[OT - TI gets small]
TI Prepares to Build Chips Based on Smallest Announced Transistors
Mixed Signal and DSP on a Single Chip Enter Gigahertz Performance
DALLAS, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN -
news) disclosed today that they have developed leading-edge semiconductor
manufacturing technology based on the smallest announced transistors in the industry.
Featuring an effective channel length of just 0.07 micron -- 1,000 times thinner than a
human hair -- the transistors are so miniscule that more than 400 million of them will fit
onto a single chip the size of a fingernail.
''The new 0.07 micron CMOS technology will keep TI in the forefront of
high-performance manufacturing,'' said Dr. Yoshio Nishi, senior vice president and R&D
director at TI. ''The ability to pack 400 million transistors on single, low-voltage chip will
push high-speed wireless and multimedia communications far beyond the limits of today's
technology.''
Using a 0.07 micron technology allows for an unprecedented level of systems integration
and enables a new era of gigahertz performance. TI will have the capability to build
complete systems on a single chip with clock speeds exceeding 1 gigahertz, internal
voltages as low as 1 volt, and the integration of both digital and analog functions. Products
based on these chips will weigh less, shrink in size, consume less power and be able to
execute software much faster than with today's technology.
In some cases, TI's technology will enable applications that are only dreamed of today.
For example, certain types of hearing aids may be reduced to appliances that can be
directly implanted in the inner ear. Wireless telephones will be able to handle data
and video as well as voice. ADSL modems will bring no-wait Internet access to
consumers and small businesses. Hard disk drives will read gigabits of data per
second for instantaneous access of large data bases. Teleconferencing will become
commonplace on workstations and PCs.
Process supports mixed-signal operation
For the first time in a leading-edge high-density process, the 0.07 micron transistors are
designed for analog operation as well as digital. As a result, TI will be able to integrate
mixed-signal functions along with high- speed digital logic and cores from the very
beginning of this process technology's life cycle. This capability allows TI to leverage its
market leadership and technology in both high-performance digital signal processors
(DSPs) and mixed-signal products to create a complete systems solution on a single chip.
Among the other advanced products that will benefit from the advanced 0.07 micron
CMOS process are UltraSPARC microprocessors, which TI manufactures for SUN
Microsystems.
TI breaks through research barriers
In addition to ultra-small-scale transistors that are tuned for both analog and digital
performance, other TI research advances are also essential to the success of the new
technology. TI's leadership in combining copper wiring with low-k dielectric materials
substantially lowers on-chip resistance and capacitance.
Like other leading companies, TI is moving toward use of copper in place of aluminum for
wiring because it significantly reduces resistance. Copper also serves to lower
manufacturing costs because it can be applied using a dual damascene technique that
eliminates some process steps.
TI has also pioneered the use of insulating materials with a low dielectric constant that
diminishes wiring capacitance. The ultimate development in dielectrics is xerogel, a highly
porous material with billions of microscopic nanopores or bubbles containing air. In 1995,
TI teamed with Nanoport, Inc., to win a prestigious National Institute of Standards and
Technology Advanced Technology Program for the application of xerogel in integrated
circuits.
Within the industry, TI is exceptional in its ability to integrate complete system-on-a-chip
solutions in high-density devices. Among the capabilities at the company's disposal are
extremely small embedded SRAMs, with close to 500 Kbits per square millimeter, and
embedded flash memories with more than 3 million bits per square millimeter. Embedded
analog functions serve as the interface between DSPs and the real world. Dual- threshold
voltages enable higher processing performance with lower power consumption.
''TI research has been at the forefront of the electronics industry since the earliest days of
semiconductors,'' said Dr. Nishi. ''Now we are heading into a new millennium with a
process technology that will make it possible to put the power of digital processing and
supercomputing into a system that fits in the palm of your hand.''
TI celebrates forty years of IC leadership
The 0.07 micron process disclosure commemorates the fortieth anniversary of Jack
Kilby's invention of the integrated circuit at Texas Instruments. Development of the new
process is taking place in the Kilby Center in Dallas, TI's multibillion-dollar center for
research of new IC technologies.
''During the past forty years the integrated circuit has truly revolutionized society,'' said
Dr. Nishi. ''But the years to come look equally exciting and revolutionary. TI research is
continuing to make breakthroughs that will bring ever-greater capabilities to the systems of
the future.''
TI plans to initiate designs in the new 0.07 micron CMOS process starting in the year
2000, with volume production beginning in 2001.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's
leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions, the engines driving the
digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's businesses also
include materials and controls, educational and productivity solutions and digital imaging.
The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN.
More information is located on the World Wide Web at ti.com
SOURCE: Texas Instruments Incorporated
o~~~ O |
