What’s Ahead For DRAM, NAND?

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 1

For the last year, the semiconductor industry has been in the midst of a boom cycle. But if you look close enough, there are mixed signals in the market, especially in memory. Still, it’s a banner year for semiconductors. In total, the semiconductor market is expected to grow by 18.1% in 2021, according to Semico Research. That compares to 6.6% growth in 2020, according to Semico. Today... » read more

Advancing To The 3nm Node And Beyond: Technology, Challenges And Solutions

By Michael Hargrove - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

It seems like yesterday that finFETs were the answer to device scaling limitations imposed by shrinking gate lengths and required electrostatics. The introduction of finFETs began at the 22nm node and has continued through the 7nm node. Beyond 7nm, it looks like nanosheet device structures will be used for at least the 5nm and probably the 3nm nodes. The nanosheet device structure is the brainc... » read more

Angstrom-Level Measurements With AFMs

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

Competition is heating up in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) market, where several vendors are shipping new AFM systems that address various metrology challenges in packaging, semiconductors and other fields. AFM, a small but growing field that has been under the radar, involves a standalone system that provides surface measurements on structures down to the angstrom level. (1 angstrom = 0... » read more

Optimizing VSB Shot Count For Curvilinear Masks

By Jan Willis - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

The increased photomask write time using a variable-shape e-beam (VSB) writer has been a barrier to the adoption of inverse lithography technology (ILT) beyond the limited usage for hot spots. The second installment of this video blog looked at the challenge in depth. In this five-minute panel video with industry luminaries, Ezequiel Russell describes the collaborative study between his company... » read more

Ultra-Small Fan-Out Packaging Solution

By Ken Hsiao - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

With the advent of the Internet and multimedia, electronics miniaturization in the form of integrated circuits has become an indispensable part of our lives. To ensure its long-term operation and reliability, the rapid development of integrated circuits depends on advancements in not only the design and manufacturing of chips, but also its packaging. As the market demand for consumer and com... » read more

Stacked Nanosheets And Forksheet FETs

By Katherine Derbyshire - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

What comes next after gate-all-around FETs is still being worked out, but it likely will involve some version of stacked nanosheets. The design of advanced transistors is a tradeoff. On one hand, it takes less gate capacitance to control a thin channel. On the other hand, thin channels can’t carry as much drive current. Stacked nanosheet designs seek to reconcile these two objectives by... » read more

Current And Future Packaging Trends

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 1

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss IC packaging technology trends and other topics with William Chen, a fellow at ASE; Michael Kelly, vice president of advanced packaging development and integration at Amkor; Richard Otte, president and CEO of Promex, the parent company of QP Technologies; Michael Liu, senior director of global technical marketing at JCET; and Thomas Uhrmann, directo... » read more

Specialty Technologies Bring New Functionality

By David Haynes - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

As a materials engineer, I am very proud of the fact that key advances in human civilization have been driven by materials innovation. The stone age, bronze age, and iron age were all essential steps in setting the human race on the path that we are on today. Innovations are not without their downsides, but they have enabled progress in agriculture, medicine, transportation, communication, a... » read more

Empowering RF Front End Cellular Innovations With DSMBGA

By Curtis Zwenger - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

With the introduction of 5G, cellular frequency bands have increased considerably, requiring innovative solutions for the packaging of RF front-end modules for smartphones and other 5G-enabled devices. Double-sided, molded ball grid array (DSMBGA) is a prime example of such solutions. “With our DSMBGA platform, we’ve established a preferred advanced packaging solution for this domain,”... » read more

Micron B47R 3D CTF CuA NAND Die, World’s First 176L (195T)

By Jeongdong Choe - 19 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

Micron’s 176L 3D NAND is the world’s first 176L 3D NAND Flash memory. TechInsights just found the 512Gb 176L die (B47R die markings) and quickly viewed its process, structure, and die design. Micron 176L 3D NAND is one of the most groundbreaking technologies to date, and it is especially for the storage application such as data center, 5G, AI, cloud, intelligent edge, and mobile devices. Mi... » read more

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