Electronic materials production

See also Electrical Engineering Electronic Materials Production Light-Emitting Diodes Nanotechnology. 

In 1960, the construction of the functional laser by American physicist and Nobel laureate Arthur Schawlow began the next phase in the development of semiconductor electronics, as the assembly of transistors on silicon substrates was still a tedious endeavor that greatly limited the size of transistor structures that could be constructed. As lasers became more powerful and more easily controlled, they were applied to the task of surface etching, an advance that has produced ever smaller transistor structures. This development has required ever more refined methods of producing silicon crystals from which thin wafers can be cut for the production of silicon semiconductor chips, the primary effort of electronic materials production (though by no means the most important). 

Electronic materials production is an entire industry unto itself. While the products of this industry are widely used throughout society, they are not used in the form in which they are produced. Rather, the products of the electronic materials industry become input supphes for further manufacturing processes. Silicon chips, for example, produced by any individual manufacturer, are used for in-house manufacturing or are marketed to other manufacturers, who, in turn, use the chips to produce their own particular products, such as ICs, solar cells, and microdevices. 

This intramural or business-to-business market aspect of the electronic materials production industry, with its novel research and development efforts and especially given the extent to which society now relies on information transfer and storage, makes ascribing an overall economic value to the industry impossible. One has only to consider the number of computing devices produced and sold each year around the world to get a sense of the potential value of the electronic materials production industry. 

Ancillary industries provide other materials used by the electronic materials production industry, many of which must themselves be classified as electronic materials. An electric materials company, for example, may provide polishing and surfacing materials, photovoltaic materials, specialty glasses, electronic packaging materials, and many others. 

Electronic materials production is a specialist field that requires interested students to take specialist training in many subject areas. For many such careers, a university degree in solid state physics or electronic engineering is required. For those who will specialize in the more general field of materials science, these subject areas will be included in the overall curriculum. Silicon technology and semiconductors are also primary subject areas. The fields of study listed here are considered prerequisites for specialist study in the field of electronic materials production, and students can expect to continue studies in these subjects as new aspects of the field develop. 

Fascinating Facts About Electronic Materials Production... 

Askeland, Donald R. The Science and Engineering of Materials. London Chapman Hall, 1998. A recommended resource, this book provides a great deal of fundamental background regarding the physical behavior of a wide variety of materials and processes that are relevant to electronic materials production. 

See also Applied Mathematics Applied Physics Computer Engineering Computer Science Electrochemistry Electronic Materials Production Electronics and Electronic Engineering Graphics Technologies Liquid Crystal Technology Nanotechnology Quality Control Surface and Interfece Science Transistor Technologies. 

See also Diffraction Analysis Electronic Materials Production Gemology and Ghrysology Land-Use Management Marine Mining Soil Science Steelmaking Technologies. 

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