3D Metrology Meets Its Match In 3D Chips And Packages


The pace of innovation in 3D device structures and packages is accelerating rapidly, driving the need for precise measurement and control of feature height to ensure these devices are reliable and perform as expected throughout their lifetimes. Expansion along the z axis is already well underway. One need look no further than the staircase-like 3D NAND stacks that rise like skyscrapers to p... » read more

Device Characteristics of GAA-Structured CMOS and CTFET Under Varying Temperatures


A new technical paper titled "Vertical-Stack Nanowire Structure of MOS Inverter and TFET Inverter in Low-temperature Application" was published by researchers at National Tsing Hua University and National United University in Taiwan. Abstract "Tunneling field effect transistors (TFET) have emerged as promising candidates for integrated circuits beyond conventional metal oxide semiconductor ... » read more

The Rising Price Of Power In Chips


Power is everything when it comes to processing and storing data, and much of it isn't good. Power-related issues, particularly heat, dominate chip and system designs today, and those issues are widening and multiplying. Transistor density has reached a point where these tiny digital switches are generating more heat than can be removed through traditional means. That may sound manageable e... » read more

GAA NSFETs: ML for Device and Circuit Modeling


A new technical paper titled "A Comprehensive Technique Based on Machine Learning for Device and Circuit Modeling of Gate-All-Around Nanosheet Transistors" was published by researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Abstract (excerpt) "Machine learning (ML) is poised to play an important part in advancing the predicting capability in semiconductor device compact modeling domai... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP will jointly invest in the European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC), in Dresden, Germany, to provide advanced semiconductor manufacturing services. ESMC marks a significant step toward construction of a 300mm fab, which is expected to have a monthly production capacity of 40,000 300mm (12-inch) wafers on TSMC’s 28/22nm planar CMOS and 16/12nm finFET proce... » read more

Navigating the Metrology Maze For GAA FETs


The chip industry is pushing the boundaries of innovation with the evolution of finFETs to gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors at the 3nm node and beyond, but it also is adding significant new metrology challenges. GAA represents a significant advancement in transistor architecture, where the gate material fully encompasses the nanosheet channel. This approach allows for the vertical... » read more

What Designers Need To Know About GAA


While only 12 years old, finFETs are reaching the end of the line. They are being supplanted by gate-all-around (GAA), starting at 3nm [1], which is expected to have a significant impact on how chips are designed. GAAs come in two main flavors today — nanosheets and nanowires. There is much confusion about nanosheets, and the difference between nanosheets and nanowires. The industry still ... » read more

Review Paper: Negative Capacitance GAA-FET


A new technical paper titled "Recent Developments in Negative Capacitance Gate-All-Around Field Effect Transistors: A Review" by researchers at PKU-HKUST Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institution and Shenzhen Institute of Peking University. "The novel device structure of negative capacitance gate all around field effect transistor (NC GAA-FET) can combine both the advantages of GAA-FET and NC-FET, and ... » read more

Process Innovations Enabling Next-Gen SoCs and Memories


Achieving improvements in performance in advanced SoCs and packages — those used in mobile applications, data centers, and AI — will require complex and potentially costly changes in architectures, materials, and core manufacturing processes. Among the options under consideration are new compute architectures, different materials, including thinner barrier layers and those with higher th... » read more

Wafer Cleaning Becomes Key Challenge In Manufacturing 3D Structures


Wafer cleaning, once a rather mundane task as simple as dipping wafers in cleaning fluid, is emerging as one of the top major engineering challenges for manufacturing GAA FETs and 3D-ICs. With these new 3D structures — some on the horizon but some already in high-volume manufacturing — semiconductor wafer equipment and materials suppliers in the wet cleaning business are at the epicenter... » read more

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