category: Special Reports

category: IoT, Security & Automotive

From Lab To Fab: Increasing Pressure To Fuse IC Processes
By Gregory Haley - 06 Jun, 2023 - Comments: 0

Test, metrology, and inspection are essential for both the lab and the fab, but fusing them together so that data created in one is easily transferred to the other is a massive challenge. The chip industry has been striving to bridge these separate worlds for years, but the economics, speed, and complexity of change require a new approach. The never-ending push toward smaller, better-defined... » read more

How Metrology Tools Stack Up In 3D NAND Devices
By Laura Peters - 15 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

Multiple innovations in semiconductor processing are needed to enable 3D NAND bit density increases of about 30% per year at ever-decreasing cost per bit, all of which will be required to meet the nonvolatile storage needs of the big data era. 3D NAND is the first truly three-dimensional device in production. It is both a technology driver for new metrology methods and a significant part of ... » read more

Data Leakage Becoming Bigger Issue For Chipmakers
By Ed Sperling - 04 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

Data leakage is becoming more difficult to stop or even trace as chips become increasingly complex and heterogeneous, and as more data is stored and utilized by chipmakers for other designs. Unlike a cyberattack, which typically is done for a specific purpose, such as collecting private data or holding a system ransom, data leaks can spring up anywhere. And as the value of data increases, th... » read more

Nanoimprint Finally Finds Its Footing
By Gregory Haley - 20 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 2

Nanoimprint lithography, which for decades has trailed behind traditional optical lithography, is emerging as the technology of choice for the rapidly growing photonics and biotech chips markets. First introduced in the mid-1990s, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has consistently been touted as a lower-cost alternative to traditional optical lithography. Even today, NIL potentially is capable o... » read more

Using AI To Improve Metrology Tooling
By Laura Peters - 17 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

Virtual metrology is carefully being added into semiconductor manufacturing, where it is showing positive results, but the chip industry is proceeding cautiously. The first use of this technology has been for augmenting existing fab processes, such as advanced process control (APC). Controlling processes and managing yield generally do not require GPU processing and advanced algorithms, so t... » read more

Thermal Integrity Challenges Grow In 2.5D
By Ann Mutschler - 13 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 3

Thermal integrity is becoming much harder to predict accurately in 2.5D and 3D-IC, creating a cascade of issues that can affect everything from how a system behaves to reliability in the field. Over the past decade, silicon interposer technology has evolved from a simple interconnect into a critical enabler for heterogeneous integration. Interposers today may contain tens of dies or chiplets... » read more

Mechanical Challenges Rise With Heterogeneous Integration
By Ed Sperling - 03 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

Companies integrating multiple chips or chiplets into a package will need to address structural and other mechanical engineering issues, but gaps in the design tools, new materials and interconnect technologies, and a shortage of expertise are making it difficult to address those issues. Throughout most of the history of the semiconductors, few people outside of foundries worried about struc... » read more

Power Semiconductors: A Deep Dive Into Materials, Manufacturing & Business
By The SE Staff - 03 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

Whether you’re the owner of the average smartphone, commuting on trains, or driving around in a Tesla, you use power semiconductor devices every day. In a technology-dependent world, these devices are everywhere, and demand for more types of chips using different materials is growing. In the past, most engineers paid little attention to power semiconductors. They were deemed commodity, off... » read more

True 3D Is Much Tougher Than 2.5D
By Brian Bailey - 23 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 0

Creating real 3D designs is proving to be much more complex and difficult than 2.5D, requiring significant innovation in both technology and tools. While there has been much discussion about 3D designs, there are multiple interpretations about what 3D entails. This is more than just semantics, however, because each packaging option requires different design approaches and technologies. And a... » read more

Metrology Strategies For 2nm Processes
By Laura Peters - 07 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 3

Metrology and wafer inspection processes are changing to keep up with evolving and new device applications. While fab floors still have plenty of OCD tools, ellipsometers, and CD-SEMs, new systems are taking on the increasingly 3D nature of structures and the new materials they incorporate. For instance, processes like hybrid bonding, 3D NAND flash devices, and nanosheet FETs are pushing the bo... » read more

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