tag: Coventor

Uncertainty Grows For 5nm, 3nm
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Dec, 2016 - Comments: 4

As several chipmakers ramp up their 10nm finFET processes, with 7nm just around the corner, R&D has begun for 5nm and beyond. In fact, some are already moving full speed ahead in the arena. [getentity id="22586" comment="TSMC"] recently announced plans to build a new fab in Taiwan at a cost of $15.7 billion. The proposed fab is targeted to manufacture TSMC’s 5nm and 3nm processes, whic... » read more

BEOL Issues At 10nm And 7nm (Part 1)
By Ed Sperling - 15 Dec, 2016 - Comments: 5

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss problems with the back end of line at leading-edge nodes with Craig Child, senior manager and deputy director for [getentity id="22819" e_name="GlobalFoundries'"] advanced technology development integration unit; Paul Besser, senior technology director at [getentity id="22820" comment="Lam Research"]; David Fried, CTO at [getentity id="22210" e_name... » read more

BEOL Barricades Ahead
By David Fried - 15 Dec, 2016 - Comments: 0

Coventor recently assembled an expert panel at IEDM 2016, to discuss changes to BEOL process technology that would be needed to continue dimensional scaling to 7 nm and lower. Among the questions posed to panelists: What is BEOL? Where does it begin and end? Are there fundamental limits to interconnect processes? How much longer can we continue to use current interconnect processes and ... » read more

Multi-Patterning Issues At 7nm, 5nm
By Ed Sperling - 28 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 13

Continuing to rely on 193nm immersion lithography with multiple patterning is becoming much more difficult at 7nm and 5nm. With the help of various resolution enhancement techniques, optical lithography using a deep ultraviolet excimer laser has been the workhorse patterning technology in the fab since the early 1980s. It is so closely tied with the continuation of [getkc id="74" comment="Mo... » read more

Can We Measure Next-Gen FinFETs?
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 6

After ramping up their respective 16nm/14nm finFET processes, chipmakers are moving towards 10nm and/or 7nm, with 5nm in R&D. But as they move down the process roadmap, they will face a new set of fab challenges. In addition to lithography and interconnects, there is metrology. Metrology, the science of measurements, is used to characterize tiny films and structures. It helps to boost yi... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 18 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers Next month, GlobalFoundries will host a job fair in Portland, Ore., according to reports. The company hopes to hire former Intel workers. These are workers who lost their jobs as part of Intel's recent layoff. Anokiwave, a developer of chips for the mmWave market, has announced a foundry alliance with GlobalFoundries. GlobalFoundries will make so-called Silicon Core chips on a f... » read more

Why EUV Is So Difficult
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 23

For years, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography has been a promising technology that was supposed to help enable advanced chip scaling. But after years of R&D, EUV is still not in production despite major backing from the industry, vast resources and billions of dollars in funding. More recently, though, [gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"] lithography appears to be inching closer to pos... » read more

Bringing Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies To Higher Education
By Jimmy Gu - 17 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 0

Universities and other institutions of higher learning play a key role in developing our next generation of semiconductor technologies. Along with the theory of semiconductor technology, our next generation of scientists and engineers must learn about the practical methods used to design and manufacture the latest generation of semiconductor products. Recently, Coventor’s predictive, 3D proce... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 04 Nov, 2016 - Comments: 0

Samsung Austin Semiconductor plans to invest more than $1 billion in its fab in Austin, Texas. Today, the fab continues to ramp up the company’s 14nm finFET technology. At the same time, Samsung is expanding its advanced finFET foundry process technology offerings with its fourth-generation 14nm process (14LPU) and its third-generation 10nm technology (10LPU). Graphcore is developing a so-... » read more

Achieving The Vision Of Silicon Photonics Processing
By Sandy Wen - 20 Oct, 2016 - Comments: 0

With the increasing need for faster data transfer rates, the transition from electrical to optical signaling in data processing is inevitable. Copper cabling cannot keep up with the upcoming data center bandwidth requirements for applications such as multimedia streaming and high performance computing. One technology that could enable true optical communication is silicon photonics. Silicon is ... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →

  • Sponsors

About

Navigation

Connect With Us

Copyright ©2013-2025 SMG   |  Terms of Service  |  Privacy Policy