Big Changes At 10nm And Beyond


The move to 16/14nm finFETs is relatively straightforward. The move to 10nm and 7nm will be quite different. While double patterning with colors at 16/14nm has a rather steep learning curve, reports from chipmakers developing advanced chips is the technology and methodologies are manageable once engineering teams begin working with it. The hardest part is visualizing how different parts will... » read more

FD-SOI Vs. FinFETs


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to compare the benefits, risks and challenges of moving to finFETs compared with fully depleted silicon on insulator ([getkc id="220" kc_name="FD-SOI"]) with Philippe Magarshack, group vice president for technology R&D at [getentity id="22331" comment="STMicroelectronics"]; Marco Brambilla, director of engineering at [getentity id="22150" e_name="Synapse D... » read more

Flash Dance For Inspection And Metrology


Chipmakers are moving from planar technology to an assortment of 3D-like architectures, such as 3D NAND and finFETs For these devices, chipmakers face a multitude of challenges in the fab. But one surprising and oft-forgotten technology is emerging as perhaps the biggest challenge in both logic and memory—process control. Process control includes metrology and wafer inspection. Metrolo... » read more

FinFET Rollout Slower Than Expected


The foundry business is heating up as some new and large players are entering the 16nm/14nm [getkc id="185" kc_name="finFET"] market. But foundry customers are taking longer than expected to migrate to finFETs amid some technical and cost issues. On the foundry front, [getentity id="22846" comment="Intel"] has been the sole player in finFETs for some time. But now, [getentity id="22865" ... » read more

5 Issues Under The Foundry Radar


In the foundry business, the leading-edge segment grabs most, if not all, of the headlines. Foundry vendors, of course, are ramping up 16nm/14nm finFET processes, with 10nm and 7nm in R&D. The leading-edge foundry business is sizable, but it’s not the only thing going on in the competitive arena. In fact, there are battles taking place in many other foundry segments, such as 2.5D/3D packag... » read more

TSMC Tech Tour De Force


TSMC held the first of its three North American Tech Symposiums on April 7 in San Jose, with the other two coming up in Boston on April 14 and in Austin on April 16. As was mentioned previously here, the record fast ramp-time of the 20nm node was highlighted among other technological achievements. TSMC also released its March revenue report on April 10, and it shows a dramatic 49.8% increase in... » read more

Stacked Die, Phase Two


The initial hype phase of [getkc id="82" kc_name="2.5D"] appears to be over. There are multiple offerings in development or on the market already from Xilinx, Altera, Cisco, Huawei, IBM, AMD, all focused on better throughput over shorter distances with better yield and lower power. Even Intel has jumped on the bandwagon, saying that 2.5D will be essential for extending [getkc id="74" comment="M... » read more

How We’ll Get There from Here


The electronics industry is like a battleship with remarkable handling properties. I thought about it this week sitting at an industry event a day after stumbling across Neptune—the technology project, not the god. Those two experiences forced me to rethink some fundamental assumptions about system design and how the ecosystem responds to change. If you’ve not heard of Neptune, it�... » read more

Will Wearables Work Well Enough?


By Ed Sperling & Ann Steffora Mutschler The rollout of the Apple Watch later this month has reset expectations for the wearable electronics market, just as early implementations of the Pebble, Fitbit and Google Glass helped raise awareness about a new level of portability and connectivity. Early projections are for strong sales, which in turn will propel a new level of connectedness for the ... » read more

Ecosystem Changes


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss changes in the semiconductor ecosystem with Kelvin Low, senior director of foundry marketing at [getentity id="22865" e_name="Samsung Semiconductor"]; John Costello, vice president of product planning at [getentity id="22849" e_name="Altera"]; Randy Smith, vice president of marketing at [getentity id="22605" e_name="Sonics"], and Michiel Ligthart, p... » read more

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