Question

How will be the initial artwork done for a normal IC?

(a) Smaller than the final dimension of chip

(b) Same as that of final dimension of chip

(c) Larger than the final dimension of chip

(d) None of the mentioned

The question was posed to me during an internship interview.

This interesting question is from Basic Planar Process topic in chapter IC Fabrication of Linear Integrated Circuits

Answer 1

Accurate choice is (c) Larger than the final dimension of chip

Paint a vivid picture of understanding with: The initial artwork of an IC is done at a scale several hundred times longer than the final dimensions. This is because for a tiny chip, larger the artwork, more accurate is the final mask.