Semiconductors 101: Chips, wafers and how they are made
The semiconductor industry is often in the headlines, but what exactly do some commonly used terms mean?
Add BT as a preferred source
CHIPS, wafers and semiconductors – these terms are often used interchangeably, but they do not technically refer to the same thing.
Semiconductor: A material that is able to act as both a conductor and an insulator of electricity. Examples include silicon, germanium and sapphire. Silicon is particularly popular for use in manufacturing, partly due to its abundance; it is the second-most abundant element on Earth, after oxygen.
Wafer: A thin circular slice of semiconductor material that forms the base of a chip. The silicon used to make wafers needs to be 99.9999 per cent pure, a level known as “six nines”. Standard wafers are 300 millimetres in diameter. Wafers with a larger diameter are considered more cost-effective, as more chips can be cut per unit of area, due to how they fit within a circle.
TRENDING NOW
On the board but frozen out: The Taib family feud tearing Sarawak construction giant apart
Thai and Vietnamese farmers may stop planting rice because of the Iran war. Here’s why
MAS convenes bank CEOs over AI cyberthreats; boards told to own risks, not leave to IT teams
Is it time to scrap COE categories for cars?
