Items tagged with EUV
For the first time ever, Samsung is applying extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to its production of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) modules, and has already shipped one million of them in DDR4 form. Looking further down the road, Samsung anticipates this leading to more cutting-edge EUV process nodes, including what will be used on its upcoming DDR5 memory chips next year. No other memory maker has yet adopted EUV in DRAM production, so in that regard, Samsung earns itself a bit of bragging rights. More importantly for customers, this could potentially lead to lower pricing due to better yields, and faster performance. To what extent, however, remains to be seen, but we should find out...
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While Intel is currently "stuck" on the 14nm process node for its volume production processors, other players in the industry have been shipping 7nm chips for months. 7nm SoCs have been developed by Apple, Huawei, and Samsung, while AMD has pushed out the 7nm Radeon VII and is preparing for volume shipments of 7nm Zen 2-based processors. Samsung, on the other hand, is already looking past the 7nm process node towards 5nm. The South Korean electronics giant announced this morning that it has completed development of its 5nm FinFET process technology that will be used in future SoCs that will power next-generation mobile devices. Samsung S3-line in Hwaseong, Korea, home to its EUV...
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Intel is well behind schedule with its 10nm process tech; it is years behind schedule in fact. As a result, the company has pushed its 14nm process to tech to the limit with a number of design refreshes. However, the company says that it is still on track to deliver volume production of its 10nm consumer processors in late 2019 and for the sever market in 2020 (we should note that that limited 10nm chips have shipped out, albeit with their integrated GPUs disabled). With that being said, while Intel's full-scale 10nm rollout has been delayed, Murthy Renduchintala, Intel’s chief engineering officer, says that the advances that the company has made with its 14nm...
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One of the greatest obstacles standing between chip manufacturers and the pursuit of smaller, faster, processors is the lack of a proper light source. Current chips are etched using a deep ultraviolet wavelength of 193nm, but at a 28nm semiconductor process geometry, we've reached the limits of what a 193nm wavelength is small enough to etch, even when using immersion lithography (in which the chip is immersed in water). Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) has been pegged as the most likely replacement for current 193nm technology, but repeated problems with ramping EUV have left it stalled on the runway. Now, for the first time, foundry technology developer ASML, which made headlines last...
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Last month, Intel announced a deal in which it would invest $4.1B in the photolithography company ASML in exchange for a 15% ownership stake in the company. Now, TSMC has followed suit with its own announcement. The Taiwanese foundry hinted in its last conference call that it might take this step, so it's not a surprise to see it following through. Under the terms of the deal, TSMC is investing €276 into developing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and 450mm wafer deployments, with a further €838 investment that buys it a 5% equity stake in the company. ASML is a vital company to both Intel and TSMC; it manufacturers the hardware that the two competitors use to build their respective...
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Trusted sources we've spoken to in the semiconductor industry have implied that TSMC is considering a partnership with Apple that would realign the manufacturer's technology roadmap and fundamentally alter the balance of power between the foundry and its other customers. Morris Chang, TSMC's CEO, spoke about the possibility of closer collaboration with its customers in general terms last Friday, but at the time we thought the likelihood of an Apple alliance was unlikely. We've since been given reason to think otherwise. A dedicated alliance with Apple that gives the company first access to 20nm production and/or a dedicated fab could fundamentally redefine the foundry-customer relationship and...
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Trusted sources we've spoken to in the semiconductor industry have implied that TSMC is considering a partnership with Apple that would realign the manufacturer's technology roadmap and fundamentally alter the balance of power between the foundry and its other customers. Morris Chang, TSMC's CEO, spoke about the possibility of closer collaboration with its customers in general terms last Friday, but at the time we thought the likelihood of an Apple alliance was unlikely. We've since been given reason to think otherwise. A dedicated alliance with Apple that gives the company first access to 20nm production and/or a dedicated fab could fundamentally redefine the foundry-customer relationship...
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On September 1, GlobalFoundries played host to the first annual Global Technology Conference (GTC for short). While there were a fair number of partner presentations on display, the conference was primarily driven by GlobalFoundries executives and announcements. When we spoke to GlobalFoundries in March we remarked on the company's aggressive roadmap; we were curious to see if the company would still be on track six months later... GlobalFoundries Details Plans For 2011 And Beyond...
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On September 1, GlobalFoundries played host to the first annual Global Technology Conference (GTC for short). While there were a fair number of partner presentations on display, the conference was primarily driven by GlobalFoundries executives and announcements. When we spoke to GlobalFoundries in March we remarked on the company's aggressive roadmap; we were curious to see if the company would still be on track six months later. Based on comments made by company CEO Doug Grose, GlobalFoundries is on track to realize some $4 billion in revenue for the year 2010 and plans to double its size within two years (it's unclear if this refers to revenue, wafer starts, or customer base). The company's...
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