BEOL Integration For The 1.5nm Node And Beyond


As we approach the 1.5nm node and beyond, new BEOL device integration challenges will be presented. These challenges include the need for smaller metal pitches, along with support for new process flows. Process modifications to improve RC performance, reduce edge placement error, and enable challenging manufacturing processes will all be required. To address these challenges, we investigated th... » read more

Which Processor Is Best?


Intel's embrace of RISC-V represents a landmark shift in the processor world. It's a recognition that no single company can own the data center anymore, upending a revenue model that has persisted since the earliest days of computing. Intel gained traction in that market in the early 1990s with the explosion of commodity servers, but its role is changing as processors become more customized and... » read more

Design Technology Co-Optimization


Rising complexity is making it increasingly difficult to optimize chips for yield and reliability. David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research, examines the benefits of automated rules to manage the relationship between layout and design requirements on one side, and process flows and rules/checks on the other. Benefits include reduced margin, shortened time to market,... » read more

More Than Moore At iMAPS


San Diego recently hosted the 54th International Symposium on Microelectronics. That's a very generic title, so you should know that it is run by iMAPS, the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society. Generally, the conference is just known as iMAPS. One of the keynotes was given by Cadence's KT Moore (in person). His presentation was titled "More Moore or More than Moore: a... » read more

What’s Next For Transistors And Chiplets


Sri Samavedam, senior vice president of CMOS Technologies at Imec, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about finFET scaling, gate-all-around transistors, interconnects, packaging, chiplets and 3D SoCs. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. SE: The semiconductor technology roadmap is moving in several different directions. We have traditional logic scaling, but packaging i... » read more

Time To Rethink Memory Chip Design And Verification


It’s no secret to anyone that semiconductor development grows more challenging all the time. Each new process technology node packs more transistors into each die, creating more electrical issues and making heat dissipation harder. Floorplanning, logic synthesis, place and route, timing analysis, electrical analysis, and functional verification stretch electronic design automation (EDA) tools... » read more

An Introduction To Domain-Specific Accelerators


After 50 years, Moore’s Law, Dennard Scaling, and Amdahl’s Law are failing. The semiconductor industry much change, and processor paradigms must change with it. So what exactly are domain-specific accelerators and why are they so important in light of the failure of these semiconductor scaling laws? » read more

Bumps Vs. Hybrid Bonding For Advanced Packaging


Advanced packaging continues to gain steam, but now customers must decide whether to design their next high-end packages using existing interconnect schemes or move to a next-generation, higher-density technology called copper hybrid bonding. The decision is far from simple, and in some cases both technologies may be used. Each technology adds new capabilities in next-generation advanced pac... » read more

The Road To Domain-Specific Accelerators


For about fifty years, IC designers have been relying on different types of semiconductor scaling to achieve gains in performance. Best known is Moore’s Law, which predicted that the number of transistors in a given silicon area and clock frequency would double every two years. This was combined with Dennard scaling, which predicted that with silicon geometries and supply voltages shrinki... » read more

The Future Of Transistors And IC Architectures


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss chip scaling, transistors, new architectures, and packaging with Jerry Chen, head of global business development for manufacturing & industrials at Nvidia; David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research; Mark Shirey, vice president of marketing and applications at KLA; and Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S. What follows are excerpt... » read more

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