How TSMC Contributed to the Death of 450mm and Upset Intel in the Process

How TSMC Contributed to the Death of 450mm and Upset Intel in the Process
by Craig Addison on 08-05-2022 at 6:00 am

450mm wafer

Pinpointing exactly when 450mm died is tricky. Intel’s pullback in 2014 has been cited as a pivotal moment because it was the main backer of the proposed transition, as it had been for the shift to 150mm (6-inch) wafers in the early 1980s.

However, the participation of global foundry leader TSMC was also seen as crucial if 450mm wafers… Read More


Intel & Chips Act Passage Juxtaposition

Intel & Chips Act Passage Juxtaposition
by Robert Maire on 07-31-2022 at 6:00 am

Chips Act Corporate Welfare

-Need more/less spend & more/fewer chips
-The irony of chips act passage & Intel stumble on same day
-Due to excess supply of chips, Intel cuts spending
-Due to shortage of chips, the government increases spending
-How did this happen on the same day? Cosmic Coincidence?

Timing is everything

The irony of intel cutting spending… Read More


3D Device Technology Development

3D Device Technology Development
by Tom Dillinger on 07-13-2022 at 6:00 am

CFET cross section v2

The VLSI Symposium on Technology and Circuits provides a deep dive on recent technical advances, as well as a view into the research efforts that will be transitioning to production in the near future.  In a short course presentation at the Symposium, Marko Radosavljevic, from the Components Research group at Intel, provided … Read More


Using STA with Aging Analysis for Robust IC Designs

Using STA with Aging Analysis for Robust IC Designs
by Daniel Payne on 06-23-2022 at 10:00 am

Gate Level Aging min

Our laptops and desktop computers have billions of transistors in their application processor chips, yet I often don’t consider the reliability effects of aging that the transistors experience in the chips. At the recent Synopsys User Group (aka SNUG), there was a technical presentation on this topic from Srinivas Bodapati,… Read More


Intel 4 Deep Dive

Intel 4 Deep Dive
by Scotten Jones on 06-13-2022 at 6:00 am

Figure 1

As I previously wrote about here, Intel is presenting their Intel 4 process at the VLSI Technology conference. Last Wednesday Bernhard Sell (Ben) from Intel gave the press a briefing on the process and provided us with early access to the paper (embargoed until Sunday 6/12).

“Intel 4 CMOS Technology Featuring Advanced FinFET TransistorsRead More


An Update on In-Line Wafer Inspection Technology

An Update on In-Line Wafer Inspection Technology
by Tom Dillinger on 06-06-2022 at 6:00 am

inspection overview

From initial process technology development (TD) to high volume manufacturing (HVM) status for a new node, one of the key support functions to improve and maintain yield is the in-line wafer inspection technology.  Actually, there are multiple inspection technologies commonly employed, with tradeoffs in pixel resolution,… Read More


0.55 High-NA Lithography Update

0.55 High-NA Lithography Update
by Tom Dillinger on 05-31-2022 at 6:00 am

mask infrastructure 0 55

At the recent SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning Conference, Mark Phillips from Intel gave an insightful update on the status of the introduction of the 0.55 high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography technology.  Mark went so far as to assert that the development progress toward high-NA EUV would support … Read More


The New Normal for Semiconductor Manufacturing

The New Normal for Semiconductor Manufacturing
by Daniel Nenni on 05-27-2022 at 6:00 am

200mm 300mm Semiconductor Capacity

One of the recent live events I attended was the 2022 GSA Silicon Leadership Summit on May 12th at the Santa Clara Convention Center (my favorite location). This was the first GSA live event in two years so it was a must attend gathering. This event targets semiconductor ecosystem executives (200+ people attended) so there were many… Read More


Intel to present Intel 4 process at the VLSI Technology Symposium

Intel to present Intel 4 process at the VLSI Technology Symposium
by Scotten Jones on 05-20-2022 at 8:00 am

VLSI Symposium 2022 SemiWiki 1

The VLSI Symposium on Technology & Circuits will be held in Hawaii from June 12th to June 17th. You can register for the conference here.

The tip sheet for the conference has been released and one thing that caught my eye is some data from the Intel 4 paper that Intel will be presenting at the conference.

Intel’s old roadmap had 14nm,… Read More


Semiconductor Crash Update

Semiconductor Crash Update
by Daniel Nenni on 05-12-2022 at 10:00 am

Semiconductors are Capturing Electronics

Earlier this year semiconductor oracle Malcom Penn did his 2022 forecast which I covered here: Are We Headed for a Semiconductor Crash? The big difference with this update is the black economic clouds that are looming which may again highlight Malcolm’s forecasting prowess. I spent an hour with Malcolm and company on his Zoom cast… Read More