December 2, 2011 — Using the advanced through-silicon via (TSV) fabrication process at IBM (NYSE:IBM), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) will begin producing its Hybrid Memory Cube. The companies claim that this is the first CMOS design to go commercial with TSV interconnects.
HMC parts will be manufactured at IBM’s advanced semiconductor fab in East Fishkill, NY, using the company’s 32nm, high-K metal gate (HKMG) process technology. IBM will present the details of its TSV manufacturing breakthrough at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) on December 5 in Washington, DC. Check out an IEDM preview slideshow here.
Also read: IFTLE 74: The Micron Memory Cube consortium by Dr. Phil Garrou
"This is a milestone in the industry move to 3D semiconductor manufacturing," said Subu Iyer, IBM Fellow. "The manufacturing process we are rolling out will have applications beyond memory, enabling other industry segments as well. In the next few years, 3D chip technology will make its way into consumer products, and we can expect to see drastic improvements in battery life and functionality of devices."
Micron’s Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) reportedly achieves speeds 15 times faster than today’s technology. It combines high-performance logic with Micron’s state-of-the-art DRAM using TSVs. HMC prototypes show bandwidth of 128 gigabytes per second (GB/s), using 70% less energy to transfer data, and boast a form factor that is 10% of the footprint of conventional memory. Applications include large-scale networking and high-performance computing, industrial automation and high-end consumer products.
"HMC is a game changer, finally giving architects a flexible memory solution that scales bandwidth while addressing power efficiency," said Robert Feurle, VP of DRAM marketing for Micron.
Micron Technology Inc. provides advanced semiconductor solutions: DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.
IBM is a leading semiconductor technology company. For more information about IBM’s advanced semiconductor products and manufacturing processes, visit www.ibm.com/chips.
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