wafer
/ˈweɪfər/
a thin, circular disc of semiconductor material (typically silicon) on which integrated circuits are fabricated
wafer in a sentence
“Each 300mm wafer can yield hundreds of individual chips.”
Origin of wafer
Middle Dutch wafer honeycomb, from the grid-like pattern of dies
Related Words
die
a single chip cut from a wafer; the individual integrated circuit before packaging
lithography
the process of printing microscopic circuit patterns onto silicon using light or other radiation
doping
introducing controlled impurities into a semiconductor to alter its electrical properties
process node
a generation of chip manufacturing technology, historically named for its smallest feature size in nanometers
yield
the percentage of functional dies on a wafer; a key measure of manufacturing efficiency and profitability
tape-out
the final step of chip design, when the completed layout is sent to a foundry for manufacturing