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Earth port
European term for an equipment ground.
E-beam
Electron beam. Refers to a machine that produces a stream of electrons (electron beam) that can be used to expose photo-resists that are sensitive to such beams. Can be used to expose resists directly on a wafer or on a mask. Electron-beam lithography is a direct-write microprinting technique.
EBHF
Enhanced Back-diffused High-Frequency.
E-bit (end-bit)
in a header for message transfer, a bit that identifies the last block of a message. [SEMI E4-91]
ECL circuit
Emitter-Coupled Logic circuit. ECL circuits use bipolar transistors biased in the active region. They are a very fast high-power digital technology commonly used in logic circuits.
ECO
abbreviation for engineering change order. See change order.
ECR
see electron cyclotron resonance.
Edge bead
1: a residual resist that remains on the edge of a substrate after the application process. 2: a thin (3 mm) ring at the edge of the wafer in which photoresist is selectively removed by solvent or exposure.
Edge chip
see chip.
Edge contour
see edge profile.
Edge crown
an increase of epitaxial layer thickness around the periphery of the wafer arising from differences in deposition rate.
Edge effect
localized structure about the edge of a specimen.
Edge exclusion
wafer layout in which the periphery of the wafer is not used in recognition of the low yields obtained there.
Edge indent
in dielectrically isolated (DI) wafers, an edge defect that extends from the front surface to the back surface.
Edge perimeter distance
in plastic and metal wafer carriers, the distance from the edge of a wafer in a wafer carrier to the top face of the wafer carrier.
Edge profile
on edge contoured wafers (whose edges have been shaped chemically or mechanically), a description of the contour of the boundary of the wafer that joins the front and back surfaces. Also called edge contour.
Edge raggedness
the subjective impression of irregular deviations of a visual edge from an intended smooth curve or straight line, such as an etched pattern.
Edge sensor
a sensor on automatic test equipment that determines the location of the edge of the wafer.
EDIF
Electronic Design Interchange Format. A standardized exchange language for design information.
EEPROM or E2PROM
Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. Similar to PROM, but with the capability of selective erasure of information through special electrical stimulus. Information stored in EEPROM chips is retained when the power is turned off. Compare PROM.
Effective die attach area
in cofired ceramic packages, an area in the die attach cavity that is not excluded from most of the requirements of flatness and metallization coverage. Typically, an area around the periphery of the die attach cavity (the width of which is agreed upon between customer and supplier) is excluded from these requirements and reduces the effective die attach area from the nominal cavity size. Contrast with die attach area.
Effective electrical contact radius (cm)
of a spreading resistance probe assembly, an empirical quantity a defined by the following equation:
Effective layer thickness
in the manufacture of silicon epitaxial wafers, the depth from the front surface in which the net carrier density is within the specified limits.
Effective wire bond area
lead flat surface. Also see coined area.
EFV
see excess flow valve.
Electrical die
in dielectrically isolated (DI) wafers, an identifiable, repetitive, monolithic combination of tubs and polysilicon areas surrounded by a grid border that, when packaged, becomes a component.
Electrical resistivity
see resistivity.
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
the ability of electronic equipment to function properly with respect to environmental electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharge.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
any electrical signal in the nonionizing (suboptical) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with the potential to cause an undesired response in electronic equipment.
Electromigration (EM or EMG)
the self-diffusion of metal along interconnects, caused by the current flow through the metal.
Electron
An elementary atomic particle that carries the smallest negative electric charge (1.6x10-19 coulombs). Electrons are light in mass, (1/1837 of the mass of the hydrogen atom), highly mobile, and orbit the nucleus of an atom.
Electron beam lithography
a direct-write lithography technique using a beam of electrons to expose resist on a wafer.
Electron beam masks
1: image mask used in conjunction with E-beam exposure tools; generally of two types: stencil, which is used with proximity E-beam and cell projection tools, and scatterer, which is used with projection E-beam tools (for example, SCALPEL). 2: a photomask produced on an E-beam mask writer to differentiate from a mask produced with other tools.
Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR)
a technology that uses a high-frequency microwave energy source to create a plasma in a confined region using a magnetic field for the purpose of etching and deposition.
Electron shower
a neutralizing technique for ion implantation in which electrons are added to a positive ion beam to achieve electrical neutrality on the exposed wafer.
Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS)
a computer-based interactive system, usually located near a specific workstation, designed to provide tutorials, instructions, reference information, and troubleshooting aids to guide a worker while performing a job task.
