Issue

The global semiconductor industry is exhibiting many different signs of a maturing industry, and the current status of automated manufacturing is one of those signs.

The 2003 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) notes that monolithically integrated, low-cost light emitters, detectors, and modulators are interesting possible solutions for impending silicon CMOS interconnect challenges.

Semiconductor lithography is facing a critical crossroads.

Solid State Technology asked suppliers to discuss manufacturing process strategies in the current industry climate.

Capping layers can protect porous low-k materials from subsequent processes.

The extension of 193nm ArF lithography to 65nm processes will be necessary because of delays and problems with 157nm tool deployment.

A new method using elastic-material (EM) probes to form nonpenetrating contacts to the silicon surface to measure the four-point probe (4PP) sheet resistance of USJ source/drain structures is described.

Wafer-level packaging (WLP) holds significant promise in enabling higher performance, smaller form factors, and cost savings in IC products, but the introduction of new materials in semiconductor manufacturing raises reliability considerations.

The combination of device enhancements, such as strained silicon configurations, SOI, and nonplanar transistor device structures, in conjunction with the current state-of-the art global efforts in high-k gate dielectrics, metal gate electrodes and elevated source/drain, offers a plethora of opportunities for IC manufacturers.

With the convergence of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and low-k dielectrics for copper dual-damascene interconnects at the 130nm technology node and below...

In less than a decade, the dynamics between Taiwan's large silicon foundry base and leading integrated device manufacturers (IDM) have shifted dramatically.

Adoption of single-wafer processing technology for semiconductor manufacturing continues to increase worldwide, but the Asia-Pacific region — particularly Taiwan — is outpacing the overall global growth rate.

Faced with the threat of mainland China's growing silicon foundry and chip manufacturing segments as well as its low-cost labor, Taiwan's IC industry is under pressure to transform itself into a high value-added, design-driven industry in order to remain competitive in global markets.

The industry's current "up" cycle has been notable because of its strength despite the lack of a new killer application; the cycle has been buoyed instead by many minor new applications and in large part by the existence of a "killer geography" — China.

When it comes to Asia, semiconductor industry suppliers face a daunting challenge in the current strong recovery cycle.