Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuit (IC) chips such as modern computer processors, microcontrollers, and memory chips such as NAND flash and DRAM that are present in everyday electrical and electronic devices. It is a multiple-step sequence of photolithographic and chemical processing steps during which electronic circuits are gradually created on a wafer made of pure semiconducting material. Silicon is almost always used, but various compound semiconductors are used for specialized applications.
In electronics, a wafer is a thin slice of semiconductor, such as a crystalline silicon (c-Si), used for the fabrication of integrated circuits and, in photovoltaics, to manufacture solar cells. The wafer serves as the substrate for microelectronic devices built in and upon the wafer. It undergoes many microfabrication processes, such as doping, ion implantation, etching, thin-film deposition of various materials, and photolithographic patterning. Finally, the individual microcircuits are separated by wafer dicing and packaged as an integrated circuit.
STMicroelectronics is a Franco-Italian multinational electronics and semiconductors manufacturer headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland. The company resulted from the merger of two government-owned semiconductor companies in 1987: "Thomson Semiconducteurs" of France and "SGS Microelettronica" of Italy. It is commonly called "ST". While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in the Canton of Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is incorporated in the Netherlands.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semiconductor company, the world's largest dedicated independent (pure-play) semiconductor foundry, and one of Taiwan's largest companies, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu. It is majority owned by foreign investors.
Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclusively, located in the United States, China, and Taiwan. Fabless companies can benefit from lower capital costs while concentrating their research and development resources on the end market. Some fabless companies and pure play foundries may offer integrated-circuit design services to third parties.
Wafer fabrication is a procedure composed of many repeated sequential processes to produce complete electrical or photonic circuits on semiconductor wafers in semiconductor device fabrication process. Examples include production of radio frequency (RF) amplifiers, LEDs, optical computer components, and microprocessors for computers. Wafer fabrication is used to build components with the necessary electrical structures.
Chartered Semiconductor was created in 1987, as a venture that included Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. Yet, it was not until 2000, that ST Engineering, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings wholly acquired Chartered.
An integrated device manufacturer (IDM) is a semiconductor company which designs, manufactures, and sells integrated circuit (IC) products.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is a partially state-owned publicly-listed Chinese pure-play semiconductor foundry company. It is the largest contract chip maker in mainland China and 5th largest globally, with a market share of 5.3% in 2021.
ASML Holding N.V. is a Dutch multinational corporation founded in 1984 and specializing in the development and manufacturing of photolithography systems, used to produce computer chips. Currently it is the largest supplier of photolithography systems primarily for the semiconductor industry and the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines in the world. ASML employs more than 31,000 people from 120 nationalities, relies on a vast network of more than 4,600 tier 1 suppliers and has offices in the Netherlands, the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
United Microelectronics Corporation is a Taiwanese company based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
Maxim Integrated, a subsidiary of Analog Devices, designs, manufactures, and sells analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for the automotive, industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets. Maxim's product portfolio includes power and battery management ICs, sensors, analog ICs, interface ICs, communications solutions, digital ICs, embedded security, and microcontrollers. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has design centers, manufacturing facilities, and sales offices worldwide.
In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured.
Nexperia is a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of Chinese company Wingtech Technology. It has front-end factories in Hamburg, Germany and Greater Manchester, England. It is the former Standard Products business unit of NXP Semiconductors. The company's product range includes bipolar transistors, diodes, ESD protection, TVS diodes, MOSFETs, and logic devices.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXP) is an American Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company employs approximately 29,000 people in more than 30 countries. NXP reported revenue of $11.06 billion in 2021.
GlobalFoundries Inc. is a multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Malta, New York. Created by the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the company was privately owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, until an initial public offering (IPO) in October, 2021.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli company that manufactures integrated circuits using specialty process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, SOI, mixed-signal and RFCMOS, CMOS image sensors, non-imaging sensors, power management (BCD), and non-volatile memory (NVM) as well as MEMS capabilities. Tower Semiconductor also owns 51% of TPSCo, an enterprise with Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan (NTCJ).
The Taiwanese semiconductor industry, including IC manufacturing, design, and packing, forms a major part of Taiwan's IT industry. Due to its strong capabilities in OEM wafer manufacturing and a complete industry supply chain, Taiwan has been able to distinguish itself from its competitors and dominate the global marketplace. Taiwan semiconductor sector accounted for US$115 billion, which is ca. 20% of global semiconductor industry. In selected sectors like foundry operations, Taiwanese companies account for 50% of world market, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) being the biggest player in the foundry market.
The Chinese semiconductor industry, including IC design and manufacturing, forms a major part of mainland China's IT industry.