Electropolish (EP)
treatment that electrochemically alters the surface of a metal. When electropolish is applied to 316L stainless steel, the surface becomes enriched with chromium, and a minor amount of fine polishing of the surface roughness occurs.
Electrostatic Chuck (ESC)
a mechanism for holding wafers using electrostatic attraction.
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
1: a sudden electric current flow, such as between a human body and a metal oxide semiconductor semiconductor, with potential damage to the component. 2: the transfer of electrostatic charge between bodies at different electrostatic potentials.
Electrostatic plotter
an output device that uses static electrical energy to draw a graphic representation of data on paper.
Electrostatic properties
1: surface and/or volumetric material properties that allow dissipation or accumulation of static charge. 2: the ability of a material, when grounded, to dissipate a charge induced onto the surface of that material.
Element
1: in cofired ceramic packages, part of a semiconductor package feature. For example, package leads have braze paddle/stand-off and contact elements, and pins have the nail head/braze area and contact elements. 2: in a bar code, a single bar or space. 3: a fundamental chemical building block of the universe that is chemically or physically indivisible into any substance with differing properties.
ELF-sensitive equipment
any equipment for which performance is adversely affected by extremely low frequency magnetic fields, such as a scanning electron microscope.
Ellipsometer
equipment used to measure the thickness and refractive index of dielectric films.
Ellipticity
in optics, of elliptically polarized light, the angle X given by the inverse tangent of the ratio of the minor to the major axis of the ellipse described by the electric vector of the light.]
Eluent
in the ionic contamination testing of semiconductor leadframes, the solvent used to carry the extracted ions through the ion exchange chromatograph.
EM or EMG
see electromigration.
Embedded abrasive grains
abrasive particles mechanically forced into the surface of the wafer.
EMC
see electromagnetic compatibility.
Emergency Off (EMO)
fail safe control switch or circuit that, when de-energized, will stop the operation of associated equipment and will shut off all potential hazards outside the main power enclosure.
Emergency Off Circuit (EMO)
in facilities and safety, a control circuit that, when deactivated, places the equipment into a safe shutdown condition and will restrict all hazardous potentials to the main power enclosure. This is a condition in which all hazardous voltage has been removed from the equipment, all hazardous production materials flow has been stopped, any radiation sources have been de-energized or totally contained, any capacitors have been grounded, all moving parts stopped, internal and external heat sources shut off, and the equipment presents minimum hazard to personnel or the facility.
EMI
electromagnetic interference.
Emitter
One of the three regions that form a bipolar transistor. Under forward bias of the emitter-base P-N junction, the emitter injects minority carriers (electrons or holes) into the base region where they either recombine or diffuse into the collector. The flow of minority carriers from the emitter to the collector is controlled by the base-emitter P-N junction, thereby giving rise to signal amplification. See also base, bipolar transistor and collector.
EMO interface
the location at which a process or cassette module EMO cable is connected into the cluster tool circuit.
Enabled
refers to one of the two major SECS communication states (enabled and disabled). The enabled state has two substates, communicating and not communicating. In the enabled state, the equipment will periodically attempt to establish communication with a host computer or uphold communications with the host.
Encapsulation
1: in packaging, the process of sealing or covering a circuit for mechanical and environmental protection. 2: in computer software systems, a technique in which data is packaged with its corresponding procedures. In object-oriented technology, the mechanism for encapsulation is the object.
Enclosed interface
any port that cannot satisfy the minimum requirements of clearance to obstructions without sacrificing the port's technical performance (such as a vacuum loadlock).
Enclosure
in minienvironments, a physical barrier between the localized environment and its surroundings.
Enclosure port
in semiconductor manufacturing facilities, the physical boundary of the apparatus through which electromagnetic fields may radiate or impinge.
Enclosures
1: ventilated enclosure, an enclosed or partially enclosed space not designed for human occupancy, having a ventilation system that is capable of capturing and directing 100% of the released toxic gas into a discharge system. 2: nonroutine access enclosure, an enclosure that is not routinely opened more than once a week for operational or maintenance purposes. 3: access enclosure, an enclosure that meets the preceding criteria when it is closed but that also provides adequate face velocity to control exposure when the door/access panel is opened for maintenance or process adjustment. 4: vacuum pump enclosure, an enclosure around a vacuum pump or other process that has no high pressure component or systems, resulting in a lower control velocity requirement. Heat exhaust requirements can generally provide the necessary control.
End
either wall of a wafer carrier that is parallel to the wafer plane. Also see bar end and end wall.
