There has been a major thrust throughout the semiconductor industry to establish the capability to process Very Large Scale (VLSIC) and Ultra Large Scale (ULSIC) Integrated Circuits, as well as Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC). The goals of these integrated circuits are a natural evolution of current IC technology since the number of devices on a simple IC have nearly doubled every year for the past two decades.

This handbook is a broad review of semiconductor materials and process technology, with emphasis on very large-scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large scale integration (ULSI). The technology of integrated circuit (IC) processing is expanding so rapidly that it can be difficult for the scientist working in one area to keep abreast of developments in other areas of the field. This handbook solves this problem by bringing together “snapshots” of the various aspects of the technology.