The Evolution of the Extension Implant Part II

The Evolution of the Extension Implant Part II
by Daniel Nenni on 05-02-2019 at 7:00 am

The use of hard masks instead of photoresist for the Extension implant is an effective way to optimize the amount of dopant that is retained along the fin sidewalls for those fins that border along photoresist edges (as discussed in Part 1 of this series).

However, hard masks do nothing to address the dominant problem driving steeper… Read More


A Brief History of Methodics

A Brief History of Methodics
by Daniel Nenni on 04-29-2019 at 12:00 pm

Methodics has been a key player in IP management for over 10 years. In this section, Methodics shares their history, technology, and their role in developing IP Lifecycle Management (IPLM) solutions for the electronics industry.

Methodics is recognized as a premier provider of IP Lifecycle Management (IPLM) and traceability… Read More


The Evolution of the Extension Implant Part I

The Evolution of the Extension Implant Part I
by Daniel Nenni on 04-29-2019 at 7:00 am

The 3D character of FinFET transistor structures pose a range of unique fabrication problems that can make it challenging to get these devices to yield. This is especially true for the all-important Extension implant that is put in place just prior to the nitride spacer formation.

The Extension implant is a central component of… Read More


EDA Update 2019

EDA Update 2019
by Daniel Nenni on 04-26-2019 at 12:00 pm

Over the last six years EDA has experienced yet another disruption not unlike the Synopsys acquisition of Avant! in 2001 which positioned Synopsys for the EDA lead they still enjoy today. Or the hiring of famed venture capitalist Lip-Bu Tan in 2009 to be the CEO of struggling EDA pioneer Cadence Design Systems. Under Lip-Bu’s… Read More


A Quick TSMC 2019 Tech Symposium Overview

A Quick TSMC 2019 Tech Symposium Overview
by Daniel Nenni on 04-26-2019 at 7:00 am

This year TSMC did a FinFET victory lap with the success of 16nm, 12nm, 10nm, and 7nm. It really is well deserved. Even though TSMC credits the ecosystem and customers, I credit TSMC and their relationship with Apple since it has pushed us all much harder than ever before. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei summed it up nicely in his keynote: Innovation,… Read More


A Brief History of IP Management

A Brief History of IP Management
by Daniel Nenni on 04-24-2019 at 12:00 pm

As RTL design started to increase in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, it was becoming apparent that some amount of management was needed to keep track of all the design files and their associated versions. Because of the parallels to software development, design teams looked to the tools and methodologies that were in use by software… Read More


User2User Silicon Valley 2019

User2User Silicon Valley 2019
by Daniel Nenni on 04-22-2019 at 7:00 am

This will be one of the more interesting Mentor User Group Meetings now that the Siemens acquisition has fully taken effect and the new management team is in place. The Mentor User Conference is at the Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, California on May 2, 2019 from 9:00 am to 6:00pm.

Remember, in 2017 Siemens acquired Mentor Graphics… Read More


TSMC Q1 2019 Earnings Call Discussion!

TSMC Q1 2019 Earnings Call Discussion!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-19-2019 at 7:00 am

It’s no coincidence that the TSMC Symposium is right after the Q1 earnings call. This will allow TSMC to talk more freely and they certainly will, my opinion. It is a very interesting time in the semiconductor industry and TSMC, being the bellwether, can tell us what will happen the rest of the year and give us some 2020 insights.… Read More


Samsung 5nm and TSMC 6nm Update

Samsung 5nm and TSMC 6nm Update
by Daniel Nenni on 04-16-2019 at 12:00 pm

TSMC and Samsung continue to raise the competitive bar for FinFET foundry market share with dueling announcements this week. As I mentioned previously in the blog Semiconductor Foundry Landscape Update 2019, FinFETs are the market to watch with the coming onslaught of 5G and AI chips on the edge, in the cloud, and in our autonomous… Read More


From Wild West to Modern Life the Semiconductor Evolution

From Wild West to Modern Life the Semiconductor Evolution
by Daniel Nenni on 04-15-2019 at 7:00 am

What started as blogs, or vignettes as Wally calls them, posted on SemiWiki is now a free PDF eBook. The journey starts with his school days at Stanford through 20+ years at TI and 24+ years at Mentor Graphics. Wally has traveled millions of miles meeting with every customer imaginable while presenting hundreds of different keynotes… Read More