August 18, 2008 – IBM and joint development partners (AMD, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba, CSNE in Albany, NY) say they have built a working static random-access memory (SRAM) using 22nm process technologies.
The 0.1μm2 cell incorporates a six-transistor design and was built in Albany’s 300mm “semiconductor research environment” using high-NA immersion lithography, band-edge high-k metal gate stacks (with <25nm gate lengths), "extremely thin silicide, and damascene copper contacts," as well as "thin spacers, novel co-implants," and "advanced activation techniques," according to a press release.
More details about the 22nm SRAM will be presented at the IEEE International Electron Devices (IEDM) meeting in December.
“We are working at the ultimate edge of what is possible — progressing toward advanced, next-generation semiconductor technologies,” said T.C. Chen, VP of science and technology at IBM Research, in the statement. “This new development is a critical achievement in the pursuit to continually drive miniaturization in microelectronics.”