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Katherine Derbyshire

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Katherine Derbyshire is a technical editor at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Introduction To Quantum Computing
By Katherine Derbyshire - 28 Apr, 2014 - Comments: 2

Quantum computing has attracted a lot of attention lately. Recent revelations about the extent of the U.S. National Security Agency’s data collection programs, along with several large-scale corporate data breaches, have called attention to the need for secure communications. Quantum computing has potentially far-reaching implications for data security, both reducing the effectiveness of conv... » read more

Challenges In 3D Resists
By Katherine Derbyshire - 24 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 2

3D integration straddles the line between CMOS fabs and packaging and assembly houses. Depending on the structure being fabricated, the most appropriate process might be more “CMOS-like” or more “package-like.” For example, in CMOS fabs lithography means spin-on photoresist, exposed by a high precision stepper. Inherent in this approach is an assumption that the wafer surface is flat... » read more

New Challenges For Post-Silicon Channel Materials
By Katherine Derbyshire - 21 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 1

In order to bring alternative channel materials into the CMOS mainstream, manufacturers need not just individual transistor devices, but fully manufacturable process flows. Work presented at the recent IEEE Electron Device Meeting (Washington, D.C., Dec. 9-11, 2013) showed that substantial work remains to be done on almost all aspects of such a flow. First and most fundamentally, it is diffi... » read more

The List Of Unknowns Grows After Silicon
By Katherine Derbyshire - 07 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 3

As discussed earlier in this series, most proposed alternative channel schemes depend on germanium channels for pMOS transistors, and InGaAs channels for nMOS transistors. Of the two materials, InGaAs poses by far the more difficult integration challenges. Germanium has been present in advanced silicon CMOS fabs for several technology generations, having been introduced used in strained silicon... » read more

Germanium wedge-FETs pry away misfit dislocations
By Katherine Derbyshire - 23 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 1

Any approach to alternative channel integration must consider the lattice mismatch between silicon and other channel materials. Some schemes, such as IMEC’s selective epitaxy, view the lattice mismatch as an obstacle and look for ways to minimize its effects. This point of view certainly has merit: misfit dislocations do significantly degrade transistor performance. Still, back in 2011 Shu-Ha... » read more

What’s After Silicon?
By Katherine Derbyshire - 09 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 4

As discussed in the first article in this series, germanium is one of the leading candidates to succeed silicon as the channel material for advanced transistors, and has been for several years. The fundamental challenges of germanium integration were detailed at length in 2007. Unfortunately, knowing what the issues are does not necessarily lead to a solution. When a MOSFET transistor turns ... » read more

Alternative Channel Materials For Post-Silicon FinFETs
By Katherine Derbyshire - 16 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 4

At first glance, other semiconductors always have looked more attractive to device designers than silicon. Both germanium and III-V compound semiconductors have higher carrier mobility, allowing faster switching at the same device size. And yet, as manufacturers begin to consider alternative channel materials for sub-10nm devices, the industry is remembering why silicon became a standard in ... » read more

Phosphors Turn Blue LED Lights White
By Katherine Derbyshire - 18 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 0

LEDs inherently produce monochromatic light. An excited electron decays back to the ground state, releasing its energy in the form of a photon. The wavelength of this photon is defined by the band structure of the semiconductors used to make the LED. While monochromatic light is fine for indicator lights, most display and general lighting applications use white light. Not only is white light... » read more

What Color Is That LED?
By Katherine Derbyshire - 11 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 0

As I discovered while researching an upcoming article on phosphors for LED lighting, the question turns out to be surprisingly difficult to answer. Measuring the spectrum of a light source is straightforward, but determining how that spectrum will be perceived by the human eye is more challenging. Under medium and high brightness conditions, the color perceived by the brain will depend on s... » read more

The Upside Of Through-Silicon Vias
By Katherine Derbyshire - 17 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Through-silicon vias (TSVs) for 3D integration are superficially similar to damascene copper interconnects for integrated circuits. Both etch the via, into either silicon or a dielectric, line it with a barrier against copper diffusion, then deposit a seed layer prior to filling the via with copper using some form of aqueous deposition. In both processes, the integrity of the diffusion barrier ... » read more

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