perhaps its die size I meant.
For the most part, die sizes don't get smaller, either (instead, they just get more functionality on the same die). Typically they make a chip under the current technology (like 0.25 micron), sell it for a while at small profit, shrink it by moving it to their next process technology (say 0.18 micron), sell it for a lot more profit (because there are more on a wafer), then come out with the new design (on 0.18) which is as big as the previous pre-shrunk (0.25) one (say due to more logic plus larger cache). . .and repeat the process.
Anyway, as was mentioned, PLAB makes masks, which are also not shrinking, but the lines on them are.
Steve |
