Semiconductor Memory Aids


By Brian Fuller It's not hard to forget that semiconductor memory remains one of the most relentless challenges in system design. It sometimes doesn’t get the ink that sexier semiconductor design topics do, but it’s there. Always. Twenty years ago this year, University of Virginia computer scientists William Wulf and Sally McKee published a paper that popularized the term semiconductor ... » read more

What Is Going On With Sub-20nm Flash?


By Gill Lee This week I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, CA. The panel’s topic, Flash Below 20nm: What is Coming and When?, couldn’t be more timely. Particularly in light of a leading NAND manufacturer’s recent announcement that they will begin mass production of the semiconductor industry’s first 3D vertical NAND flash memory later... » read more

The Week In Review: Aug. 12


By Mark LaPedus Is the sky falling on semi capital spending? “We have seen several 2014 industry demand estimates in the 20%+ range, based on the ramps of FinFET and 3D NAND,” said Weston Twigg, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. “We expect Samsung to ramp spending in Q4, but we believe foundry and logic spending will remain soft for several quarters. As a result, we are developin... » read more

3D NAND Market Heats Up


By Mark LaPedus It’s the tale of two promising and separate 3D chip architectures. One technology is slowly taking root, while the other one is heating up. 3D stacked-die using through-silicon vias (TSVs) is on the slower path. Advanced chip-stacking has several challenges and is still a few years away from mass production. In contrast, 3D NAND is heating up, as Samsung and SK Hynix are a... » read more

Waiting For 3D Metrology


By Mark LaPedus Over the years, suppliers of metrology equipment have managed to meet the requirements for conventional planar chips. But tool vendors now find themselves behind in the emerging 3D chip era, prompting the urgent need for a new class of 3D metrology gear. 3D is a catch-all phrase that includes a range of new architectures, such as finFET transistors, 3D NAND and stacked-die ... » read more

What’s After NAND Flash?


By Mark LaPedus For years, many have predicted the end of flash memory scaling, particularly NAND, but the technology continues to defy the odds as it moves down the process curve. Still, there are signs that the floating gate structure in today’s flash memory is on its last legs. The floating gate is seeing an undesirable reduction in the control gate to capacitive coupling ratio. And ... » read more

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