Counts as:

Normally Offered:

Summer

Campus/Online:

On-campus and online

Requisites:

ECE 30500, Semiconductor Devices

Requisites by Topic:

This course is designed for students who have or are close to an undergraduate degree in engineering or the physical sciences. It is strongly advised that the student first take a basic undergraduate course on semiconductor devices. Students should have basic working knowledge of the following: light as a particle and a wave; mechanical physics, acceleration, forces; constructive and destructive interference of waves; Taylor polynomial expansion of functions; basic chemistry reaction equations; feedback control systems.

Catalog Description:

Driven by the US CHIPS and Science Act, there is a strong surge of interest in semiconductors in general and specifically in semiconductor manufacturing. Nanolithography is the key technology that enables the patterning of nanometer-scale device structures onto silicon wafers. This course is intended primarily for students that are targeting one of the Purdue Semiconductor Degrees. It will provide a comprehensive introduction into diffraction-based imaging, the technology and subsystems of the lithographic equipment, the metrology and process control strategies being employed in high-volume manufacturing. This course is the first in a set of three courses focused on nanolithography. The second course will cover topics from EUV Lithography, the technology used for today's most advanced semiconductor devices. The third course will cover topics in Computational Lithography, essential technology for robust imaging near to the resolution limit.

Learning Outcomes

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated an ability to:

• Explain the fundamental role that nanolithography plays in the manufacturing of complexity of modern integrated circuits (manufacturing process, layer characteristics for logic and memory devices, associated lithography challenges).
• Describe the role, functioning, and critical performance parameters of the subsystems involved in pattern transfer from mask to wafer (illumination, mask, projection optics, wafer and resist).
• Compute resolution limits for practical lithographic use cases using the theory of diffraction-based image formation (principles of Fourier optics, near-field versus far-field image formation, role of illumination optimization, resolution calculations, impact of aberrations).
• Describe the functioning of both scanner and wafer metrology, the physical principles behind the measurements involved, and the role they play in manufacturing control (alignment, leveling, critical dimensions, overlay, advanced process control).
• Describe the key innovations and challenges involved in narrow-band, immersion, and EUV lithography without any help (light source, optics, mask, computational tools).

Assessment Method:

Homework, group assignments, exams (1/2024)