Researched
Planar Process
Jean Hoerni's planar process (1959) keeps the oxide layer on the wafer as a shield and builds transistors layer by layer, from one side.
Open in the interactive tree →Hoerni at Fairchild made flat, stable transistors by oxide masking, photolithography and diffusion. Robert Noyce used the process for the monolithic integrated circuit, and it is still the basis of chip manufacturing.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
- Integrated Circuit1958-1959Noyce's monolithic IC was built with the planar process
- MOSFET and CMOS chips1959MOS transistors are made with planar oxide masking and diffusion
- Moore's Law1965Moore's law describes cost and density of planar-process chips
- Projection Aligner (Micralign)1973
- Foundry Model (TSMC)1987