5 Takeaways From Semicon

By Mark LaPedus - 21 Jul, 2016 - Comments: 0

As usual, the recent Semicon West trade show was a busy, if not an overwhelming, event. The event, which took place in San Francisco in early July, featured presentations on the usual subjects in the semiconductor and IC-equipment sectors. There were sessions on 200mm, next-generation processes, transistors, lithography, MEMS and many others. In no particular order, here are my five ta... » read more

Executive Insight: Aart de Geus

By Ed Sperling - 20 Jul, 2016 - Comments: 0

Aart de Geus, chairman and co-CEO of Synopsys, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss Moore's Law, the IoT, inflection points and how chip design will evolve in coming years. SE: We are in the middle of possibly one of the biggest transition points we’ve ever seen in this industry. How do you envision things shaking out? De Geus: There is no question that there is an enormou... » read more

Atomic Layer Etch Heats Up

By Mark LaPedus - 29 Jun, 2016 - Comments: 0

The atomic layer etch (ALE) market is starting to heat up as chipmakers push to 10nm and beyond. ALE is a promising next-generation etch technology that has been in R&D for the last several years, but until now there has been little or no need to use it. Unlike conventional etch tools, which remove materials on a continuous basis, ALE promises to selectively and precisely remove targete... » read more

Interconnect Challenges Rising

By Mark LaPedus - 27 Jun, 2016 - Comments: 1

Chipmakers are ramping up their 14nm finFET processes, with 10nm and 7nm slated to ship possibly later this year or next. At 10nm and beyond, IC vendors are determined to scale the two main parts of the [getkc id="185" kc_name="finFET"] structure—the transistor and interconnects. Generally, transistor scaling will remain challenging at advanced nodes. And on top of that, the interconnects ... » read more

Executive Insight: Aki Fujimura

By Mark LaPedus - 23 Jun, 2016 - Comments: 1

Aki Fujimura, chief executive of D2S, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to look at the key issues in lithography and photomasks, as well as the changes taking place in the IC industry. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: The semiconductor market is changing on several fronts. On one front, there is a wave of consolidation in the industry. And then there is a slowdown in... » read more

Pathfinding Beyond FinFETs

By Paula Doe - 13 Jun, 2016 - Comments: 0

Though the industry will likely continue to find ways to extend CMOS finFET technology further than we thought possible, at some point in the not-so-distant future, making faster, lower power ICs will require more disruptive changes. For something that could be only five to seven years out, there’s a daunting range of contending technologies. Improvements through the process will help, from E... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 24

By Mark LaPedus - 24 May, 2016 - Comments: 2

Microbunching EUV Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have provided a status report on its ongoing efforts to develop a steady-state microbunching (SSMB) technology. SSMB is a technology used within a storage ring, which is a large-scale, circular particle accelerator. An SSMB mechanism produces a high-power radiation source within the ring. This, in turn, could enable a... » read more

One-On-One: Dave Hemker

By Ed Sperling - 19 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Dave Hemker, CTO at [getentity id="22820" comment="Lam Research"], sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to look at some of the key issues on the process and manufacturing side, and some of the key developments that will reshape the semiconductor industry in the future. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: One of the big discussion topics these days is [getkc id="208" commen... » read more

What Happened To DSA?

By Mark LaPedus - 19 May, 2016 - Comments: 2

Directed self-assembly (DSA) was until recently a rising star in the next-generation lithography (NGL) landscape, but the technology has recently lost some of its luster, if not its momentum. So what happened? Nearly five years ago, an obscure patterning technology called [gettech id="31046" t_name="DSA"] burst onto the scene and began to generate momentum in the industry. At about that t... » read more

Next EUV Challenge: Pellicles

By Mark LaPedus - 27 Apr, 2016 - Comments: 1

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is still not ready for high-volume manufacturing, but the technology is at least moving in the right direction. Both the [gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"] light source and resists are making noticeable progress, even though there are still challenges in the arena. And then, there is the EUV mask infrastructure, which also has some gaps. “When EUV i... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
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