Semicon West Day One/Two


For years, the semiconductor and equipment industry has congregated at the annual Semicon West trade show in San Francisco. It’s an event to get an update on the latest equipment, test and packaging technologies. It’s also a good way to meet with people who you haven’t seen in a year, if not longer. It’s a great way to get a pulse on the industry. Needless to say, Semicon is a vir... » read more

Speeding Up The R&D Metrology Process


Several chipmakers are making some major changes in the characterization/metrology lab, adding more fab-like processes in this group to help speed up chip development times. The characterization/metrology lab, which is generally under the radar, is a group that works with the R&D organization and the fab. The characterization lab is involved in the early analytical work for next-generati... » read more

Semiconductor Memory Evolution And Current Challenges


The very first all-electronic memory was the Williams-Kilburn tube, developed in 1947 at Manchester University. It used a cathode ray tube to store bits as dots on the screen’s surface. The evolution of computer memory since that time has included numerous magnetic memory systems, such as magnetic drum memory, magnetic core memory, magnetic tape drive, and magnetic bubble memory. Since the 19... » read more

Speeding Up Process Optimization With Virtual Processing


Advanced CMOS scaling and new memory technologies have introduced increasingly complex structures into the device manufacturing process. For example, the increase in NAND memory layers has achieved greater vertical NAND scaling and higher memory density, but has led to challenges in high aspect ratio etch patterning and foot print scaling issues. Unique integration and patterning schemes have b... » read more

Atomic Layer Etch Expands To New Markets


The semiconductor industry is developing the next wave of applications for atomic layer etch (ALE), hoping to get a foothold in some new and emerging markets. ALE, a next-generation etch technology that removes materials at the atomic scale, is one of several tools used to process advanced devices in a fab. ALE moved into production for select applications around 2016, although the technolog... » read more

Copper Electrodeposition For Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging


As integrated circuit designers bring more sophisticated chip functionality into smaller spaces, heterogeneous integration, including 3D stacking of devices, becomes an increasingly useful and cost-effective way of mixing and connecting various functional technologies. One of the heterogeneous integration platforms gaining increased acceptance is high density fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWL... » read more

China Speeds Up Advanced Chip Development


China is accelerating its efforts to advance its domestic semiconductor industry, amid ongoing trade tensions with the West, in hopes of becoming more self-sufficient. The country is still behind in IC technology and is nowhere close to being self-reliant, but it is making noticeable progress. Until recently, China’s domestic chipmakers were stuck with mature foundry processes with no pres... » read more

Improving Reliability For GaN And SiC


Suppliers of gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) power devices are rolling out the next wave of products with some new and impressive specs. But before these devices are incorporated in systems, they must prove to be reliable. As with previous products, suppliers are quick to point out that the new devices are reliable, although there are some issues that can occasionally surface... » read more

A Benchmark Study Of Complementary-Field Effect Transistor (CFET) Process Integration Options: Comparing Bulk vs. SOI vs. DSOI Starting Substrates


Sub-5 nm logic nodes will require an extremely high level of innovation to overcome the inherent real-estate limitations at this increased device density. One approach to increasing device density is to look at the vertical device dimension (z-direction), and stack devices on top of each other instead of conventionally side-by-side. The fabrication of a Complementary-Field Effect Transistor (CF... » read more

Using Fab Sensors To Reduce Auto Defects


The semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem has begun collaborating on ways to effectively use wafer data to meet the stringent quality and reliability requirements for automotive ICs. Silicon manufacturing companies are now leveraging equipment and inspection monitors to proactively identify impactful defects prior to electrical test. Using machine learning techniques, they combine the monitor ... » read more

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