Nanoimprint Finally Finds Its Footing


Nanoimprint lithography, which for decades has trailed behind traditional optical lithography, is emerging as the technology of choice for the rapidly growing photonics and biotech chips markets. First introduced in the mid-1990s, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has consistently been touted as a lower-cost alternative to traditional optical lithography. Even today, NIL potentially is capable o... » read more

Using AI To Improve Metrology Tooling


Virtual metrology is carefully being added into semiconductor manufacturing, where it is showing positive results, but the chip industry is proceeding cautiously. The first use of this technology has been for augmenting existing fab processes, such as advanced process control (APC). Controlling processes and managing yield generally do not require GPU processing and advanced algorithms, so t... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


MLCommons debuted the latest results for the MLPerf Inference v3.0 and Mobile v3.0 benchmark suites, which measure the performance and power-efficiency of applying a trained machine learning model to new data in data center, edge, and mobile use cases. Overall, MLCommons said the results showed both power efficiency improvements and significant gains in performance in some benchmark tests. Seve... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, Mobility Tesla employees have been viewing customer videos, according to an investigative report by Reuters. The news outlet surveyed and interviewed Tesla employees, who described using the footage for both legitimate purposes and entertainment purposes within the company. Some employees forwarded videos to coworkers. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not immune. Employees found an in... » 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

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing & Test


The Biden Administration’s export bans for semiconductor manufacturing equipment are delaying expansion plans for Chinese chipmakers, Nikkei Asia reports. Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has halted work on its second memory plant near Wuhan, and ChangXin Memory Technologies (CMTX) says its second production facility, slated to open in 2023, will be delayed until 2024 or 2025. In an effo... » read more

Devices And Transistors For The Next 75 Years


The 75th anniversary of the invention of the transistor sparked a lively panel discussion at IEDM, spurring debate about the future of CMOS, the role of III-V and 2D materials in future transistors, and what will be the next great memory architecture.[1] Industry veterans from the memory, logic, and research communities see high-NA EUV production, NAND flash with 1,000 layers, and hybrid bon... » read more

Startup Funding: December 2022


The month of December saw six rounds of $100 million or more. The largest, at a massive half-billion dollars, will support manufacturing of 12-inch monocrystalline silicon polished wafers and epitaxial wafers in China. The company is aiming for a production rate of 1 million pieces a month when current expansion is completed. Also in the half-billion club last month is a company making auton... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


The more than 1,400 attendees at this week’s IEDM, which celebrated the 75th anniversary of the transistor, were clearly focused on making the next 75 years of semiconductors even more remarkable than the last. Intel, Samsung, TSMC, STMicroelectronics, GlobalFoundries and imec announced breakthrough devices, materials, and even integration approaches. These included: Intel showcased adva... » read more

Where All The Semiconductor Investments Are Going


Companies and countries are funneling huge sums of money into semiconductor manufacturing, materials, and research — at least a half-trillion dollars over the next decade, and maybe much more — to guarantee a steady supply of chips and know-how to support growth across a wide swath of increasingly data-centric industries. The build-out of a duplicate supply chain that can guarantee capac... » read more

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