations increasingly lag behind in adopting and diffusing this technology in their economies owing to many factors, which include human capital and infrastructure. Absence of quality technical education has contributed to stall the transfer, diffusion and development of microelectronics in both the emerging and developing economies.

Microelectronics is a group of technologies that integrate multiple devices into a small physical area. The dimension is about 1000 larger than nanotechnology dimension; micrometer vs. nanometer. Usually, these devices are made from semiconductors like silicon and germanium using lithography, a process that involves the transfer of design patterns unto a silicon wafer. There are accompanying processes which include etching, oxidation, diffusion, etc. Several components are available in microelectronic scale such as transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes, insulators and conductors.

The microelectronics can be divided to its subfields which in turn are connected to other micro related fields. These subfields are micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and single electron devices. Integrated circuits or microchips are typical microelectronic devices, which can be found in computers, mobile phones, medical devices, toys and automobiles. There is a high level of convergence between nanotechnology and microelectronics. The major difference lies in the size of the materials; nonetheless, the techniques are very different.

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor is the most common transistor used in the industry owing to its ease of integration and low static power dissipation. Bipolar junction transistor is another popular version. With the sizes of CMOS transistor in the nanometer range, the behaviors of the transistors are radically affected by parasitic noise and power dissipation. These problems pose potential challenges to the continuous progress of CMOS technology and microelectronics industry in general.

The survivability of Moore's Law, (after Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corp) which states that the numbers of transistors in a semiconductor die double every 18 to 24 months, is presently challenged if engineers cannot downscale the transistor size any further efficiently. This scaling has been the driver that has enabled microelectronics products to improve in speed, capacity and cost-efficiency. Many efforts have been geared to overcome the problems faced in the industry as transistors scale into the deep nanometer. They include improving the structure of the metals and polysilicon materials used in making the devices, more enhanced doping profile, new materials to keep the industry alive and well into the future.

Dr. Ndubuisi Ekekwe blogs at Nkpuhe
http://goafrit.wordpress.com

The New Age of Semiconductor Devices and Microelectronics Manufacturing

Modern engineering has stepped up many levels since the introduction of electronics. Large and bulky machinery has been reduced to mere hand held devices. This has become a wide spread and innovative change in most areas of manufacturing. What is microelectronics manufacturing and how is it used in today's society?

Every time you use a cell phone or a hand held GPS device, you are using an end product made from the smarts of microelectronics. The small components used to manufacture devices like cell phones are made using a special and detailed process using semiconductor devices and thin films. These tiny parts are connected together on a circuit board that allows for consumer usage. Each board is specific to the end product.

Capacitors, transistors, resistors, and diodes are examples of commonly used microelectronic parts. These are vital to the inner workings of the electronic devices used every day all over the world. Without these tiny components, you would not be able to turn on and off your cell phone or video game. Without a resistor being present in your television, you could not control the volume.

Schooling for working in the field of microelectronics has become a big part of university studies. For those students interested in working Semiconductor Devices and the process of physical vapor deposition, knowledge about the intricate structure of the electronic device is required. Many silicon wafer suppliers and semiconductor companies have upgraded to using microelectronic technology and employees need the special knowledge required to implement processes correctly and efficiently.

Consider the importance of electronics in everyday life. Think about the doctors that rely on robotic hands for performing delicate operations and for monitoring patients during those same procedures. Many electronic devices are used for life saving procedures in the medical field. Without innovative microelectronic research, these types of devices would have never been founded. Many peoples lives depend on the biomedical device next to them in the hospital setting.

The manufacturing production of many products used every day depends on computers for swift and efficient movement. Assembly lines in plants using robotics depend wholly on computers. In each and every one of these computers are the workings of microelectronics on a motherboard. Cars, medical equipment, furniture, and even some clothing are examples of products made using newer and more technologically advanced methods that require microelectronics.

Financial and government data used to be kept on computer main frames that would fill a large warehouse. Thanks to microelectronics, that same data can be placed on tiny semiconductor devices that have much larger hard drive spaces. This data is superbly important to things like Social Security and tax refunds for citizens, so keeping it stored in a better way is a plus.

Microelectronics manufacturing using thin films is making headway and is also making life easier for everyone. Jobs that used to cost hundreds of thousands in shear man hours have been streamlined into very efficient and cost effective production methods. The technology and capabilities are exciting and seem to be limitless.

Jessica entered the Semiconductor Manufacturing field in 1998. Jessica has held positions at Integrated Micromachines and Xponent Photonics prior to founding Rogue Valley Microdevices, specializing in semiconductor devices and establishing it as one of the leading silicon wafer suppliers.