How To Extend Litho Scaling


IC mask [getkc id="80" comment="lithography"] today is sophisticated and complex. It's also a work in progress with a lot of unknowns as the industry struggles to increase productivity while reducing risk. The bulk of the work currently is focused on trying to figure out what would be a practical scheme for patterning lithography that could be used at 10nm and 7nm, said Gandharv Bhatara, Ca... » read more

Tech Talk: Photomask Challenges


GlobalFoundries' Bob Pack talks with Semiconductor Engineering about new problems experienced by photomask shops and how does lithography affects it all. [youtube vid=8hJwVhaZhFc] » read more

Fab Tool R&D And Ramen Noodles


The semiconductor equipment and materials industry has always been a tough business. Over the years, vendors have been under pressure to develop new technologies for a shrinking but demanding customer base. And as a result, many vendors could not keep up, or elected to exit the business, causing a massive shakeout in the industry. It isn’t getting any easier, though. Today, tool and... » read more

Tech Talk: Inverse Lithography


D2S’ Leo Pang talks with Semiconductor Engineering about lithography, inverse lithography, photomasks, where the problems are, and what needs to be done to move forward. [youtube vid=mn8JWaP8Z68] » read more

We Have Reached The Tipping Point For Simulation-Based Mask Data Preparation


Since the beginning of the semiconductor industry, mask-data preparation (MDP) and mask verification (MV) have been shape-based: each shape has been treated as an entity unto itself, and if each isolated shape was correct, the mask was correct. This context independence is a critical assumption for conventional fracturing. However, as line/space measurements (L:S) fall below 50nm, shape-ba... » read more

Blog Review: Oct. 22


What is UX? The User Experience, of course. Rambus' Aharon Etengoff notes that the IoT UX is now the subject of a Harvard Business Review article. A long list of hurdles are expected at the 10nm process node, including multiple levels of local interconnects, more complex layout rules, timing problems, and a slew of others. Cadence's Richard Goering puts it all in perspective. Mentor's R... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


It’s official: IBM appears to be exiting the chip business. After months of talks, IBM has agreed to pay GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to take Big Blue’s chip unit off its hands, according to reports from Bloomberg. IBM will also receive $200 million worth of assets, according to the reports. At the upcoming IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), Intel and IBM will present... » read more

Executive Insight: Aki Fujimura


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss photomask technology and lithography trends with Aki Fujimura, chairman and chief executive of D2S. SE: What are the big challenges that keep you awake at night? Fujimura: Mask technology, and the investments in the mask industry, are increasingly important. But so far, the investment dollars that the community is willing to spend on it isn’... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Gartner predicts that by 2016 smartwatches will comprise about 40% of consumer wristworn devices. Gartner said that nine out of the top 10 smartphone vendors have entered the wearables market to date or are about to ship a first product, while a year ago only two vendors were in that space. The eBeam Initiative announced the completion of its third annual survey. In one of the highlights of ... » read more

2014 eBeam Survey Results


An industry-wide poll highlights what the industry is thinking about EUV and mask writing at advanced nodes. To view the poll, click here. » read more

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