End effector
in cluster tools, a physical location attached to a transport resource, capable of holding a wafer during an end-to-end material transfer.
End slot to other end slot
in quartz and high-temperature wafer carriers, the center line of the first slot to the center line of the slot on the other end.
End wall
the wall of a wafer carrier opposite the bar end of the wafer carrier.
End-to-end wafer transfer
the pair of point-to-point wafer transfers required to transfer a wafer from a port resource of an attached module to another.
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer
a detector used to determine which elements are present in a sample by analyzing X-ray fluorescence for energy levels that are characteristic of each element.
Engineering Change Order (ECO)
see change order.
Engineering drawing
composite drawing.
Engineering state
one of the six equipment states or conditions; a period of engineering time during which equipment is in a condition to perform its intended function but is operated for the purpose of conducting engineering experiments. No equipment or process problems exist. [SEMI E10-92]
Engineering time
total time for which the equipment is not able to perform its intended function because of incoming out-of-spec material, process enhancement, and process training; includes engineering time and characterization/experiments.
Engineering workstation
A desktop computer with application software for computer-aided engineering (CAE) or computer-aided design (CAD) applications, e.g., a Sun workstation with Cadence.
Enhancement-mode FET
An FET designed so that its channel is fully depleted. It is in the "off" state with zero voltage applied to the gate. This configuration is attractive for low quiescent power. See also channel, depletion-mode FET, FET, gate and source.
ENQ
Request to Send handshake code. NOTE-ENQ (derived from ENQuire) is one of the four standard handshake codes used in block transfer protocol. The code ENQ (00000101) corresponds to the ASCII code that has the same pattern.
Environmental control zones
controlled areas in fabrication designed to prevent contamination from one area reaching any other area in the event of an incident.
Environmental isolation
separation from the ambient atmospheric environment.
EOS
Electrical OverStress is a transient or steady state electrical condition that exceeds the specifications and/or capabilities of a device. Both the magnitude and duration of an EOS event can vary. Examples of mild EOS are oxide ruptures and junction damage with signs of visual stress. Severe EOS may include massive vaporization of bond wires or aluminum interconnects and carbonizing of plastic packages. See ESD.
EOT
Ready to Receive handshake code. NOTE-EOT (derived from End Of Transfer) is one of the four standard handshake codes used in block transfer protocol. The code EOT (00000100) corresponds to the ASCII code that has the same pattern.
EP
see electropolish.
Epi profile slope
in the manufacture of silicon epitaxial wafers, the difference between the net carrier density at 0.75 of the layer thickness and the net carrier density at 0.25 of the layer thickness, divided by one-half the layer thickness.
Epifluorescence
in analyzing specimens for surface associated biofilms, the illumination of the specimen from above the specimen plane by excitation illumination, the absorption of the light by bound dyes, and the observation of the light re-emitted by those dyes.
Epitaxial layer
in semiconductor technology, a layer of a single crystal semiconducting material grown on a host substrate which determines its orientation.
Epitaxy
The controlled growth on a crystalline substrate of a crystalline layer, called an epilayer. In "homo-epitaxy" (e.g., silicon layers on a silicon substrate) the epilayer exactly duplicates the properties and crystal structure of the substrate. In "hetero-epitaxy" (e.g., silicon on sapphire) the deposited epilayer is a different material with a different crystalline structure than that of the substrate.
Epitaxy (epi)
a silicon crystal layer grown on top of a silicon wafer that exhibits the same crystal structure orientation as the substrate wafer with a dissimilar doping type or concentration or both. Examples are p/p+, n/n+, n/p, and n/n. Also see epitaxial layer.
EPMA
Electron Probe MicroAnalysis.
EPROM
Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. Similar to PROM, but allows stored information to be erased. Refers to a non-volatile memory device whose contents can be erased by exposure to ultraviolet light. See also PROM, EEPROM.
Equilibrium capacitance
that capacitance reached after a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) specimen at a fixed bias is illuminated and then allowed to stabilize in darkness.
Equilibrium Vapor Concentration (EVC)
the state of a regulated material at which vapor pressure has stabilized and is no longer rising or falling. The EVC value in ppm of a regulated material is determined by multiplying the vapor pressure by 106 and dividing by atmospheric pressure (760 mm Hg at sea level).
Equipment
1: a specific piece of machinery, apparatus, process module, or device used to execute an operation. 2: the intelligent system that communicates with a host computer.
