tag: imec

What’s After CMOS?
By Mark LaPedus - 24 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 3

Chipmakers continue to scale the CMOS transistor to finer geometries, but the question is for how much longer. The current thinking is that the CMOS transistor could scale at least to the 3nm node in the 2021 timeframe. And then, CMOS could run out of gas, prompting the need for a new switch technology. So what’s after the CMOS-based transistor? Carbon nanotubes and graphene get the most a... » read more

Germanium wedge-FETs pry away misfit dislocations
By Katherine Derbyshire - 23 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 1

Any approach to alternative channel integration must consider the lattice mismatch between silicon and other channel materials. Some schemes, such as IMEC’s selective epitaxy, view the lattice mismatch as an obstacle and look for ways to minimize its effects. This point of view certainly has merit: misfit dislocations do significantly degrade transistor performance. Still, back in 2011 Shu-Ha... » read more

Experts At The Table: What’s Next?
By Ed Sperling - 06 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 1

Semiconductor Engineering sat down with Sumit DasGupta, Si2; Simon Bloch, Samsung; Jim Hogan; Mike Gianfagna, vice president of marketing at eSilicon (VP of corporate marketing at Atrenta when this roundtable was held). What follows are excerpts of that discussion. SE: The future of technology isn’t just about technology. It’s about people and regulations, as well. Where are the hurdles ... » read more

Alternative Channel Materials For Post-Silicon FinFETs
By Katherine Derbyshire - 16 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 4

At first glance, other semiconductors always have looked more attractive to device designers than silicon. Both germanium and III-V compound semiconductors have higher carrier mobility, allowing faster switching at the same device size. And yet, as manufacturers begin to consider alternative channel materials for sub-10nm devices, the industry is remembering why silicon became a standard in ... » read more

Is There Light At The End Of Moore’s Tunnel
By Brian Bailey - 22 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 2

Electrons are slow, clumsy and quite easily distracted. They’re slow because it now takes a signal longer to cross a chip than the period of the clock signal. They often don’t travel in straight lines as they collide with other atoms. And electromagnetic interference between adjacent signals can mess with the information they are transferring. On the other hand, light has none of these p... » read more

Tunnel FETs Emerge In Scaling Race
By Mark LaPedus - 14 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 2

Traditional CMOS scaling will continue for the foreseeable future, possibly to the 5nm node and perhaps beyond, according to many chipmakers. In fact, chipmakers already are plotting out a path toward the 5nm node, but needless to say, the industry faces a multitude of challenges along the road. Presently, the leading transistor candidates for 5nm are the usual suspects—III-V finFETs; gate... » read more

What’s After 10nm?
By Mark LaPedus - 14 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 0

For some time, chipmakers have roughly doubled the transistor count at each node, while simultaneously cutting the cost by around 29%. IC scaling, in turn, enables faster and lower cost chips, which ultimately translates into cheaper electronic products with more functions. Consumers have grown accustomed to the benefits of Moore’s Law, but the question is for how much longer? Chips based ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing & Design
By Mark LaPedus - 08 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 0

GT Advanced Technologies has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple for sapphire materials. GT will own and operate its furnaces and related equipment to produce the sapphire materials at an Apple-owned facility in Arizona. GT expects to employ more than 700 people in the facility. Apple will provide GT with a prepayment of about $578 million. “We believe Apple likely has signi... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing & Design
By Mark LaPedus - 25 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Don’t look now, but Intel is expanding its foundry business. Previously, Intel garnered a small collection of foundry customers. But Intel would not entertain foundry customers that had competitive products based on ARM chips. Apparently, Intel is having a change of heart. “I think they’ve changed their position,” said Nathan Brookwood, a research fellow at Insight 64. “They will do A... » read more

The Week In Review: Sept. 23
By Mark LaPedus - 23 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus For some time, Apple’s iPhones have incorporated a separate RF switch and diversity switch from Peregrine Semiconductor (PSMI). The switches are based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) variant called silicon-on-sapphire (SOS). Murata takes Peregrine’s RF switches and integrates them into a module. Doug Freedman, an analyst with RBC Capital, said Apple is no longer using PSMI�... » read more

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