2nd Edition

Silicon Earth Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition

By John D. Cressler Copyright 2016
    617 Pages 557 Color Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    617 Pages
    by CRC Press

    We are in the center of the most life-changing technological revolution the Earth has ever known. In little more than 65 years, an eye-blink in human history, a single technological invention has launched the proverbial thousand ships, producing the most sweeping and pervasive set of changes ever to wash over humankind; changes that are reshaping the very core of human existence, on a global scale, at a relentlessly accelerating pace. And we are just at the very beginning.

    Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology introduces readers with little or no technical background to the marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology, using straightforward language, an intuitive approach, minimal math, and lots of pictures. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are described, as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields, and civilization as a whole. Special "widget deconstruction" chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology, such as smartphones, flash drives, and digital cameras.

    Completely updated and upgraded to full color, the Second Edition:

    • Includes new material on the design of electronic systems, the future of electronics, and the societal impact of micro/nanotechnology
    • Provides new widget deconstructions of cutting-edge tech gadgets like the GPS-enabled smartwatch
    • Adds end-of-chapter study questions and hundreds of new color photos

    Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition is a pick-up-and-read-cover-to-cover book for those curious about the micro/nanoworld, as well as a classroom-tested, student-and-professor-approved text ideal for an undergraduate-level university course. Lecture slides, homework examples, a deconstruction project, and discussion threads are available via an author-maintained website.

    The Communications Revolution
    The Big Picture
    The Evolution of Human Communications
    Doomsday Scenarios
    Global Information Flow
    Evolutionary Trends: Moore’s Law
    Silicon: The Master Enabler
    Micro/Nanoelectronics at the State of the Art: Nanoscale CMOS
    A Parting Shot
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    A Matter of Scale
    The Tyranny of Numbers
    "Seeing" versus "Imaging" the Infinitesimal
    The Distance Scale of the Universe
    The Micro/Nanoelectronics Distance Scale
    The Time and Frequency Scales of Micro/Nanoelectronics
    The Temperature and Energy Scales of Micro/Nanoelectronics
    Seeing Is Believing?
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Innumerable Biographies: A Brief History of the Field
    What History Can Teach Us
    The Uniqueness of Microelectronics
    The Shoulders We Stand On: Some Giants of Electrical Engineering
    The Invention/Discovery of the Transistor
    Newsflash!
    How the West Was Won
    The Integrated Circuit
    Not Invented Here
    The Rest of the Story
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Widget Deconstruction #1: Smartphone
    With a Broad Brush
    Nuts and Bolts
    Where Are the Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Semiconductors: Lite!
    What Are Semiconductors?
    What Makes Semiconductors So Special?
    Types of Semiconductors
    Crystal Structure
    Energy Bands
    Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors
    Doping
    Drift and Diffusion Transport
    Carrier Drift
    Carrier Diffusion
    Generation and Recombination
    The Semiconductor Equations of State
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References

    Widget Deconstruction #2: USB Flash Drive
    With a Broad Brush
    Nuts and Bolts
    Hard Disk Drives
    RAM
    ROM
    Flash Memory
    Where Are Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Bricks and Mortar: Micro/Nanoelectronics Fabrication
    The IC Fabrication Facility (aka "the Cleanroom")
    Crystal Growth and Epitaxy
    Semiconductor Crystals
    Epitaxy
    Doping: Diffusion, Implantation, and Annealing
    Oxidation and Film Deposition
    Etching and Polishing
    Photolithography
    Metalization and Interconnects
    Building a Transistor
    IC Packaging: Wirebonds, Cans, DIPs, and Flip-Chips
    3D ICs, TSVs, and SoPs
    Reliability
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References

    Transistors: Lite!
    The Semiconductor Device Menagerie
    Why Are Transistors So Darn Useful?
    Loss
    Gain
    The pn Junction
    What Is It?
    How Does It Work?
    What Does It Do for You?
    The BJT
    What Is It?
    How Does It Work?
    What Does It Do for You?
    The MOSFET
    What Is It?
    How Does It Work?
    What Does It Do for You?
    X-Men Transistors
    HBTs
    HFETs
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    From Transistors to Circuits to Systems
    Building Circuits and Systems from Transistors
    IC Tape-Out: Machines Designing Machines
    Software
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References