Equipment availability
1: the number of hours producing, plus standby time, divided by total available hours; expressed as a percentage: 168 hours - (facilities downtime + equipment downtime + engineering time + setup and test time) / 168 hours X 100. 2: the probability that the equipment will be in a condition to perform its intended function when required.
Equipment cycle
one complete operational sequence of processing, manufacturing, and testing steps. In single-unit processing systems, the number of cycles equals the number of units processed. In batch systems, the number of cycles equals the number of batches processed.
Equipment dependent uptime
the percentage of time that the equipment is in a condition to perform its intended function during the period of operations time minus the sum of all maintenance delay, out-of-spec input downtime, and facilities-related downtime. This calculation is intended to reflect equipment reliability and maintainability based solely on equipment merit. Also see equipment uptime.
Equipment downtime
the hours when the equipment is not in a condition or is not available to perform its intended function; does not include any portion of nonscheduled time.
Equipment failure
any interruption or variance from the specifications of equipment operation that requires the replacement of a component (other than specified consumables) because of degradation or failure. Also includes assists that interrupt operation and require more than six minutes.
Equipment life cycle
see life cycle.
Equipment maintainability
the probability that the equipment will be retained in, or restored to, a condition in which it can perform its intended function within a specified period.
Equipment model
in communications and control of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, a definition based on capabilities, scenarios, and SECS-II messages that manufacturing equipment should perform to support an automated manufacturing environment. Also see Generic Equipment Model and specific equipment model.
Equipment reliability
the probability that equipment will perform its intended function, within stated conditions, for a specified period. Reliability is considered only for the time during which the equipment is operated (cycled). The two different variables applied to the measurement of equipment reliability are productive time and equipment cycles. Also see mean (productive) time between failures, mean cycles between failures, mean (productive) time between assists, and mean cycles between assists.
Equipment set
a group of individual pieces of related equipment in close proximity that performs a commonly used process sequence.
Equipment states
equipment conditions and time periods associated with equipment performance. The six equipment states are defined by function, not by organization (the people who perform the tasks). They are the productive state, the standby state, the engineering state, the scheduled downtime state, the unscheduled downtime state, and the nonscheduled state.
Equipment uptime
the amount of time when the equipment is in a condition to perform its intended function, including productive, standby, and engineering time; does not include any portion of nonscheduled time.
Equipment utilization
the percentage of time the equipment is performing its intended function during a specified time period.
Equivalent Release Concentration (ERC)
in gas enclosure testing, the theoretical concentration of a process gas that would be measured outside an enclosure in the event of a process line failure. The ERC can be expressed as a percentage of the threshold limit value (TLV) or permissible exposure limit (PEL) of the process gas.
Ergonomics
the science that deals with adapting the work environment to the needs of the worker.
Error
a discrepancy between a computed, observed, or measured value or condition and the true, specified, or theoretically correct value or condition.
ESC
see electrostatic chuck.
ESD
ElectroStatic Discharge as its name implies is a static buildup of electrons that is then discharged. The magnitude of ESD can vary widely, but the duration of a pulse is usually very short. An ESD event can result in junction failure, contact damage, filamentation, oxide thermal damage, oxide breakdown, charge injection and fusing (opening) of interconnects. Today there are three types of accepted ESD models: the human body model, the charge device model, and the machine model. The root cause of ESD typically is improper handling. This can be augmented by low humidity, ungrounded equipment and poor device design. See EOS.
ESD
see electrostatic discharge.
Estimator
a program or operator which, when applied to a system or circuit representation, can obtain an estimate of some parameter or value, for example, power, speed, or manufacturing yield.
Etch
The process of removing material from a wafer (such as oxides or other thin films) by chemical, electrolytic or plasma (ion bombardment) means. Examples: nitride etch, oxide etch.
Etch 1
a category of lithographic processes that remove material from selected areas of a die. Examples are nitride etch and oxide etch. 2: in the manufacture of silicon wafers, a solution, a mixture of solutions, or a mixture of gases that attacks the surfaces of a film or substrate, removing material either selectively or nonselectively. [SEMI M1-94 and ASTM F1241] Also see anisotropic etch, preferential etch, dry plasma etch, reactive ion etch, and wet chemical etch.
Etch factor
in the etching of dual inline package (DIP) leadframes, the ratio of etched depth to lateral etching during the production of etched metal leadframes. [SEMI G19-84] Also see compensation and undercut.
Etch pilots
test wafers for etch.
Etch pit
a pit, resulting from preferential etching, localized on the surface of a wafer at a crystal defect or stressed region.
