SST's Ed's Threads - A Blog on Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology and Business

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-320651062008-05-10T04:14:38.305-07:00SST's Ed's Threads - A Blog on Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology and BusinessSST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-24979081788380480622008-05-06T11:03:00.000-07:002008-05-06T11:08:00.870-07:00080505: When is a Memristor a ReRAM?

Ed’s Threads 080505 Musings by Ed Korczynski on May 5, 2008 When is a Memristor a ReRAM? HP published that they are the first to have fabricated a novel circuit element first predicted in 1971 called the “memristor.” The HP authors claim that, “until now no one has presented either a useful physical model or an example of a memristor.” HP is certainly leading the world, but as one of many

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-59750662987000413372008-04-29T11:45:00.000-07:002008-04-29T12:01:24.303-07:00080429: SAFC Hitech opens modular scalable plant

Ed’s Threads 080429 Musings by Ed Korczynski on April 29, 2008 SAFC Hitech opens modular scalable plant A trusted supplier of specialty materials for semiconductor manufacturing must have great safety, control, and smarts. These specialty chemicals include precursors for growth and deposition, photoresist and slurry additives, as well as CMP, ECD, encapsulation, packaging and assembly, fuel cell

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-53700580379018294702008-04-14T23:09:00.000-07:002008-04-14T23:17:00.996-07:00080414: Energy Costs mean externalities matter

Ed’s Threads 080414 Musings by Ed Korczynski on April 14, 2008 Energy Costs mean externalities matter What do the words “Energy” and “Costs” have to do with materials considerations in 2008? The most recent issue of the Materials Research Society (MRS) Bulletin has just been released and it’s a special issue devoted to exploring all aspects—including costs—of materials science and engineering

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-79224813794371327332008-04-07T23:17:00.000-07:002008-04-07T23:37:50.229-07:00080407: CNT and graphene dreams may be real

Ed’s Threads 080407 Musings by Ed Korczynski on April 7, 2008 CNT and graphene dreams may be real Carbon nano-tubes (CNT) are the only viable (pun-intended) new materials being developed to replace copper as the electrical interconnects for future ICs. There are no known room-temperature superconductors, and optical interconnects require relatively slow and expensive lasers and detectors, and

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-69391224956830494062008-03-31T21:22:00.000-07:002008-03-31T21:25:59.112-07:00080331: MRS meeting covers nanostuff and microthings

Ed’s Threads 20080331 Musings by Ed Korczynski on March 31, 2008 MRS meeting covers nanostuff and microthings Over 4000 researchers were in San Francisco last week for the annual Materials Research Society (MRS) spring meeting, to discuss advances in materials for electronics, energy, health, and transportation. Over 40 technical session run in parallel, with >10 sessions of interest to the

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-42019542631554450232008-03-25T00:55:00.000-07:002008-03-25T00:59:55.207-07:00080324: Etching new IC materials at 32 and 22nm

Ed’s Threads 080324 Musings by Ed Korczynski on March 24, 2008 Etching new IC materials at 32 and 22nm Silicon Valley was once the center of the silicon-based IC manufacturing world, and though IC fabs are now located globally the valley maintains momentum as the center of IC R&D. The North-California Chapter of the American Vacuum Society (NCCAVS) still runs regular users groups on important

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-67328241682655065402008-03-17T22:12:00.000-07:002008-03-17T22:17:14.426-07:00080317: There is no more noise...

Ed’s Threads 080317 Musings by Ed Korczynski on March 17, 2008 There is no more noise... There is only signal. In controlling the manufacturing processes used for advanced nano-scale IC, the aspects of metrology which we used to be able to ignore as “just noise” are now essential signal we must control. Where to draw the line, and how close is close are just some of the challenges in ensuring

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-75207290541303207312008-03-04T11:21:00.000-08:002008-03-04T11:28:45.408-08:00080304: DFM matures along with industry

Ed’s Threads 080304 Musings by Ed Korczynski on March 4, 2008 DFM matures along with industry Hundreds of technologists over-packed the room in the San Jose Convention Center at 8am on the fourth day of SPIE to hear keynotes from IBM, Intel, and TSMC on the real reality of design for manufacturability (DFM) in the IC fab industry. As the two leading integrated device manufacturers (IDM) in DFM,

