The Next Chip Shortages?


The rollout of chiplets and heterogeneous designs could have unexpected implications on a global scale, creating a whole new round of chip shortages that will be much harder to fix. It's impossible to say for certain what will happen here in the wake of massive changes in chip design and a fluid and unpredictable geopolitical situation. The trade war between the United States and China began... » read more

Why Changes In Computing Are Driving Changes In Photomasks


Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, talks with Semiconductor Engineering about massive improvements in computation based upon increased density on chips, and why printing Manhattan shapes on a photomask are no longer sufficient to print high-performance devices with predictable reliability every time. He explains why a discontinuity in EDA physical design has opened the door for printing curvilinear shap... » read more

Using GPUs In Semiconductor Manufacturing


Massive simulation and curvilinear shapes are forcing the photomask industry to rethink what types of chips work best. Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, talks about what happens when shapes printed on a mask are closer to what actually gets printed, how GPUs can be used to accelerate CPUs in single instruction/multiple data (SIMD) operations, and why pixel data is different from other data. » read more

The Benefits Of Curvilinear Shapes On Photomasks


Do you have four minutes to hear why companies like Micron Technology think that curvilinear shapes on photomasks are an advantage? In a short video, Ezequiel Russell, Senior Director of Mask Technology at Micron Technology shows how curvilinear shapes can increase process windows for advanced memory as shown in figure 1. The video was part of a longer panel discussion with industry experts at ... » read more

Big Changes In Patterning


Aki Fujimura, CEO of [getentity id="22864" comment="D2S"], sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss patterning issues at 10nm and below, including mask alignment, the need for GPU acceleration, EUV's future impact on the total number of masks, and what the re-introduction of curvilinear shapes will mean for design. SE: Patterning issues are getting a lot of attention at 10nm and 7n... » read more