Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the key areas of industry. Integrated circuits based on semiconductors are the foundation of most devices – household appliances, audio/video equipment, telephones, cars and, finally, computers and smartphones. The industries that manufacture these goods require the use of semiconductors and integrated circuits based on them. Although the production of these components is associated with the micro scale (it is not without reason that we talk about ‘microcomputers’), it would not be possible without numerical control (associated with the ‘macro’ scale). Also, on a macro scale, traditional machining remains an irreplaceable technology that allows for the efficient production of large quantities of repetitive components, without which chips would be useless. To better understand these relationships, it is worth understanding the development of the silicon industry itself.
When talking about the semiconductor industry, most people think of micro and nano scales, which correspond to the architecture used in modern integrated circuits. However, this industry requires many more components, the production of which would be a huge challenge without CNC technology.
Among the most important applications of more ‘traditional sizes’ of CNC machining, without which the semiconductor industry could not function, it is worth mentioning:
1. Almost every integrated circuit needs a base that must be cut with high precision (for assembly compatibility) – properly calibrated CNC machine tools ensure high quality and dimensional repeatability.
2. The machine park used to manufacture integrated circuits must also be manufactured with the appropriate tolerances, whether for operational efficiency or ease of replacement. CNC machining is indispensable in these applications (this is particularly evident in services for the robotics sector).
3. Larger housing components, also made of plastics and non-conductive materials (or non-conductive materials such as anodised aluminium). Their production using numerically controlled equipment (hydraulic presses, CNC milling machines or lathes) is fast and can even be carried out on demand.
These are just a few examples of areas where more ‘traditional’ numerical cutting services support both the development and ongoing production of the semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor industry is a broad collection of companies and subcontractors focused on the development and production of semiconductor components (most often based on silicon). It is estimated that it is one of the largest industries in the world – the estimated total value of production of companies directly and indirectly related to this industry is around half a trillion dollars per year (approx. $601 billion in 2022) for an estimated 1.15 trillion circuits (data for 2021).
Semiconductor manufacturing is the basis for the production of a wide range of devices containing integrated circuits – to simplify, it can be said that apart from strictly ‘analogue’ objects, smaller and larger electronic circuits are found in practically every device. The industry crystallised in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when demand for compact computing devices grew and technology enabled their precise manufacture. Since then, these components have been used in almost every device, large or small.
The basic raw material for this industry remains silicon, a well-known semi-metal used in crystalline form for the production of semiconductors. It is worth noting that this industry uses, among other things, high-purity silicon obtained through zone melting.
It is from this semi-metal that the name Silicon Valley, a region in the US state of California, where the first high-tech companies based their products on semiconductors, was derived. According to many, it is the cradle of electronics as we know it today.
The first computers were based on sets of lamps and capacitors, which could be manufactured using solutions and tools known in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the huge technological leap, their production was based on solutions that had been known for decades.
Milling machines and automatic lathes (manually controlled) ensured relatively high operating speeds and sufficient precision. However, conceptual work on the first computers raised the requirements for component manufacturing precision.
In the 1950s, somewhat in parallel, numerical control (NC) technology was developed for the production of precision components for American military aircraft. It quickly found application in many industries, including the semiconductor industry. The first numerically controlled machines used commonly used punch cards to record and execute commands during automated milling or turning.
The precision provided by such machine tools quickly became established in the semiconductor industry, which needed the key advantages of NC technology for its development:
Importantly, the development of semiconductors led to the addition of ‘C’ to ‘NC’, meaning ‘computerised’ (from computerised numerical control).
Thanks to the development of microcomputers (i.e. much smaller devices with increasing computing power), it became possible to manufacture even more complex microprocessors, which in turn allowed CNC machines to execute computer programs with even greater precision. As with 3D printing and artificial intelligence in numerical control, the development of computer control took place (and continues to take place) almost in parallel with other industries.
Today, semiconductor manufacturers could not do without numerical control technology – devices that enable the production of large numbers of components with dimensions measured in nanometres.
The solutions used in the machine parks of companies producing microprocessors or RAM chips are intertwined with those used on a daily basis in companies involved in CNC machining.
At RADMOT, we offer CNC milling services, CNC turning services, as well as many additional services, including washing, aluminum anodizing, laser marking and assembly. We have at your disposal over 80 modern machines in our machine park, all from renowned manufacturers. Download the presentation and check on which machine tools we produce CNC turned parts and CNC milled parts.
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