Etchant
an acid or base (in either liquid or gaseous state) used to remove unprotected areas of a wafer layer. Examples are potassium hydroxide, buffered oxide etch, and sulfur hexafluoride.
Etched leadframe
leadframes produced by masking and etching the exposed metal in an acidic bath. Also see compensation, etch factor, undercut, and mismatch.
Etched metal mask
see mask, etched metal.
Etched polysilicon
polysilicon that has been cleaned with acid to remove surface contamination. [SEMI M16-89] Also see polycrystalline silicon.
Eth
see sensitivity, threshold energy.
Eutectic
alloy or solution with components distributed in the proportions necessary to minimize the melting point. Also see azeotrope.
Evaluative line pattern
in the measurement of photolithographic instruments, a pattern in the image constructed of three to five straight parallel lines, such that the lines are oriented at some specified angle with respect to the standard coordinates, their width is equal to the practical resolution, and their pitch is twice the practical resolution.
Evaporation
an operation that uses heat and vacuum to remove a material from a source and deposit it on a surface. The deposition step of an evaporation operation is condensation.
Evaporator
a high-vacuum apparatus for evaporating materials.
EVC
see equilibrium vapor concentration.
Event
1: in equipment communications, a detectable occurrence significant to the equipment. 2: in equipment communications, the occurrence of a change in the condition of a system, such as lot complete or temperature over range. Also see alarm.
Exception agent
the entity that manages access to and reporting of information on abnormal situations in equipment. It achieves this by defining exception conditions, each related to a significant abnormal situation. It may provide services for a decision authority to direct the recovery from certain situations.
Exception condition
a condition managed by an exception agent for reporting of and recovery from an abnormal situation in the equipment.
Excess flow control
a fail-safe system designed to shut off flow caused by a rupture in the pressurized piping systems.
Excess Flow Valve (EFV)
a valve inserted in a supply line designed to shut off the flow positively in the event its predetermined flow is exceeded.
Excessive leakage
in the seal testing of fluorocarbon tube fittings, gas leakage from a fitting connection that produces more bubbles than can be humanly counted.
Excimer laser
a laser containing a noble gas, such as helium or neon, that is based on a transition between an excited state and a rapidly dissociating ground state.
Exclusion zone
a restricted area within a process or cassette module reserved for access by the transport module end effector during wafer handling.
Expansion characteristics
of molding compounds, see coefficient of thermal expansion and glass transition temperature.
Expansion slot
a slot cut into the metal bars between individual frames of a leadframe strip in order to prevent pitch variations between the frames due to molding compound shrinkage. Pitch variations from frame to frame along the strip cause alignment problems for subsequent lead trim tooling.
Expected block
a message block expected by the message protocol. NOTE-In order to determine if a block is one of those expected, the block header information is compared with the header information in a list of expected blocks.
Expert system
a software system capable of solving problems using heuristic techniques.
Exposure
1: the process of subjecting a photosensitive material to light or other radiant energy. 2: the amount of light or other radiant energy received per unit area of sensitized material.
Exposure field
the area of a wafer covered by a single exposure.
Extended Light Scatterer (XLS)
a feature larger than the spatial resolution of the inspection equipment, on or in a wafer surface, resulting in increased light scattering intensity relative to that of the surrounding wafer surface. Also called area defect.
External lead
the sections of a leadframe that connect the finished device to external circuitry such as a printed circuit board. Contrast internal lead.
Extractables
contaminants, removable by solvent action using a special solvent and procedure. Typically, extractables are nonparticulate (as in a polymer tube) or nonfibrous (as in textiles). Examples are plasticizers, oils, and resins.
Extraction
the generation of a set of values for desired parameters based on the analysis of a design representation. For example, the generation of a transistor net list or a set of parasitic capacitances and resistances from the detailed layout representation of an integrated circuit.
Extremely Low Frequency (ELF)
extremely low frequency magnetic fields, of about 1 Hz to 1 kHz, generated by current flow, most commonly 60 Hz in the U.S. and 50 Hz in Europe, within equipment and facilities. Also see ELF-sensitive equipment.
Extrinsic semiconductor
a semiconductor in which the free carriers are predominantly of one type. Extrinsic semiconductors in which electrons are the dominant (majority) carrier are n-type, and extrinsic semiconductors in which holes are the dominant (majority) carrier are p-type. Contrast intrinsic semiconductor. Also see conductivity type.
Eyepiece
in an optical instrument, the lens system used for magnification of the image formed by the objective.
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