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Challenges In Backside Power Delivery
One of the key technologies to enable scaling below 3nm involves delivering of power on the backside of a chip. This novel approach enhances signal integrity and reduces routing congestion, but it also...
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How Far Will Copper Interconnects Scale?
As leading chipmakers continue to scale finFETs — and soon nanosheet transistors — to ever-tighter pitches, the smallest metal lines eventually will become untenable using copper with its liner and...
View ArticleWeek In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
The CHIPS Act sparked $200 billion in private investments for U.S. semiconductor production, including 40 new semiconductor ecosystem projects, according to SIA. China is working toward...
View ArticleWeek In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
SEMI , SEMI Europe and European Commission representatives, in consultation with semiconductor industry stakeholders, proposed initiatives to overcome the skills shortage in Europe’s microelectronics...
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Metrology Options Increase As Device Needs Shift
Semiconductor fabs are taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to solving tough metrology and yield management challenges, combining tools, processes, and other technologies as the chip industry...
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Supply Chain Collaboration Key To Making Chip Industry More Sustainable
Coming in the wake of the COP27, the Smart and Green Manufacturing Summit at SEMICON Europa 2022 (Munich, 15-17 November) had a timely focus on the semiconductor industry’s contribution to meeting the...
View ArticleThe Physics Of Ferroelectrics
The physics of ferroelectric materials is a large topic — too large for comprehensive coverage in a single article. While researching my recent article on negative capacitance, I found a number of...
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As Chiplets Go Mainstream, Chip Industry Players Collaborate to Overcome New...
The semiconductor industry is building a comprehensive chiplet ecosystem to seize on the advantages of the devices over traditional monolithic system-on-chips (SoCs) such as improved performance, lower...
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Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing & Test
The Biden Administration’s export bans for semiconductor manufacturing equipment are delaying expansion plans for Chinese chipmakers, Nikkei Asia reports. Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has halted...
View ArticleWeek In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) released an interim roadmap for Microelectronic and Advanced Packaging Technologies (MPAT) that targets 10- to 15-year goals for 3D integration and...
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Metrology Strategies For 2nm Processes
Metrology and wafer inspection processes are changing to keep up with evolving and new device applications. While fab floors still have plenty of OCD tools, ellipsometers, and CD-SEMs, new systems are...
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Challenges Grow For CD-SEMs At 5nm And Beyond
CD-SEM, the workhorse metrology tool used by fabs for process control, is facing big challenges at 5nm and below. Traditionally, CD-SEM imaging has relied on a limited number of image frames for...
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Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he launched an effort to establish rules on artificial intelligence to address national security and education concerns, Reuters reported. “Time is of the...
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Assist Layers: The Unsung Heroes of EUV Lithography
Most discussions of advanced lithography focus on three elements — the exposure system, photomasks, and photoresists — but that’s only part of the challenge. Successfully transferring a pattern from...
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Managing Yield With EUV Lithography And Stochastics
Identifying issues that actually affect yield is becoming more critical and more difficult at advanced nodes, but there is progress. Although they are closely related, yield management and process...
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Etch Processes Push Toward Higher Selectivity, Cost Control
Plasma etching is perhaps the most essential process in semiconductor manufacturing, and possibly the most complex of all fab operations next to photolithography. Nearly half of all fab steps rely on a...
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Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
The Cyberspace Administration of China recommended a ban of Micron chips for critical information infrastructure (CII), alleging serious network security risks. According to a statement from China’s...
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Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
Applied Materials sued its Chinese-owned rival, Mattson, over an alleged 14-month effort to steal valuable trade secrets, reports Bloomberg. In court filing, Applied Materials claimed that Mattson...
View ArticleWeek In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test
The CHIPS for America team at the U.S. Department of Commerce named the selection committee who will select board members for the nonprofit entity that will likely be managing the National...
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DAC/Semicon West Addresses Top Issues, Trends For Chips
The Design Automation Conference (DAC) 2023 and Semicon West returned in full force this week, drawing in more attendees and sponsor companies than since before the pandemic. At times, booth traffic...
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