Lithography Glossary

Written by Chris Mack
Brought to you by the creators of PROLITH

Wafer
A thin slice of semiconductor material on which semiconductor devices are made. Also called a slice or substrate.

Example: The switch to a larger wafer size has greatly improved the economics of semiconductor production.

Wafer Fab
The facility (building and equipment) in which semiconductor devices are fabricated. Also called a semiconductor fabrication facility.

Example: The cost of a new wafer fab is dominated by the cost of the semiconductor fabrication equipment.

Wavefront
Referring to the propagation of electromagnetic waves, any surface of constant phase.

Example: Aberrations can be defined as the deviation of the actual wavefront emerging from the lens from the ideal wavefront.