Device Architecture

DEVICE ARCHITECTURE ARTICLES



ST tips low-power 45nm SoC results

06/14/2007  June 13, 2007 - STMicroelectronics says it has taped out the design for a low-power system-on-chip (SoC) "demonstrator" device with a multiple threshold transistors, dual-core CPU and associated memory hierarchy. The process improves speed by 20% vs. 65nm designs or reduces leakage current by half when in operation (and by "several orders of magnitude" when in retention mode), and takes up half the silicon area.

SIA pares chip outlook, blames ASPs

06/13/2007  June 13, 2007 - With chip sales "running well short" of last year's projections for several months now, the SIA has significantly scaled back its expectations for semiconductor industry growth this year. The SIA now projects just 1.8% growth this year to $252 billion, instead of ~10% growth anticipated from its outlook last November.

Infineon extends multigate-FET work

06/13/2007  June 13, 2007 - Infineon has disclosed an update to its work with multigate transistors, saying it's completed tests of circuits made with the new transistor architecture on 65nm processes, incorporating more than 23,000 transistors that incorporate "all of the key components" in current circuits plus SRAM. The device's record 13.9 picosecond switching time is 40% better than the previous version, touted at December's IEDM.

Tezzaron, Chartered working on 2D "iRAM" hybrid, 3D ICs to come

06/12/2007  June 12, 2007 - Tezzaron Semiconductor says it is ramping its 2D "3T-iRAM" line of 72Mbit memory devices at Singapore foundry Chartered Semiconductor on the foundry's 0.13-micron process technology, and plans to use this SRAM drop-in replacement as the basis for its first 3D ICs. Robert Patti, Tezzaron CTO, discusses both technologies with WaferNEWS.

Why innovation could be the next killer app

06/12/2007  Semico Research's latest semiconductor market revenue forecast calls for a slight (0.5%) decline for the remainder of 2007 but shows a highly elastic (20%) rebound in 2008, with continued double-digit expansion for the next several years. Fueling this growth will be not a single killer app, but a host of innovative consumer electronic products, according to Jim Feldhan, president of the market research firm, speaking at a recent SEMI New England Breakfast meeting near Boston.

PACKAGING BEAT: Industry leaders vie for memory-stacking bragging rights

06/12/2007  Samsung, Hynix, and Akita Elpida have all made announcements recently about their latest achievements in memory stacking technology. There was definitely a competitive tone to these releases, but they actually appear to be pushing somewhat different agendas.

Report: Image sensor market nearing $7B

06/12/2007  June 12, 2007 - The image sensor market is projected to grow 14% in 2007, following 30% growth in 2006 to roughly $6 billion, and will slow through the next several years, with many providers jostling for position, according to a report from Strategies Unlimited.

Toshiba Touts 3D Memory

06/12/2007  Presenting at the VLSI Symposium this week in Japan, Toshiba says it has developed a 3D memory cell array structure using through-silicon vias (TSVs) that could be a potential candidate for higher-density NAND flash devices.

Toshiba touts SONOS structure in new 3D memory

06/12/2007  June 12, 2007 - Presenting at the VLSI Symposium this week in Japan, Toshiba says it has developed a new 3D memory cell array structure using through-silicon vias that could be a potential candidate for higher-density NAND flash devices.

NEWS FROM JAPAN: PC makers find flash; chemical firms spend for growth

06/12/2007  A roundup of news from the past week in Japan finds PC makers turning to flash, chemical makers opening their wallets, new silicon transport components, and a behemoth of a CMOS image sensor prototype.

NVE wins patent for thermomagnetically assisted spin-momentum transfer MRAM

06/12/2007  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has notified NVE Corporation, Eden Prairie, Minn., of the expected grant of a patent titled "Thermomagnetically Assisted Spin-Momentum-Transfer Switching Memory," relating to magneto-thermal and spin-momentum transfer MRAM inventions.

US, Korea scientists make hybrid nanowire memory devices

06/11/2007  June 11, 2007 - Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), George Mason U., and Korea's Kwangwoon U. have fabricated a hybrid memory device incorporating both silicon nanowires and nonvolatile semiconductor-oxide-nitride-oxide-semiconductor (SONOS) technology, which they suggest is more reliable than other nanowire-based memory devices.

Nanocoating opportunities grow as layers get thinner

06/11/2007  Nanocoating and ultra thin film deposition technology is expanding from industrial applications to semiconductors, photovoltaic cells, magnetic memory, and space exploration. Small Times' Hugh Willett reports.

Report: TSMC padding 65nm lead over UMC, Chartered

06/08/2007  June 8, 2007 - New orders for more of TSMC's 65nm capacity from Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp., which are eyeing increased demand from the mobile phone market, puts TSMC even further ahead of rivals seeking to add customers for their leading-edge offerings, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

Sony spending ~$500M for image sensor expansion

06/06/2007  June 6, 2007 - Identifying image sensors as a key focus area for its semiconductor business, Sony Corp. says it will invest approximately 60 billion yen (US $493.3 million) to expand its Kumamoto Technology Center (TEC) in Kyushu over the next three years.

Reports: DRAM spot prices climbing, outlook improving

06/06/2007  June 6, 2007 - Spot prices for DRAM memory have risen for a second straight week according to data from DRAMeXchange and Gartner, suggesting that prices may have finally fallen below costs and could be poised for a rebound.

Untangling CNT Interconnect Issues

06/05/2007  Since carbon nanotubes (CNTs) tend to grow with erratic kinks and bends in the tube structure, a group of engineers from Stanford University has devised circuit-simulation algorithms that eliminate bad connections caused by errant CNTs. The work, which involves fine grids rather that direct interconnects, is being presented at the Design Automation Conference (DAC), June 4–8 in San Diego.

Flash Advancing in Media Industry

06/05/2007  Flash memory will become a large factor in the portable media player (PMP) market by 2011, reports analyst firm iSuppli. Flash is expected to grow 25× in this sector by 2011, bringing the quantity of flash-equipped PMPs to 150.2 million units. In 2007, shipments of PMPs with flash components will reach 54.8 million units. iSuppli predicts NAND packages will replace HDDs, based on storage capacity requirements for video as well as audio output.

SPICE Model for 90 nm

06/05/2007  Developed at the University of Hiroshima (Japan) with professor Mitiko Miura-Mattausch, the HiSIM SPICE modeling solution targets modeling and simulation based on the physics of 90-nm CMOS geometries and below. It incorporates the surface potential-based model.

Are memory firms crazy like a fox?

06/05/2007  "Food for thought" served up during a SEMI breakfast panel near Boston suggested memory firms' wild overspending and capacity increases may in fact be shrewd strategic moves to shore up leading-edge 300mm capacity before an oncoming technology "brick wall" makes their existing 200mm fabs obsolete.




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Environment, Safety & Health

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The semiconductor industry is an acknowledged global leader in promoting environmental sustainability in the design, manufacture, and use of its products, as well as the health and safety of its operations and impacts on workers in semiconductor facilities (fabs). We will examine trends and concerns related to emissions, chemical use, energy consumption and worker safety and health.

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Wafer Processing

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As the industry moves to 10nm and 7nm nodes, advances in wafer processing – etch, deposition, planarization, implant, cleaning, annealing, epitaxy among others – will be required. Manufacturers are looking for new solutions for sustained strain engineering, FinFETs, FDSOI and multi-gate technologies, 3D NAND, and high mobility transistors.

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