Bits on Chips

“Microelectronics for everyone” . With this opening line in his foreword, Dr. Gilbert Declerck, former CEO of IMEC, clearly characterises the target audience and subject of this book. The creation of this book was triggered by the request that the author got several years ago to give a presentation on integrated circuits (chips) for a non-technical audience. It is therefore targeted at anybody who is curious about chips: from individuals with only a little or almost no technical background to professional engineers working in one of the semiconductor disciplines. The unique structure of the book makes it a ‘musthave’ as well as a ‘wannahave’ for every person interested in microelectronics. It contains two parts. PART1 is particularly targeted at the less technically skilled readers. They include individuals who work in non-technical disciplines of semiconductors, such as management, marketing and sales or software development, who need an understanding of their complexity, operation, possibilities and limitations to better communicate with their technical contacts in the field. It discusses the background of integrated circuits and presents various chip applications as well as a summary of the steps to design and fabricate a chip. PART2 presents a deeper insight into the various microelectronics disciplines that are required to develop a completely functional chip. Besides a discussion on the on-chip circuits, it also treats the basics of lithography, process technology, chip performance, yield, testing, failure analysis and packaging. It concludes with a chapter on the road blocks for further scaling and presents alternatives on what’s next. This part is written in an explanatory format, which makes it perfectly suited for engineers working in one of the semiconductor disciplines who want to broaden their semiconductor horizon. Much of it is also digestible by people with only little technical background. The text is carefully structured and enriched by hundreds of colour figures and photographs, which makes this hardcover book a pleasure to read, a treasure to have as well as a joy to give.