Contamination-free Manufacturing for Semiconductors and Other Precision Products

Contamination-free Manufacturing for Semiconductors and Other Precision Products

Contamination-free Manufacturing for Semiconductors and Other Precision Products

Edited by Robert Donovan, L&M Technologies, Inc., NMMarcel Sekker, Inc., NYISBN: 0 8247 0380 4448 + x pages, 183 figures, 56 tables, 423 chapter references, 266 bibliography references in 10 sections$165Keywords: Semiconductors, Manufacturing

This book is physically well produced in a hardback form with a laminated glossy cover (see Plate 1) that unfortunately has a tendency to warp. As befits a reference book, the binding is robust. The printing is easy to read, on a lightweight matt paper, which is sufficiently opaque, so that the printing on the verso is not distracting.

Plate 1 Book cover

The 13 contributors to this book are all highly qualified, most of them with a PhD, representing exclusively US technology. This is not a criticism but a simple statement of fact.

From the title, one might gain the impression that it is not relevant to our industry. This is partially so but the boundary between the requirements of the semiconductor industry and the electronics packaging industry is getting narrower with chip-on-board technologies and high-density interconnection structures.

The general level of treatment of the subject within this book is high. I would like to point out that this book will be of no use to anyone wishing to find out what equipment to purchase in order to achieve the desired results. There are no photographs of equipment – in fact, there are mercifully very few photographs altogether, most of the nearly 200 illustrations being line drawings or graphs. Mercifully, because the quality of the photographic reproduction is often mediocre.

As with all books where each chapter is written by different authors, there are differences of style, units and terminology. It would require a very diligent editor and co-operation of the authors for this to be eliminated. In this particular case, the differences are not too significant but I did find that some authors were very fond of using abbreviations and I feel that a glossary would have been a useful adjunct. While in the negative points department, the index is somewhat insufficient for a work of this nature.

The strength of this book is in its handling of both molecular and particulate contaminants, with equal emphasis. In this sense, the book is extremely complete.

The question remains as to whether this book is useful to the electronics assembly industry. If you are dealing with chip-on-board, then the answer must surely be positive. If you are manufacturing or using HDIS circuitry, then, I believe, that there is much in it that will justify its price.

Brian EllisMosfiloti, Cyprusb_ellis@protonique.com