What Happened To Next-Gen Lithography?


Chipmakers continue to march down the process technology curve. Using today’s optical lithography and multiple patterning, the semiconductor industry is scaling its leading-edge devices far beyond what was once considered possible. The question is how far can the industry extend 193nm immersion [getkc id="80" comment="lithography"] and multiple patterning before these technologies become t... » read more

What’s Next For Memory?


Apple, Samsung and others are developing the next wave of smartphones and tablets. OEMs want to integrate new memory schemes that provide more bandwidth at lower power. But there are some challenges in the arena that are prompting memory makers to rethink their mobile DRAM roadmaps. The conventional wisdom was that memory makers would ship mobile DRAMs based on the new LPDDR4 interface stand... » read more

Server Memory: Should We Be Concerned About The Power?


After my last blog post, Server Memory: What Drives its Growth, I had a couple of people ask me, “If server memory has increased by so much in the last four years, what effect has that had on the server memory subsystem power consumption?” It’s a good question. In last month’s blog, I calculated that the maximum memory per CPU has increased from 18GB (2010, highest-end Nehalem 45nm C... » read more

Improving The PPA Equation


The next generation of semiconductors may look very much like the existing generation. But like the old Porsche ads that required arrows to point to the improvements, because from the outside things basically looked the same, there should be plenty of impressive stuff inside. As the cost per transistor continues to rise at advanced nodes, the focus for most companies is no longer about shrin... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 1


Nanotubes in 4D The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has continued to advance its efforts in four-dimensional electron microscopy. In 4D microscopy, electrons bombard a sample. Each electron scatters off the sample. This produces an image at just a femtosecond in duration. Then, millions of the images are stitched together, which, in turn, produces a digital movie in 4D. [cap... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


About 150 to 200 employees from IBM’s chip unit will be dispatched to work at GlobalFoundries, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. GlobalFoundries said the arrangement is temporary, according to the report. GlobalFoundries is the leading candidate to buy IBM’s chip unit, which is apparently on the block. To date, however, GlobalFoundries and IBM have yet to make any announcements on the... » read more

Memory Matters For Mid-Range Mobile Devices


In recent months, we’ve seen signs of saturation in the high-end mobile device market where smartphones and tablets retail for more than $300. The largest growth in the mobile device markets are in Asia, with China in particular showing an annual growth rate of more than 50% in the mid-range ($100-$299) market while low-end products retail for less than $50! Features like storage capacity,... » read more

Powerful Memories


Memory consumes more of the surface area of a die than any other component. So what changes have happened over the past few years to reduce the power consumption of memories, and where are the big opportunities for saving power? Let's take a closer look. A Growing Concern One of the key drivers for SoCs is the desire to reduce product costs, reduce form factors, reduce power, increase perfo... » read more

New Rules For DRAM


By Jim Feldhan DRAM revenues grew by more than 30% in 2013. Average selling prices increased more than 45% as capacity constraints especially for LPDRAM, motivated the transition from 2GB density parts up to 4GB DRAM units declined by almost 10%. Revenue growth rates of more than 30% combined with a declining unit base are not new to the memory market. But 2013 was a pivotal year for DRAM. ... » read more

The Road Ahead for 2014: Semiconductors


Last week, Semiconductor Engineering examined the 2014 predictions from several thought leaders in the industry and published those predictions that related to general market trends. Many of those predictions require some advances in semiconductor technologies and fabrications capabilities. It is those predictions that will be examined in this part, followed next week by the predictions related... » read more

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