category: Special Reports

category: IoT, Security & Automotive

The Search For The Next Transistor
By Mark LaPedus - 20 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 3

In the near term, the leading-edge chip roadmap looks fairly clear. Chips based on today’s finFETs and planar fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) technologies are expected to scale down to the 10nm node. But then, the CMOS roadmap becomes foggy at 7nm and beyond. The industry has been exploring a number of next-generation transistor candidates, but suddenly, a few technologies are ... » read more

The List Of Unknowns Grows After Silicon
By Katherine Derbyshire - 07 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 3

As discussed earlier in this series, most proposed alternative channel schemes depend on germanium channels for pMOS transistors, and InGaAs channels for nMOS transistors. Of the two materials, InGaAs poses by far the more difficult integration challenges. Germanium has been present in advanced silicon CMOS fabs for several technology generations, having been introduced used in strained silicon... » read more

The Next Big Threat: System Security
By Ed Sperling - 31 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

No SoC ever will be totally secure, and no technology will stop experienced thieves who really want to get into a device. But chipmakers and IP companies are examining ways to at least make it more difficult—and at least in theory, far less lucrative. One big change, of course, is that a connected electronic ecosystem has made location irrelevant. In the past, crime was limited to where th... » read more

What’s After CMOS?
By Mark LaPedus - 24 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 3

Chipmakers continue to scale the CMOS transistor to finer geometries, but the question is for how much longer. The current thinking is that the CMOS transistor could scale at least to the 3nm node in the 2021 timeframe. And then, CMOS could run out of gas, prompting the need for a new switch technology. So what’s after the CMOS-based transistor? Carbon nanotubes and graphene get the most a... » read more

The Next Big Threat: Manufacturing
By Ed Sperling - 23 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

The business adage that you’re only as good as your partners should be a core principle of doing business when it comes to security. But with a complex SoC you don’t always know all your partners, who financed them—or worse, who else they’re working with or working for. Consider this scenario: A band of sophisticated thieves grinds off the top of an SoC package, inserts probes to map... » read more

What’s After Silicon?
By Katherine Derbyshire - 09 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 4

As discussed in the first article in this series, germanium is one of the leading candidates to succeed silicon as the channel material for advanced transistors, and has been for several years. The fundamental challenges of germanium integration were detailed at length in 2007. Unfortunately, knowing what the issues are does not necessarily lead to a solution. When a MOSFET transistor turns ... » read more

Where Is 2.5D?
By Ed Sperling - 19 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 3

After nearly five years of concentrated research, development, test chips and characterization, 2.5D remains a possibility for many companies but a reality for very few. So what’s taking so long and why hasn’t all of this hype turned into production runs instead of test chips? Semiconductor Engineering spent the past two months interviewing dozens of people on this subject, from chipmakers ... » read more

Is There Light At The End Of Moore’s Tunnel?
By Brian Bailey - 18 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 2

Last month’s article, “Is There Light At The End Of Moore’s Tunnel,” examined the state of the industry in terms of integrating photonics components onto silicon. It concentrated on the piece that has been the hardest to achieve – the laser. However, as realizing that integration goal has become closer to reality, it has also waned in terms of the number of people who believe it is th... » read more

Alternative Channel Materials For Post-Silicon FinFETs
By Katherine Derbyshire - 16 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 4

At first glance, other semiconductors always have looked more attractive to device designers than silicon. Both germanium and III-V compound semiconductors have higher carrier mobility, allowing faster switching at the same device size. And yet, as manufacturers begin to consider alternative channel materials for sub-10nm devices, the industry is remembering why silicon became a standard in ... » read more

Can Intel Dethrone The Foundry Giants?
By Mark LaPedus - 12 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 3

The leading-edge foundry business isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires deep pockets and sound technology to keep pace in the chip-scaling race. And despite pouring billions of dollars into new fabs and processes, foundries are competing for fewer customers at each node. Given the difficult business conditions, only a handful of vendors can afford to compete in the high-end foundry bus... » read more

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