Overview of Chip Manufacturing Process: From Silicon Ingot to Finished CPU

There are countless articles about chip manufacturing that often leave readers confused, but pairing this article with a video will make the knowledge of chip manufacturing clear and accessible.

Chip design and manufacturing are divided into front‑end (logic design) and back‑end (physical design) parts; the back‑end deals with process‑related designs.

A small CPU is expensive; this article (and video) outlines how a simple CPU is produced, encouraging viewers to watch the video and, if needed, refer to the accompanying transcript.

Microprocessors are indispensable in modern society, yet they can only be fabricated in ultra‑clean, strictly controlled environments.

Stunning video

Sand is the basis of microprocessors; it contains abundant silicon as well as oxygen, calcium, and other elements. Through heating and other processes, silicon is extracted and cast into high‑purity crystal ingots.

The crystal ingot is sliced into wafers of 0.5–1.5 mm thickness, polished, and rigorously inspected. Accepted wafers then enter the first production stage, Front End Of Line (FEOL), which creates integrated transistors.

Step 1: A layer of silicon dioxide is deposited on the wafer surface, followed by a thin layer of silicon nitride, and then a photoresist is applied using spin‑coating to form a uniform resist film.

Step 2: A mask plate made of transparent glass and opaque material is projected through a lens that reduces the image onto the photoresist. Ultraviolet exposure makes the exposed areas of the positive resist soluble (negative resist becomes insoluble).

Dark regions represent the photoresist that will be removed by a developer solution, exposing the underlying nitride layer.

Step 3: Wet etching removes the exposed silicon nitride and silicon dioxide layers, after which the remaining photoresist is stripped, leaving the silicon etched.

Step 4: Another silicon dioxide layer is deposited to insulate between transistors, followed by etching and grinding to expose the silicon regions.

Step 5: Photoresist protects areas that should not be doped; ion implantation then introduces N‑type or P‑type dopants into the exposed silicon. After implantation, the resist is removed, and the doped regions become conductive.

Step 6: The gate dielectric is formed, and the photoresist‑expose‑ion‑implant cycle is repeated to create the source and drain of the transistor, establishing the basic transistor structure.

With FEOL completed, the process moves to Back End Of Line (BEOL). BEOL begins with deposition of undoped silicon glass, creation of vias filled with tungsten, and formation of interconnects, ultimately yielding a fully functional wafer.

The wafer is then sawed into individual chips, which are placed into packages. Wire bonding connects the chip to the package pins, and a cover protects the chip from dust and contaminants.

The animation shown is a heavily simplified version; actual microprocessor production involves hundreds of steps over several weeks, and a modern simple CPU contains billions of transistors.

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