GlobalFoundries Goes to Semicon West

Next week it is Semicon West, the big equipment vendor tradeshow. I love to go since EDA and semiconductor and all the stuff we are interested in here at Semiwiki are driven by equipment capabilities, especially lithography. The highest viewed blogs I write tend to be ones on technologies that are just a bit out beyond the stuff people have to worry about today. Is EUV going to happen and when? What about 450mm wafers? Is DSA (directed self assembly) really a thing or an academic toy? E-beam, can it work, are the data rates even feasible? Carbon nanotubes, where are they really? Semicon West is the place to get the best information about all this stuff. I’ll be there (as will Dan).

It is also the place to find out what the foundries are all thinking about. Most chips will be manufactured by foundries after all (outside of the memory business) so it is important. GlobalFoundries have 7 presentations during the next week.

David Duke: Secondary Equipment for Mobile & Diversified ApplicationsMobile, IoT, and other consumer-driven applications are changing behaviors throughout the semiconductor supply-chain. This trend has become noticeable not only at the leading edge, but also for n-2 nodes. Many of these applications rely on Analog, Power and other “More than Moore” devices which, in turn, rely on secondary/legacy equipment for their manufacture.

Les Marshall: Subcomponent Supply Chain for 10nm and BeyondAttendees will hear perspectives from leading edge IDMs and OEMs as well as expectations from critical subcomponent suppliers on how to create a more interactive and collaborative supply chain for greater efficiency, increased technology exchanges, and cost improvements at advanced nodes.

Rohit Pal: Variability Control – A Key Challenge and Opportunity for Driving Towards Manufacturing ExcellenceVariability is one of the biggest challenges when CMOS devices are scaled to meet the demand for portable electronics with increased functionality. The problem is that device sizes have been downscaled to the point where the electrical properties of individual devices are very sensitive to small changes in their materialproperties. A multi-faceted variability reduction approach is needed that comprehends integrates chip design, process and equipment development.

Reed Content: Sustainable Manufacturing Forum: Fabless Considerations in Manufacturing

Ganesh Subramanian: Challenges, Innovations and Drivers in MetrologyHow can we be more proactive in designing the metrology schemes around the introduction of new devices,materials, and components? Efficient yield and stable manufacturing requires good metrology during the HVM ramp, which means it would be desirable to have new metrology andcharacterizationtechniquesavailable early in the R&D process in order to improve cycle times and speedtime-to-market. Certain requirements, such as smaller critical dimensions (CD) and tighter overlay,aredriven by scaling. In some cases, these requirements can be accommodated by incrementalimprovements of existing techniques, but these approaches could be nearing the end of theirextendibility

An Che: Getting to 5nm Devices: Evolutionary Scaling to Disruptive Scaling and BeyondDriven by application and cost considerations, major IC manufacturers have made their transistor technology choices for 14nm (either FinFETs on bulk or SOI, or FDSOI. Beyond 14nm, even more choices will have to be made with respect to non-planar architectures, high-mobility materials, substrate materials, and process modules. Some experts are also looking at disruptive scaling technologies and alternatives to scaling (e.g., monolithic 3D). This session provides an overview of the transistor structures, materials, and process technologies that will need to be developed to get the industry down to 5nm

T.M. Mak: Test Vision 2020Test Vision 2020, formerly ATE Vision, has emerged as the premier workshop in the area of Automated Test Equipment. Attracting record attendance from a broad cross-section of the semiconductor community, the workshop features a compelling line-up of papers, keynotes and panel participation from leaders in the industry. This year, once again the workshop will be held in conjunction with SEMICON West and will examine where the test industry is heading and provide a forum for discussing the directions and solutions for emerging problems.

Full details on these sessions (and all the rest) here.

More articles by Paul McLellan…