04/16/2013 

New flash memory chips are replacing the floating gate with thin layers of material that "trap the charge." The charge trap is a sandwich of materials such as silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS), metal-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (MONOS) and tantalum-aluminum oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (TANOS), all of which are substantially smaller than the floating gate.

04/16/2013 

At the International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS), being held April 14-18, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort & Spa in Monterey, CA, imec will present new research focused on the stress induced breakdown between the tungsten trench local interconnects (M1, M2) and metal gate in a 28nm CMOS technology. Imec’s Thomas Kauerauf will present a paper titled “Reliability of MOL local interconnects.”

04/16/2013 

New finFETs feature high-k dielectrics, which are better than conventional silicon nitride dielectrics in that they can be thinner, yet still enable good control of the transistor’s channel region from the gate.

04/16/2013 

It’s well-known that transistors generate heat when they’re operating, and that can have a significant impact on the chip’s reliability and longterm longevity. A small increase of 10°C–15°C in the junction temperature may result in ? 2× reduction in the lifespan of the device.

04/16/2013 

FinFETs offer several advantages compared to traditional planar transistors, but it’s not yet clear what kind of new reliability problems might arise as FinFETs are scaled to smaller dimensions.

04/11/2013 

Several years ago when the challenges to 450mm wafer processing, EUV development and novel transistor designs were first being discussed, SEMI commissioned a study that predicted the industry could face an R&D funding gap that could exceed $9 billion if current technology and economic trends continue.

04/02/2013 

ARM and TSMC today announced the first tape-out of an ARM Cortex-A57 processor on FinFET process technology.  The Cortex-A57 processor is ARM's highest performing processor, designed to further extend the capabilities of future mobile and enterprise computing, including compute intensive applications such as high-end computer, tablet and server products.

04/01/2013 

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $23.25 billion for the month of February 2013, an increase of 1.4 percent from February 2012 when sales were $22.93 billion. Effective government policies needed to spur stronger growth.

04/01/2013 

Intermolecular, Inc. today announced that Dr. Raj Jammy has joined the company as senior vice president and general manager of the semiconductor group.

03/22/2013 

Over the past five years, revenue dipped and spiked from the impact of the global recession; in the five years to come, increased offshoring will detract from the growth in global demand from an improved economy.

03/21/2013 

Researchers sponsored by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today announced development of a modeling process designed to simulate atomic-level etching with chemicals that are effective alternatives to widely used perfluorocarbon (PFC) gases.

03/21/2013 

Most electronic systems that power our digital life are inflexible and flat. Rigid electronic designs work for our computers and phones but not for our bodies. Humans are soft and curved. Electronic systems capable of bending, twisting, and stretching have great potential for applications in which conventional, stiff semiconductor microelectronics would not suffice.

03/20/2013 

PI miCos announced the release of a new 2-axis precision linear translation stage. The new MCS XY precision linear stage was designed for industrial precision motion control and surface metrology applications and combines robustness and high accuracy.

03/20/2013 

Semiconductor manufacturers, suppliers and academia to collaborate on real-world issues at SEMI event.

03/15/2013 

Mentor Graphics User Conference 2013 speaker line-up boasts a host of industry bigwigs, including former foundry CTO, Dr. Chenming Hu.  Hu will give the keynote address on April 25 in San Jose, California, addressing the future of FinFET.

03/13/2013 

After reaching a worrisome high in the third quarter of 2012, global semiconductor inventories held by chip suppliers fell at a surprisingly fast rate in the fourth quarter, led by dramatic reductions for market leader Intel Corp.

03/07/2013 

More than 100 representatives from government and the photonics industry convened in Washington, D.C., on February 28 to identify focus areas for a national photonics initiative (NPI), engaging academia, industry, and government in a collaboration to address barriers to continued U.S. leadership in photonics.

03/07/2013 

Over 2,000 industry professionals attended last week’s SPIE Advanced Lithography, where important progress reports were revealed on extreme ultraviolet (EUV), lithography, directed self-assembly (DSA), metrology, and related topics. The event ran February 24-28 in San Jose, California.

03/06/2013 

Following a healthy expansion in 2012, the growth of the global automotive semiconductor market will decelerate slightly this year because of a slowdown in the aftermarket and portable navigation device (PND) segments.

03/04/2013 

Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $24.05 billion the month of January, up 3.8% from January 2012 and down 2.8% from December 2012, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).