Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) Message Board

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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT)

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To: Gottfried who wrote (16847)	12/14/2005 3:08:37 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) of 25522

Researchers map out shift to high-k materials Sung-Won Shim EE Times (12/14/2005 3:18 AM EST) SEOUL, South Korea — With high-k materials scheduled to replace silicon dioxide in logic chips beginning in 2008, researchers gathered here at an international semiconductor technology conference to flesh out details of the transition. Experts participating in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) hosted by South Korea on Tuesday (Dec. 13) agreed that mobility enhancement technology would improve transistor performance without the introduction of high-k gates and metal electrode materials for 65 nm and, perhaps, for 45 nm. "It’s very difficult to integrate or deposit high-k materials on a 65-nanometer-node logic chip design, so the entry point of high-k materials into the logic chip design will be the 32-nanometer design rule which is expected to be realized in the year 2008,” said Toshiba R&D Center’s Hidemi Ishiuchi. He also represents the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. High-k materials are needed to move below 35-nm design rules as a way to avoid serious power leakage and excessive heat. The switch to high-k materials could significantly reduce power leakage while transistors are switching. But they would do little to improve power dissipation while the transistors are in the off state. In the lithography sector, experts here agreed that an argon floride source with a wavelength of 193 nm will be available as a primary technology at the 45-nm node and perhaps 32-nm half-pitch design rule. That’s because the technology uses water or other fluids, rather than air, to reduce its wavelength. Industry experts said the technology is likely to make 157-nm wavelength light sources almost obsolete, eliminating the need to replace an entire set of photolithography manufacturing infrastructure which makes up one-third of all facility investments for semiconductor production. "EUV [extreme ultraviolet] remains the most likely next-generation lithography technology,” the group said in a statement released at the conference. EUV lithography is based on 13-nm wavelength illumination, allowing chip makers to print features sizes of 32 nm and below on integrated circuits. The experts also forecast that a 450-mm silicon wafer will be introduced by 2012, allowing chip makers to boost productivity 2.5 times compared to current 300-mm wafers. Wafer size should increase to 675 mm in 2021. Mart Graef of the European Semiconductor Industry Association said larger wafer sizes would translate into greater cost effectiveness. ITRS attempts to project key trends in semiconductor manufacturing 15 years into the future.

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