What is a Wafer? - Understanding the Base Material for Electronic Devices

Wafer is a thin slice of semiconducting material, typically silicon, used as the base material for fabricating integrated circuits and other electronic devices. The wafer is made from a crystalline ingot that has been grown in a special furnace, and it is then sliced into thin layers using a diamond-edged saw.
The wafer is then subjected to various processing steps such as doping, etching, and layer deposition to create the desired electronic components. Once the processing is complete, the individual chips are cut out of the wafer using a specialized tool called a photolithography machine.
Wafers are used in a wide range of applications, including microprocessors, memory chips, and other types of integrated circuits. They are also used in the production of flat panel displays, such as LCDs and OLEDs.
The size of wafers can vary depending on their intended use, but the most common size for semiconductor wafers is 300mm (12 inches) in diameter. This size allows for the maximum number of chips to be produced from a single wafer, making it more cost-effective and efficient.
In summary, wafers are thin slices of semiconducting material that serve as the base material for fabricating integrated circuits and other electronic devices. They are used in a wide range of applications and come in various sizes depending on their intended use.