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The microelectronics revolution persists. Technical innovations abound,
and the performance-to-cost ratios for semiconductor devices, integrated
circuits, and systems continue to grow. Although it might be entertaining, a
historical account of the past three decades of microelectronics would
provide little direct benefit to the industry. This volume of the VLSI
Electronics series, titled Advanced CMOS Process Technology, provides a
current snapshot of one highly pertinent domain of microelectronics. For
reasons discussed within the text, CMOS (complementary metal-oxide -
semiconductor) technology plays a leading role in present and future elec-
tronic systems.
In choosing appropriate material for this monograph, we specified two
selection criteria. First, we sought topics of primary importance to the
present and future state of the art of CMOS process technology. Second,
where constraints of space and time imposed on the number of topics to
cover, we focused on issues with the least amount of coverage in other
forums. Aside from introductory comments and background on CMOS
device and circuit considerations, we narrowed our topic list to metalliza
tion, isolation techniques, reliability, and yield. The reader should not infer
that omitted areas, including lithography and etching techniques, are of
inferior rank. Rather, such topics have enjoyed a good deal of explicit
scrutiny in, for example, earlier volumes of this VLSI Electronics series.
Finally, we note that it has been and is our goal to contribute to the
global microelectronics industry by reporting as clearly as possible the
present status of the CMOS process technology issues we chose to commu
nicate. Furthermore, we attempted to project as accurately as possible
expected future evolution. This contribution is transitory. We expect the
industry to surpass the technical content of this monograph through inno
vation, invention, and, a la Thomas Edison, perspiration. In fact, we
dedicate this volume to the engineers, scientists, and technical managers
who will render obsolete many of the technical concerns we voice. |
