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The trend to produce smaller and smaller device features began in 1958 with the invention of the first integrated circuit, in order to incorporate more complex functionality into the integrated circuit. Smaller device features also allow for the incorporation of more complex functionality into the integrated circuit while also improving performance and reducing power consumption and heat production in the circuit. A critical aspect in the construction of any integrated circuit is the electrical isolation of the circuit elements from each other. Without sufficient isolation, the elements could communicate electrically with each other in unintended ways, ruining device performance. Smaller device features reduce the distance between circuit elements, exacerbating isolation problems, as well as increasing sensitivity of the devices to minute surface imperfections in the wafer.
Our epitaxial wafers meet the technological demands of our customers that manufacture advanced semiconductor devices. Epitaxial wafers consist of a thin, single crystal silicon layer grown on the polished surface of a silicon wafer substrate. This "epi" layer is designed to have different compositional and electrical properties from the underlying wafer, tailored to the specific demands of the device. This compositional change, among other things, can be used to improve isolation between circuit elements fabricated on the epi wafer. The epi layer is also substantially free of surface imperfections that can cause device failure. Epitaxial wafers provide for increased reliability of the finished semiconductor device, greater efficiencies during the semiconductor manufacturing process, and ultimately more complex integrated circuit devices.
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