New Interconnect Metals Need New Dielectrics


Just as circuit metallization must evolve to manage resistance as features shrink, so must the dielectric half of the interconnect stack. For quite some time, manufacturers have needed a dielectric constant (k) less than 4, which is the value for SiO2, but they have struggled to find materials that combine a low dielectric constant with mechanical and chemical stability. In work presented at... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Early version due to U.S. holiday. The U.S. government announced a new $504 million funding round for 12 Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) for semiconductors, clean energy, biotechnology, AI, quantum computing, and more. Among the recipients: NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub (New York): $40 million for semiconductor manufacturing; Headwaters Hub (Montana): $41 million f... » read more

Chip Industry Technical Paper Roundup: June 25


New technical papers recently added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library. [table id=236 /] More ReadingTechnical Paper Library home » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


BAE Systems and GlobalFoundries are teaming up to strengthen the supply of chips for national security programs, aligning technology roadmaps and collaborating on innovation and manufacturing. Focus areas include advanced packaging, GaN-on-silicon chips, silicon photonics, and advanced technology process development. Onsemi plans to build a $2 billion silicon carbide production plant in the ... » read more

Interconnects: Criteria For Alternative Metal Benchmarking And Selection (Imec, KU Leuven)


A technical paper titled “Selecting Alternative Metals for Advanced Interconnects” was published by researchers at imec and KU Leuven. Abstract “Today, interconnect resistance and reliability are key limiters for the performance of advanced CMOS circuits. As transistor scaling is slowing, interconnect scaling has become the main driver for circuit miniaturization, and interconnect lim... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Samsung unveiled its latest 2nm and 4nm process nodes, plus its AI solutions during the Samsung Foundry Forum. The company also introduced an aggressive roadmap for the next few years that includes 3D-ICs with logic-on-logic, starting in 2025; custom HBM with built-in logic; backside power delivery on 2nm technology in 2027; and co-packaged optics. In presentations at the event, the company als... » read more

Chip Industry Technical Paper Roundup: May 21


New technical papers added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library this week. [table id=227 /] More ReadingTechnical Paper Library home » read more

Demonstrating The Feasibility Of The Foundry Model For Flexible Thin-Film Electronics 


A technical paper titled “Multi-project wafers for flexible thin-film electronics by independent foundries” was published by researchers at KU Leuven and imec. Abstract: "Flexible and large-area electronics rely on thin-film transistors (TFTs) to make displays, large-area image sensors, microprocessors, wearable healthcare patches, digital microfluidics and more. Although silicon-based co... » read more

Chip Industry Technical Paper Roundup: April 23


New technical papers recently added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library. [table id=216 /] Find last week’s technical paper additions here. » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Applied Materials may scale back or cancel its $4 billion new Silicon Valley R&D facility in light of the U.S. government's recent announcement to reduce funding for construction, modernization, or expansion of semiconductor research and development (R&D) facilities in the United States, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. TSMC could receive up to $6.6 billion in direct funding... » read more

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