5nm Fab Challenges
At a recent event, Intel presented a paper that generated sparks and fueled speculation regarding the future direction of the leading-edge IC industry. The company described a next-generation...
View Article1xnm DRAM Challenges
At a recent event, Samsung presented a paper that described how the company plans to extend today’s planar DRAMs down to 20nm and beyond. This is an amazing feat. Until very recently, most engineers...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
The SPIE Advanced Lithography conference is next week. “The conference should provide an update on extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) sentiment from chipmakers such as Intel and TSMC, and we expect...
View ArticleWhat’s Next For DRAM?
The DRAM business has always been challenging. Over the years, DRAM suppliers have experienced a number of boom and bust cycles in a competitive landscape. But now, the industry faces a cloudy, if not...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
What was the mood at this week’s SPIE Litho? “EUV sentiment is improving among chipmakers as ASML makes progress toward HVM metrics; however, there is still much hedging around timing and readiness. We...
View Article7nm Lithography Choices
Chipmakers are ramping up their 16nm/14nm logic processes, with 10nm expected to move into early production later this year. Barring a major breakthrough in lithography, chipmakers are using today’s...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
In a surprising move, Intel is quietly in the process of acquiring IMS Nanofabrication, a developer of multi-beam e-beam tools for mask writing applications, Semiconductor Engineering has learned. With...
View ArticleWhere Is Next-Gen Lithography?
Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Greg McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at IMEC; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
Amit Daryanani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, is bearish about the fab tool market for 2016. The wafer fab equipment (WFE) market for DRAM is projected to fall by 10%, while NAND will drop by...
View ArticleWhere Is Next-Gen Lithography?
Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Greg McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at IMEC; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
Fab tool vendors In terms of sales for 2015, Applied Materials retained the No. 1 position in the wafer fab equipment (WFE) market with 1.3% growth last year, according to Garnter. Lam Research...
View ArticleWhere Is Next-Gen Lithography?
Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss lithography and photomask technologies with Greg McIntyre, director of the Advanced Patterning Department at Imec; Harry Levinson, senior fellow and senior...
View Article7nm Fab Challenges
Leading-edge foundry vendors have made the challenging transition from traditional planar processes into the finFET transistor era. The first finFETs were based on the 22nm node, and now the industry...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
Chipmakers As reported, Samsung is expanding its efforts in the foundry business, a move that will put the company on a collision course with TSMC and others. Samsung’s foundry unit is expanding is...
View Article10nm Versus 7nm
The silicon foundry business is heating up, as vendors continue to ramp their 16nm/14nm finFET processes. At the same time, they are racing each other to ship the next technologies on the roadmap—10nm...
View ArticleNext EUV Challenge: Pellicles
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is still not ready for high-volume manufacturing, but the technology is at least moving in the right direction. Both the EUV light source and resists are making...
View ArticleWhat Happened To DSA?
Directed self-assembly (DSA) was until recently a rising star in the next-generation lithography (NGL) landscape, but the technology has recently lost some of its luster, if not its momentum. So what...
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What’s Next For NAND?
NAND flash memory is a key enabler in today’s systems, but it’s a difficult business. NAND suppliers require deep pockets and strong technology to survive in the competitive landscape. And going...
View ArticleThe Week In Review: Manufacturing
Chipmakers IC Insights released its top chip makers in terms of sales for the first quarter of 2016. The top-20 ranking includes three pure-play foundries (TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and UMC) and six...
View ArticleHow To Make 3D NAND
In 2013, Samsung reached a major milestone in the IC industry by shipping the world’s first 3D NAND device. Now, after some delays and uncertainty, Intel, Micron, SK Hynix and the SanDisk/Toshiba duo...
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