The difficult development of integrated circuits

　　When it comes to integrated circuits, we may not be unfamiliar with it, but we do not know much about it, it is the chip that we often hang on the mouth, CPU? Why mention it always reminds us of that small chip, what is the relationship between these two

　　1. The relationship between integrated circuits and chips

　　Integrated circuit is a miniature electronic device or component. Using a certain process, a circuit of transistors, resistors, capacitors and inductors and other components and wiring interconnected together, made in a small or several small semiconductor wafers or dielectric substrates, and then packaged in a shell, becoming a micro structure with the required circuit function; all components in the structure has been composed of a whole, so that electronic components towards miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and It is a big step towards miniaturization, low power consumption, intelligence and high reliability. It is represented by the letter "IC" in the circuit.

　　If we use simple vernacular, integrated circuits include a wider range of things, such as the integration of some resistors, capacitors and diodes together can be called integrated circuits, which may be a chip for analog signal conversion, or a chip for logic control, but in general, the concept is more towards the bottom of things.

　　A chip, also known as a microcircuit or microchip, is a silicon wafer containing an integrated circuit that is small in size and often part of a computer or other electronic device.

　　By comparing the definition of integrated circuit with the definition of chip, we can easily see that integrated circuit is more focused on the layout of the electronic circuit and the underlying layer, while the chip is more focused on the use of its functions, it can be said that integrated circuit is the basis of the chip, while the chip is the actual use of integrated circuit.

　　2. The manufacturing process of chips

　　Want to know why the chip industry in China is difficult to develop, we also need to know in general how the chip is manufactured.

　　First is the material. The raw material wafer component of the chip is silicon, which is refined from quartz sand. First of all, the quartz sand is purified (99.999%), then some pure silicon made of silicon rods, it becomes the material for manufacturing integrated circuits of quartz semiconductors, and finally the slices are the wafers needed to make chips. The thinner the wafer, the lower the cost of production, but the higher the requirements of the process.

　　Then comes the IC design. First, the specifications of the IC are determined, then the logic drawings are designed by specialists, then they are converted into circuit diagrams, layout simulations are performed, and finally the photomasks are made.

　　The next step is to transfer the circuit diagram on the photomask to the wafer, which is first coated to resist oxidation and improve heat resistance; then a photocorrosive agent is applied to the wafer, which dissolves when it encounters UV light, so that the light can be used to precisely carve out the circuit pattern on the tiny wafer. Next, the dissolved portion is washed away and the wafer is placed in a chemical ionic mixture to create the appropriate P and N semiconductors, which changes the conductivity of the doped area so that each transistor can pass, break, or carry data.

　　After the above several processes, a lattice of crystals is formed on the wafer, and then each die is tested for electrical characteristics by means of needle testing. Immediately afterwards, the wafer is packaged according to user requirements, market forms, and other peripheral factors. Finally, the chip is tested to see if it meets the requirements, and the chip fabrication is completed.

　　3. Reasons for chip manufacturing being stuck

　　The reason why chip engineering is stuck is not just because of the constraints in one area, but chip engineering is to have the corresponding production level in several areas. This is because chip engineering is an extremely large industry, such as the construction of an advanced chip production line, supporting precision equipment requires more than 300-3000, which contains at least a dozen major categories of technology, the most classic are photolithography, etching technology, thin film deposition technology.

　　Each step in the chip manufacturing is critical, and a slight deviation will result in a wide range of final products. Even if the yield of each process is 99.99%, the final yield is only 90.48%. In the case of a 5nm lithography machine, for example, producing the parts for such a lithography machine requires cooperation from all over the world. For example, the optical system comes from Zeiss in Germany. The suppliers of light sources, automation, optics and precision devices are the United States and Japan. TSMC in Taiwan, China, supplies mainly photomasks, photomask storage boxes, and cables. Each part, the level of each component, the level of refinement is extremely strict.

　　One such lithography machine whole machine and subsystem involves a large number of top technologies in many fields such as optics, precision mechanics, control, materials, etc., and all these technologies need to be done to the engineering limit. Although now build lithography machine to a hundred, but want to master all the core technology in the lithography machine, the road is still long. Not to mention a whole production line of all the top technologies and processes. This also creates a certain obstacle to the positive development of the chip.