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-49454303717370198872008-02-26T00:48:00.001-08:002008-02-26T00:53:24.553-08:00080225: Interconnect technology mature

Ed’s Threads 080225 Musings by Ed Korczynski on February 25, 2008 Interconnect technology mature On-chip interconnects made primarily of copper metal insulated with SiOC low-k dielectric material are the current state-of-the-art for the commercial IC manufacturing industry. A report from the TECHCET Group quantifies the materials that are forecasted to be needed to form interconnects for 65nm to

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-76242975724644988902008-02-19T13:09:00.001-08:002008-02-19T13:17:30.254-08:00080222: TSV forecast for millions of wafers

Ed’s Threads 080222 Musings by Ed Korczynski on February 22, 2008 TSV forecast for millions of wafers Through-silicon vias (TSV) can be used to connect 3D multi-chip module stacks with improved performance and reduced timing delays. A new report by analysts at TechSearch International, Through Silicon Via Technology: The Ultimate Market for 3D Interconnect, provides a forecast for millions of

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-10714441867112070392008-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:002008-02-12T10:26:36.316-08:00080211: IITC process units and integration

Ed’s Threads 080211 Musings by Ed Korczynski on February 11, 2008 IITC process units and integration The International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC) has issued its 11th call for papers, and for a change it will explicitly focus on unit processes (and new materials) while continuing to cover the leading edge of integration. The main deadline for paper submissions has now passed, but a

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-52047379860657470082008-01-22T02:11:00.000-08:002008-01-22T02:45:35.707-08:00080121: SMC highlights PV, LED, and packaging materials

Ed’s Threads Musings by Ed Korczynski on January 21, 2008 [Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.!] SMC highlights PV, LED, and packaging materials Last week saw hundreds of microelectronics industry executives gather at ISS and SMC. The conventional forecasts for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials have been covered by previous WaferNEWS stories. SMC showed truly amazing

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-41893320277238550052008-01-14T22:04:00.000-08:002008-01-16T07:49:18.924-08:00080111: Flood of used 200mm tools

Ed’s Threads 080111 Musings by Ed Korczynski on January 11, 2008 Flood of used 200mm tools Semico Research, working with affiliated Semiconductor Partners, has released a new study of the near-term forecast for used 200mm wafer processing tools soon to flood the market. In addition to identifying companies that are likely to either purchase or sell a fab and their expansion or divestiture plans,

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-62641381243166533692008-01-03T14:29:00.000-08:002008-01-03T14:48:52.428-08:00080101: 2007 odds and ends

Ed’s Threads 080101 Musings by Ed Korczynski on January 01, 2008 2007 odds and ends High-k (HK) and metal-gates (MG) for CMOS transistors are real and here now, with Intel deciding on HK-first but MG-last for process integration. What is the temperature limit for MG processing such that the HK remains amorphous in this flow, and how many other elements are alloyed with hafnium and oxygen in the

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-53582755160301201822007-12-18T11:02:00.000-08:002007-12-18T11:07:35.201-08:00071217: Post-FET future discussed at IEDM

Ed’s Threads 071217 Musings by Ed Korczynski on December 17, 2007 Post-FET future discussed at IEDM Silicon-based CMOS FETs will still be used in commercial ICs in twenty years, but it’s likely that completely new devices will also be in production. It seems highly likely that nMOS and pMOS FET “switches” will be used for mainstream logic and memory until 2015-2020, when such things as cross-bar

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-14303842536459932442007-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:002007-12-13T12:45:28.960-08:00071211: HK+MG real details shown at IEDM

Ed’s Threads 071211 Musings by Ed Korczynski on December 11, 2007 It’s time for IEDM, and ~1600 leaders of the CMOS fab world have gathered in Washington D.C. to announce the latest, greatest in new devices. The first big news concerns high-k/metal-gate (HK+MG) transistors for 45nm node and beyond processing. With many parallel sessions covering the most important technology trends in IC

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-25418322281786908952007-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:002007-12-13T12:46:41.253-08:00071130: PV perspective: Interview with AMAT's solar technology expert

Ed’s Threads 071130 Musings by Ed Korczynski on November 23, 2007 PV perspective: Interview with AMAT's solar technology expert Dr. Charles F. Gay, currently VP and GM of Applied Materials’ solar business group, is a renowned expert in PV technology and business, having been president of Arco Solar, Siemens Solar, and ASE Americas, as well as director of the US Department of