    Microtools and Toys: MEMS, NEMS, and BioMEMS
    Micro-Intuition and the Science of Miniaturization
    MEMS Classifications
    A Grab Bag of MEMS Toys
    Micromachining Silicon
    Bulk Micromachining
    Surface Micromachining
    Cool App #1: MEMS Accelerometers
    Cool App #2: MEMS Micromirror Displays
    Cool App #3: BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-Chip
    So What Comes Next?
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Widget Deconstruction #3: GPS
    With a Broad Brush
    A Brief History of GPS
    Nuts and Bolts
    Where Are the Integrated Circuits and What Do They Do?
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Let There Be Light: The Bright World of Photonics
    Let There Be Light!
    Spectral Windows
    Getting Light In and Out of Semiconductors
    Optical Absorption
    Optical Emission
    Direct versus Indirect Bandgap Materials
    Photodetectors and Solar Cells
    Photodetectors
    Solar Cells
    CCD Imagers, CMOS Imagers, and the Digital Camera
    CCD Imagers
    CCD versus CMOS Imagers
    LEDs, Laser Diodes, and Fiber Optics
    LEDs
    Semiconductor Laser Diodes
    Optical Gain
    Feedback
    Laser Perks, Drawbacks, and Future Directions
    Fiber Optics
    CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    The Future of Electronics
    Darwinian Evolution in Micro/Nanoelectronics, and the End of the Silicon Road
    Carbon Engineering: Buckyballs, Nanotubes, and Graphene
    Forsaking Group IV: Zinc Oxide and Black Phosphorus
    Bend and Flex: The World of Organics
    Ferroelectric Memory, Memristors, Phase Change Memory, and Spintronics
    Quantum Computing
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References

    The Nanoworld: Fact and Fiction
    Nanotech
    Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say: Nanotech Definitions
    Emerging Nanoapps and Humans 2.0
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References and Notes

    Societal Impact
    The Internet
    e-Addictions
    Computer Gaming
    Genomics
    e-Education
    Social Media
    e-Politics
    Environmental Impact
    e-Books and Libraries
    A Grab Bag of Issues
    Time Out: Gut Check on Your Comprehension
    References

    Appendix A: Properties of Silicon

    Appendix B: Some Basic Concepts from Physics and Electrical Engineering

    Appendix C: A Grab-Bag Glossary of Useful Techno-Geek Terms and Acronyms

    Biography

    John D. Cressler earned his BS from Georgia Tech in 1984 and his PhD from Columbia University in 1990. From 1984 to 1992, he was on the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and from 1992 to 2002 he served on the faculty at Auburn University. An IEEE fellow, he joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2002, and is currently Schlumberger Chair Professor in Electronics in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Cressler has published a number of nonfiction and historical fiction books. Together with his students, he has published more than 700 scientific papers. He has received the 2010 Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award (Georgia Tech’s top teaching award), 2011 IEEE Leon Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award (the IEEE’s top graduate teaching award), and Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award (the highest honor Georgia Tech bestows on its faculty).

    "Silicon Earth tells one of the most compelling stories of our time; how the sand on the beach, a common plaything for children, is the building block for the advanced technological hardware that enriches our daily lives. Dr. John Cressler chronicles the advancements of the transistor from its humble beginnings to modern day, where it is arguably the single most important device in modern society. This text is filled with exciting and relevant examples of everyday technology and delves into their inner workings. The book is written more as a novel than a textbook and is engaging to the reader to learn not only about where we’ve been technologically, but also about where we might go."
    —Joel Andrews, Ph.D., Garmin International

    Praise for the Previous Edition

    "In this unique book, Cressler, … displaying his immense and diverse knowledge, demystifies the overwhelming concepts of microelectronics. … Summing up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers."
    —M.S. Roden, emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles, USA, from CHOICE, February 2010

    "… provides a concise, easy-to-follow, step-by-step discussion of the evolutionary history of silicon-based electronics, microelectromechanical structures (MEMS), and nanotechnology, as well as their impact on our lives. … This book is a comprehensive yet thrilling and invigorating, simple-to-read text that is well on its way to becoming a classic. … The book reduces highly abstract, technical, and mathematical topics foundational to the frontiers of silicon into a thrilling tale of pioneering history with very simple mathematics in an easy-to-understand and readable style. Graphically decorated with pictures and stories from the greatest science fiction movies (e.g., Terminator and Fantastic Voyage), the book helps the reader visualize the fundamental principles of electrical engineering and nanotechnology."
    —Mohammad Mojarradi and Benjamin Blalock, from IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine, September 2010