ETYM Old Eng. wafre, Old Fren. waufre, qaufre, French qaufre.
1. A small thin crisp cake or cookie.
2. Thin disk of unleavened bread used in a religious service (especially in the celebration of the Eucharist).
3. A small adhesive disk of paste; used to seal letters.
1. Galette.
2. Porcelaine.
Round disc of pure silicon that is used in manufacturing integrated circuits.
A thin, flat piece of semiconductor crystal used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Various etching, doping, and layering techniques are used to create the circuit components on the surface of the wafer. Usually multiple identical circuits are formed on a single wafer, which is then cut into sections. Each integrated circuit then has leads attached and is packaged in a holder. See also integrated circuit, semiconductor.
In microelectronics, a “superchip” some 8–10 cm/3–4 in in diameter, for which wafer-scale integration (WSI) is used to link the equivalent of many individual silicon chips, improving reliability, speed, and cooling.
1. To seal, close, or fasten with a wafer
2. To divide (as a silicon rod) into wafers