Smart Cut
Encyclopedia
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
from the rest of the silicon wafer; an ultra-thin silicon film is transferred to a mechanical support, thereby introducing an intermediate, insulating layer. Semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
manufacturers can then fabricate integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s on the top layer of the SOI wafers using the same processes they would use on plain silicon wafers. The wafers are then cut up and the chips packaged for mounting on the cards that are integrated into electronic systems such as personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s. The Smart Cut process for thin films was developed and is patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed by Kris V. Srikrishnan from Wappingers Fall, New York..
Please refer to the diagram for specifics on what is actually involved in smart cut, beyond the benefits and applications described above.