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-33490635136662707752007-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:002007-11-23T12:08:53.878-08:00071123: Printed silicon RF-IDs by Kovio

Ed’s Threads 071123 Musings by Ed Korczynski on November 23, 2007 Printed silicon RF-IDs by Kovio Humans like to tag and track things. This natural tendency has led from physical tags and labels to bar-codes and today radio-frequency identity (RF-ID) chips. There has been controversy over the possibly use of “active” RF-ID tags being used to secretly track people, but simpler “passive” RF-IDs

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-11998642956053918432007-11-13T12:34:00.000-08:002007-11-13T12:39:38.557-08:00071102: Leti continues to lead research

Ed’s Threads 071102 Musings by Ed Korczynski on November 02, 2007 Leti continues to lead research Leti (Laboratoire d’electronique et de technologie de l’information) is conceptually 1/3 of CEA (Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique), with nuclear energy and nuclear bombs the other major sections. The atomic reactors at the Grenoble site have been shut-down and now the entire sprawling campus is

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-58463813268849660022007-10-30T13:40:00.000-07:002007-10-30T14:49:00.563-07:00071026: Soitec catalyzes SOI consortium

Ed’s Threads 071026 Musings by Ed Korczynski on 26 October 2007 Soitec catalyzes SOI consortium Earlier this month after the SEMICON Europa show, Soitec COO Pascal Mauberger, led me on a tour of the company’s two manufacturing and one R&D lines in Bernin, France across the creek from ST in Crolles. Soitec has taken a bit of a gamble on expanding capacity with a new line in Singapore, just when

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-71683131782439988342007-10-15T08:31:00.000-07:002007-10-15T08:35:26.821-07:00071012: Managing mature fabs

Ed’s Threads 071012 Musings by Ed Korczynski on October 12, 2007 Managing mature fabs Associated with SEMICON Europe 2007, the Fab Manager’s Forum gathered representatives of Europe’s semiconductor fabs to discuss operations of primarily mature fabs. Michael Lehnert, of Renesas Semiconductor, presented examples of the benefits derived from fault detection besides yield improvement in mature fabs

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-41417530493271263892007-10-08T14:12:00.000-07:002007-10-17T11:35:08.646-07:00071005: Fairchild at 50 still milking the cash cow

Ed’s Threads 071005 Musings by Ed Korczynski on October 5, 2007 Fairchild at 50 still milking the IC cash cow The 50th anniversary of the founding of Fairchild Semiconductor was celebrated on October 5th and 6th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. With Jay Last also in the audience, and with many call-outs to other Fairchildren living and dead, E. Floyd Kvamme (Marketing

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-13252980531749348962007-10-02T12:18:00.000-07:002007-10-02T12:22:11.210-07:00070928: Who needs through-silicon vias?

Ed’s Threads 070928 Musings by Ed Korczynski on September 28, 2007 Who needs through-silicon vias? Besides MEMS and opto-electronics, who really needs through-silicon vias (TSV) for commercial ICs? This was the burning question around which presenters danced for an afternoon at the International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference (IWLPC) held this September in San Jose, California. Starting with

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-17114366606839745142007-09-25T13:31:00.000-07:002007-09-26T11:53:42.087-07:00070921: Flash and DRAM rule future of IC memory

Ed’s Threads 070921 Musings by Ed Korczynski on September 21, 2007 Flash and DRAM rule future of IC memory A one-day technical symposium on “New Frontiers in Memory”, sponsored by the IEEE and Applied Materials, was held Sept. 20th at the Hotel Valencia in San Jose, CA. Amidst the ostentatious splendor of the flashy hotel, a standing-room-only crowd of technologists learned about the

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32065106.post-46118776617935214682007-09-18T10:58:00.000-07:002007-09-18T11:10:02.523-07:00070914: Missing micrograms and measurement accuracy

Ed’s Threads 070914 Musings by Ed Korczynski on September 14, 2007 Missing micrograms and measurement accuracy The “one true” kilogram cannot be trusted anymore. All standards must be based on a reference, and the master reference for mass on planet earth is a platinum-iridium-alloy cylinder kept in a special vault in Sevres, southwest of Paris. The 118-year-old master cylinder now appears to

SST's Ed's Threadshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07666310994401100920noreply@blogger.com