Interconnects Approach Tipping Point


As leading devices move to next generation nanosheets for logic, their interconnections are getting squeezed past the point where they can deliver low resistance pathways. The 1nm (10Ã…) node will have 20nm pitch and larger metal lines, but the interconnect stack already consumes a third of device power and accounts for 75% of the chip's RC delay. Changing this dynamic requires a superior co... » read more

Mechanical Stress In Semiconductor Development


With the semiconductor industry moving toward 3D DRAM, 3D logic architectures, and 1000+ layer 3D NAND stacks,1 mechanical failures may become more common. Due to the complexity of these structures, mechanical stress from materials processing has the potential to significantly impact yield. 3D processing techniques (etching, deposition, and related chemistries), as well as material property de... » read more

Memory Wall Problem Grows With LLMs


The growing imbalance between the amount of data that needs to be processed to train large language models (LLMs) and the inability to move that data back and forth fast enough between memories and processors has set off a massive global search for a better and more energy- and cost-efficient solution. Much of this is evident in the numbers. The GPU market is forecast to reach $190 billion in ... » read more

EUV’s Future Looks Even Brighter


The rapidly increasing demand for advanced-node chips to support everything-AI is putting pressure on the industry's ability to meet demand. The need for cutting-edge semiconductors is accelerating in applications ranging from hyperscale data centers powering large language models to edge AI in smartphones, IoT devices, and autonomous systems. But manufacturing those chips relies heavily on ... » read more

Developing Systems For Heterogeneous Integration: Insights From HiCONNECTS


The European semiconductor ecosystem continues to evolve, driven by the ambitions outlined in the EU Chips Act. With goals to strengthen Europe’s technological leadership and double its semiconductor manufacturing market share to 20% by 2030, collaboration across the value chain is imperative. Heterogeneous Integration for Connectivity and Sustainability (HiCONNECTS), a Horizon Europe-funde... » read more

Material Properties of Si/SiGe Multi-layer Stacks For CFETs (Imec, Ghent U, et al.)


A new technical paper titled "Epitaxial Si/SiGe Multi-Stacks: From Stacked Nano-Sheet to Fork-Sheet and CFET Devices" was published by researchers at Imec and Ghent University, et al. Abstract "After a short description of the evolution of metal-oxide-semiconductor device architectures and the corresponding requirements on epitaxial growth processes, the manuscript describes the material pr... » read more

CFETs with Optimized Buried Power Rails


A technical paper titled "Buried power rail to suppress substrate leakage in complementary field effect transistor (CFET)" was published by researchers at Korea University and Sungkyunkwan University. Abstract "In the pursuit of minimizing the track height in standard cell, a design innovation incorporating complementary field-effect transistors (CFETs) and Buried Power Rail (BPR) technolog... » read more

Low-Temperature Solid-Liquid Interdiffusion Bonding For High-Density Interconnect Applications


A new technical paper titled "Facilitating Small-Pitch Interconnects with Low-Temperature Solid-Liquid Interdiffusion Bonding" was published by researchers at Aalto University in Finland. Abstract "The trend for 3D heterogeneous integration drives the need for a low-temperature bonding process for high-density interconnects (HDI). The Cu-Sn-In based solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) is a p... » read more

Temporal Variation in DRAM Read Disturbance in DDR4 and HBM2 (ETH Zurich, Rutgers)


A new technical paper titled "Variable Read Disturbance: An Experimental Analysis of Temporal Variation in DRAM Read Disturbance" was published by researchers at ETH Zurich and Rutgers University. Abstract "Modern DRAM chips are subject to read disturbance errors. State-of-the-art read disturbance mitigations rely on accurate and exhaustive characterization of the read disturbance threshold... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 19


Cadence's Ravi Vora explains the AMBA Local Translation Interface protocol, which defines the point-to-point protocol between an I/O device and the Translation Buffer Unit of an Arm System Memory Management Unit. Siemens' Stephen V. Chavez provides a checklist for ensuring the quality and functionality of a PCB at every stage, from design through fabrication, assembly, and testing, with a fo... » read more

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