Die (integrated circuit)

<h2 id="manufacturing-process">Manufacturing process</h2>
<p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Semiconductor_device_fabrication/Jd23Mu1z">Semiconductor device fabrication</a></p>
<p>Most dies are composed of silicon and used for integrated circuits. The process begins with the production of <a href="/facts/Single_crystal/UMG5pFp9">monocrystalline</a> silicon <a href="/facts/Ingot/j7kzdag2">ingots</a>. These ingots are then sliced into disks with a diameter of up to 300 mm.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<p>These wafers are then polished to a mirror finish before going through <a href="/facts/Photolithography/FTHsauvy">photolithography</a>. In many steps the transistors are manufactured and connected with metal interconnect layers. These prepared wafers then go through <a href="/facts/Wafer_testing/6e5dmtds">wafer testing</a> to test their functionality. The wafers are then sliced and sorted to filter out the faulty dies. Functional dies are then <a href="/facts/Integrated_circuit_packaging/Y52WABfR">packaged</a> and the completed integrated circuit is ready to be shipped.
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<h2 id="uses">Uses</h2>
<p>A die can host many types of circuits. One common use case of an integrated circuit die is in the form of a <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">central processing unit</a> (CPU). Through advances in modern technology, the size of the <a href="/facts/Transistor/Bmr8zwL0">transistor</a> within the die has shrunk exponentially, following <a href="/facts/Moore%2527s_law/90CSekhl">Moore's law</a>. Other uses for dies can range from <a href="/facts/LED/gE8x4MDb">LED</a> lighting to <a href="/facts/Power_semiconductor_device/5c22S6E6">power semiconductor devices</a>.
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<h2 id="images">Images</h2>
<p>Images of dies are commonly called <a href="/facts/Die_shot/qjFge8AI">die shots</a>.
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Die_preparation/sSQQSrwD">Die preparation</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Integrated_circuit_design/sE0qVzyo">Integrated circuit design</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Wire_bonding/e0qvKlGv">Wire bonding</a> and <a href="/facts/Ball_bonding/1U2Uvkno">ball bonding</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOEQodkBrY">Wedge Bonding Process</a> on <a href="/facts/YouTube_video_(identifier)/db276jst">YouTube</a> – animation</li></ul>
<ul>
<li>Electronics portal</li></ul>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Integrated circuit dies.

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>John E. Ayers (2004). Digital Integrated Circuits. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1951-X. Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. <a href="0-8493-1951-X" target="_blank">0-8493-1951-X</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Robert Allen Meyers (2000). Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-226930-6. <a href="0-12-226930-6" target="_blank">0-12-226930-6</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>From Sand to Silicon “Making of a Chip” | Intel. (YouTube video, streamed on Nov 6, 2009)
 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5paWn7bFg4" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5paWn7bFg4</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>From Sand to Silicon “Making of a Chip” Illustrations. (n.d.)
 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150816080137/http://download.intel.com/pressroom/kits/chipmaking/Making_of_a_Chip.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150816080137/http://download.intel.com/pressroom/kits/chipmaking/Making_of_a_Chip.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Die (integrated circuit) open-in-new

Die (integrated circuit)