tag: TEL

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
By Gregory Haley - 26 May, 2023 - Comments: 1

The Cyberspace Administration of China recommended a ban of Micron chips for critical information infrastructure (CII), alleging serious network security risks. According to a statement from China's Network Security Review Office, "Micron's products have relatively serious potential network security issues, which pose a major security risk to [China's] critical information infrastructure supply... » read more

Etch Processes Push Toward Higher Selectivity, Cost Control
By Laura Peters - 18 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

Plasma etching is perhaps the most essential process in semiconductor manufacturing, and possibly the most complex of all fab operations next to photolithography. Nearly half of all fab steps rely on a plasma, an energetic ionized gas, to do their work. Despite ever-shrinking transistor and memory cells, engineers continue to deliver reliable etch processes. “To sustainably create chips... » read more

Reflections On Photomask Japan 2023: Embracing The Era Of Curvilinear Masks
By Seiji Nagahara - 18 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

In April, 2023, I had the privilege of participating in Photomask Japan 2023 (PMJ2023), a web conference that brought together experts and enthusiasts in the field. The conference commenced with an enlightening keynote talk by Dr. Kurt Ronse of imec on the status and challenges of the high NA EUV ecosystem, presenting roadmaps for the introduction of high NA EUV. I would like to express my grat... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
By Gregory Haley - 12 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

Global semiconductor sales reached $574 billion in 2022, and U.S. semiconductor companies accounted for sales totaling $275 billion, or 48% of the global market, according to the 2023 Factbook released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). DRAM and NAND prices likely will continue to fall further this quarter because production cuts have not kept pace with weakening demand, accord... » read more

Assist Layers: The Unsung Heroes of EUV Lithography
By Katherine Derbyshire - 20 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

Most discussions of advanced lithography focus on three elements — the exposure system, photomasks, and photoresists — but that's only part of the challenge. Successfully transferring a pattern from the photomask to a physical structure on the wafer also depends on a variety of films working together, including the underlayers, the developers, and a variety of surface treatments. In fact... » read more

Big Changes Ahead In Power Delivery, Materials, And Interconnects
By Laura Peters - 22 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 0

Part one of this forecast looked at evolving transistor architectures and lithography platforms. This report examines revolutions in interconnects and packaging. When it comes to device interconnects, it’s hard to beat copper. Its low resistivity and high reliability have served the industry exceedingly well as both on-chip interconnect and wires between chips. But in logic chips, with int... » read more

Tech Forecast: Fab Processes To Watch Through 2040
By Laura Peters - 16 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 0

The massive proliferation of semiconductors in more markets, and more applications within those markets, is expected to propel the industry to more than $1 trillion by 2030. But over the next 17 years, semiconductors will reach well beyond the numbers, changing the way people work, how they communicate, and how they measure and monitor their health and well-being. Chips will be the enabling ... » read more

Devices And Transistors For The Next 75 Years
By Laura Peters - 16 Feb, 2023 - Comments: 0

The 75th anniversary of the invention of the transistor sparked a lively panel discussion at IEDM, spurring debate about the future of CMOS, the role of III-V and 2D materials in future transistors, and what will be the next great memory architecture.[1] Industry veterans from the memory, logic, and research communities see high-NA EUV production, NAND flash with 1,000 layers, and hybrid bon... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
By Karen Heyman - 16 Dec, 2022 - Comments: 0

The CHIPS Act sparked $200 billion in private investments for U.S. semiconductor production, including 40 new semiconductor ecosystem projects, according to SIA. China is working toward self-sufficiency, with plans to invest more than 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) to support domestic semiconductor production, according to Reuters. Arm said that Britain and the U.S. would not approve license... » read more

How Far Will Copper Interconnects Scale?
By Laura Peters - 15 Dec, 2022 - Comments: 0

As leading chipmakers continue to scale finFETs — and soon nanosheet transistors — to ever-tighter pitches, the smallest metal lines eventually will become untenable using copper with its liner and barrier metals. What comes next, and when, is still to be determined. There are multiple options being explored, each with its own set of tradeoffs. Ever since IBM introduced the industry to c... » read more

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