Springer Handbook of Semiconductor Devices
Interview with Massimo Rudan, Rossella Brunetti and Susanna Reggiani
The Springer Handbook of Semiconductor Devices comprehensively covers the topic of semiconductor devices, embracing all aspects from theoretical background to fabrication, modeling, and applications. In this interview the Editors, Massimo Rudan, Rossella Brunetti and Susanna Reggiani, discuss the relevance of the topic, their experience editing a book, and working on a book during the global pandemic.
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Semiconductor industry has transformed the world ever since the first transistor was built 7 decades ago. Why is ‘Semiconductor Devices’ still a hot topic?
Years 2022-2023 mark the 75th anniversary of the point-contact transistor (Nov. 1947) and junction transistor (Jan. 1948), both made of a semiconductor material and meant to replace the vacuum tube. It may seem that after so many years the topic ‘Semiconductor Devices’ should have cooled down; however, this is not so: the effort to device downsizing will continue for several years from now; then, device density will continue to increase thanks to 3D architectures. Also, it will be necessary to identify the most promising architectures for artificial-intelligence and quantum-computing applications. Furthermore, the search for new semiconductor materials, easily adaptable to conventional device and circuit architectures and extending the electrical potentialities of conventional semiconductors, is still open.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in the field?
The integrated circuits based on the MOS concept were introduced at the end of the 1960. An extraordinary development in the device technology and applications soon ensued. From the viewpoint of a research activity, the field of semiconductor materials and devices was, and still is, very attractive thanks to the unique blend of physical issues it presents, along with the need of identifying the mathematical methods that are necessary to describe the material and device behavior, and of the wide spectrum of applications.
What, in your opinion, has been the most significant advancement of the recent (last 10) years in this field and why? And, what do you think will be the biggest challenge for the years to come?
Micro-/nano-electronics has been the biggest revolution after the invention of electronics in the early 1900s; without it, today’s smart society whose explosion we have been witnessing in the last ten years would not exist: no Internet, no smart phones based on nano-metric CMOS VLSI with many-megapixel cameras, no augmented reality providing next-generation human-machine interface, no possibility of developing the quantum-computing technology.
Quoting K. Kim, “The Smallest Engine Transforming Humanity: The Past, Present, and Future”, 2021 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), the cost-per-performance of semiconductor devices will keep decreasing until the 2-nm node and beyond; on the other hand, important challenges due to downsizing are also to be faced, among which are: augmented heat generation over the chip, higher production costs, line-resistance increase, reliability degradation (H. Iwai, “Impact, History and Future of nano-electronics”, IEEE EDS DL, Berlin, 2022). Another strong challenge for the years to come is probably related to environmental sustainability of semiconductor-based products, both in terms of production and disposal/reuse of materials and components. Another very up-to-date issue is the need of a careful analysis of semiconductor material/technology availability and of their trade flow worldwide, to protect societal welfare, prevent interconnectivity bottlenecks due to unpredictable political scenarios, and support the future investment policies in research and technology.
How would you describe the experience of editing the book? Was there a personal highlight?
The experience with the Springer staff has always been smooth and pleasant. We were patiently trained in the use of the powerful Meteor platform, and constantly assisted and supported with useful technical information and suggestions, both by frequent email contacts and periodic meetings, from the early stage of Author enrollment to the final production stage. As for the Authors it happened that we, as Editors, were in many cases acquainted with them thanks to the participation in common projects, technical meetings, and scientific collaboration. This made it possible to find a number of qualified colleagues who accepted to Author a chapter; nevertheless, building up the Handbook’s architecture has been a complex endeavor: in a number of cases the colleagues who were initially addressed had to decline because the task could not fit their schedule. In the period devoted to the preparation of the manuscripts, the relation with the Authors has been smooth in the majority of cases; in a small number of instances there have been issues related to the excessive length or bad formatting of the manuscript, or to the necessity of rephrasing portions of it: they have been solved on a case-by-case basis. As Editors we were required to implement different communication strategies in personal relations with some Authors to keep them interested and concentrated on their contribution to the Handbook and, furthermore, to reinforce their confidence of being able to fulfill all the requirements by the Publisher and to fit the planned schedule. This was the main personal highlight we can report from our experience with this exhaustive and complex Handbook.
For whom is this book a “must-read”?
This Springer Handbook comprehensively covers the topic of semiconductor devices, embracing all aspects from theoretical background to fabrication, modeling, and applications. The Handbook’s contents are conceived for professionals and practitioners, material scientists, physicists and electrical engineers working at universities, industrial R&D, and manufacturers. Since most of the chapters are self-contained and offer an almost exhaustive and up-to-date review of the recent scientific literature and technological achievements, not only senior scientists, and experienced technologists, but also master and PhD students, and young post-docs can profitably increase their knowledge on specific topics.
Final question: Part of the book was developed during the pandemic. What was your experience working from a ‘whole different world’?
Since the Authors of the Handbook are spread worldwide, most of the interactions would have been carried out by electronic mail or by meetings at distance anyway. This activity was not affected by the COVID pandemic at all. On the contrary, the development of powerful and very efficient communication platforms made this kind of interactions easier. However, because of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic (which started shortly after the beginning of the work on the Handbook), scientific meetings in presence were not possible for quite a long time and we could not keep the interest of the Authors on their chapters well alive by personal contacts within stimulating scientific environments. This has undoubtedly produced some delay in the work.
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