Advanced Process Control

By Ed Sperling - 20 Jun, 2019 - Comments: 0

David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research, looks at shrinking tolerances at advanced processes, how that affects variation in semiconductor manufacturing, and what can be done to achieve the benefits of scaling without moving to new transistor architectures. » read more

Sidestepping Moore’s Law

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Jun, 2019 - Comments: 2

Calvin Cheung, vice president of engineering at ASE, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about advanced packaging, the challenges involved with the technology, and the implications for Moore’s Law. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: What are some of the big issues with IC packaging today? Cheung: Moore’s Law is slowing down, but transistor scaling will co... » read more

Using ML For Post-Silicon Validation

By Ed Sperling - 11 Jun, 2019 - Comments: 0

Ira Leventhal, vice president of Advantest’s new concept product initiative, talks about how to use machine learning to ferret out hidden relationships in a complex design and to utilize that data to improve chips. » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power

By Jesse Allen - 31 May, 2019 - Comments: 0

M&A NXP will acquire Marvell's Wi-Fi Connectivity business in an all-cash, asset transaction valued at $1.76 billion. The deal includes the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology portfolios and related assets; the business employs approximately 550 people worldwide. The deal is expected to close by calendar Q1 2020. Tools Cadence unveiled a data center-optimized FPGA-based prototyping system, ... » read more

Challenges And Solutions For Silicon Wafer Bevel Defects During 3D NAND Flash Manufacturing

By Pradeep Nanja - 23 May, 2019 - Comments: 0

As semiconductor technology scales down in size, process integration complexity and defects are increasing in 3D NAND flash, partially due to larger stack deposits and thickness variability between the wafer center and the wafer edge. Industry participants are working to reduce defect density at the wafer edge to improve overall wafer yield. Attention has focused on common wafer bevel defects s... » read more

New Imaging Tech Finds Buried Defects

By Shinsuke Mizuno - 23 May, 2019 - Comments: 0

By Shinsuke Mizuno and Vadim Kuchik Defects and contamination on the wafer can slow process development times and limit performance and yield. As chips get more complex, more defects can become buried within the increasing number of layers in the design. Finding and analyzing these buried defects is a major challenge for the industry, especially during the early learning cycles of new manufa... » read more

Making AI More Dependable

By Ed Sperling - 07 May, 2019 - Comments: 0

Ira Leventhal, vice president of Advantest’s new concept product initiative, looks at why AI has taken so long to get going, what role it will play in improving the reliability of all chips, and how to use AI to improve the reliability of AI chips themselves. » read more

Controlling IC Manufacturing Processes For Yield

By Ed Sperling - 24 Apr, 2019 - Comments: 0

Equipment and tools vendors are starting to focus on data as a means of improving yield, adding more sensors and analysis capabilities into the manufacturing flow to circumvent problems in real time. How much this will impact the cost of developing complex chips at leading-edge nodes, and in 2.5D and 3D-IC packages, remains to be seen. But the race to both generate data during manufacturing ... » read more

Improving SAQP Patterning Yield Using Virtual Fabrication And Advanced Process Control

By Benjamin Vincent - 25 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Advanced logic scaling has created some difficult technical challenges, including a requirement for highly dense patterning. Imec recently confronted this challenge, by working toward the use of Metal 2 (M2) line patterning with a 16 nm half-pitch for their 7nm node (equivalent to a 5nm foundry node). Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning (SAQP) was investigated as an alternative path to Extreme Ul... » read more

E-Beam Review And CD Measurement Revolutionizes Display Yield Management

By Applied Materials - 20 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Fundamental changes are occurring in the display industry, driven by demands for higher-resolution screens and other capabilities for both mobile and TV applications. To meet these demands, the display technology roadmap in this article calls for innovations in materials, processes and device technology. Critical requirements include smaller design rules and the adoption of a range of materi... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

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Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

by Ed Sperling

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

Alongside high-NA EUV will be better-performing photoresists, reduced roughness using passivation and etch, and lateral etching to reduce tip-to-tip dimensions.

by Laura Peters

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

by Brian Bailey

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

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