C2 · 37 words

Semiconductor technology

From sand to a switch: the words for the crystal, the junction and the clean room.

Die Sperrschicht is the thin zone at a junction from which the free charge carriers have drained away, and its first half is far older than any transistor. The verb sperren grew out of der Sparren, the rafter, a cousin of English « spar »: to sperren a gate was at first to bar it with a beam. The verb has since spread everywhere — a road is gesperrt, so is a lost bank card — but in this list it keeps its oldest picture. A diode sperrt when it is connected in Sperrrichtung, and what does the barring is the layer itself, which widens as the reverse voltage rises. The opposite is not a gate but a passage: die Durchlassrichtung, from durchlassen, to let through. Read the two words as a beam across the way and a way left open, and the diode explains itself.

The words

Verb (9)

dotierento dope (a semiconductor)VerbC2

Solange das Silizium nicht dotiert ist, leitet es den Strom kaum.Until the silicon has been doped, it barely conducts at all.

Participle dotiert, without ge-. Of a prize or a post: mit zehntausend Euro dotiert, worth ten thousand euros.

rekombinierento recombineVerbC2

Trifft ein freies Elektron auf ein Loch, rekombinieren die beiden, und die Energie wird als Wärme oder Licht frei.When a free electron meets a hole, the two recombine and the energy is released as heat or light.

Participle rekombiniert, without ge-.

durchschaltento switch fully on (of a transistor)VerbC2

Liegt am Gate genug Spannung an, schaltet der Transistor durch.Once there is enough voltage on the gate, the transistor switches fully on.

Separable: schaltet durch, hat durchgeschaltet. On the telephone: to put a caller through.

ätzento etchVerbC1

Wo kein Lack mehr schützt, wird das Oxid anschließend geätzt.Wherever no resist is left to protect it, the oxide is then etched away.

Participle geätzt. Of a chemical: ätzend, corrosive.

abscheidento deposit (a layer)VerbC2

Auf das Silizium wird eine dünne Schicht Siliziumnitrid abgeschieden.A thin layer of silicon nitride is deposited on the silicon.

Separable and strong: schied ab, abgeschieden. In chemistry also to precipitate.

sputternto sputter (a metal film)VerbC2

Die Aluminiumschicht für die Leiterbahnen wird gesputtert.The aluminium layer for the interconnects is sputtered on.

Participle gesputtert. The formal German term is die Kathodenzerstäubung.

ausheilento anneal out; to heal completelyVerbC2

Nach der Implantation wird der Wafer kurz erhitzt, damit die Schäden im Gitter ausheilen.After implantation the wafer is briefly heated so that the damage to the lattice anneals out.

Separable: heilt aus, ist ausgeheilt. In medicine, of a wound or an illness: to heal completely.

vereinzelnto dice (a wafer into chips)VerbC2

Erst nach dem Test wird der Wafer in einzelne Chips vereinzelt.Only after testing is the wafer diced into individual chips.

Participle vereinzelt, without ge-. As an adjective vereinzelt means isolated, occasional.

bondento wire-bondVerbC2

Mit hauchdünnen Golddrähten wird der Chip an die Anschlüsse des Gehäuses gebondet.The chip is bonded to the pins of its package with wires of gold as fine as a hair.

Participle gebondet. The wire is der Bonddraht.

This list belongs to Technology and the news — 45 lists and 1598 words that can also be practised as a whole.

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