So what's the difference between "forcefill" and "flowfill" mentioned here?
.c The Associated Press
By DAVID E. KALISH
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A machine maker for the semiconductor industry says it has found a unique way to quadruple the performance of today's microprocessor chips, an advance that could speed up many computer functions.
The production improvement, to be announced Monday by Plasma & Materials Technologies Inc., is still in the test stage. But it tackles a growing challenge faced by chip makers as they cram more and more transistors onto each microprocessor: Keeping its signals from getting crossed.
The thumb-nail-size microprocessor functions as the ``brains'' of a computer. An ability to carry signals four times more efficiently would enable computers to perform calculations in one-fourth the time it now takes. It also also could allow manufacturers to fit more transistors onto each chip, a growing hurdle to building more and more powerful computers.
Plasma & Materials Technologies, a company that sells manufacturing equipment to chip makers, said several customers are testing the new method and, if found to be reliable, will use it for mass production in 1998. It would be used for producing microprocessors as well as memory chips with improved capacity for storing computer information.
The Chatsworth, Calif.-based company said it developed a better way to apply insulation material between the millions of tiny wires that connect a chip's transistors, dramatically reducing interference between the signals they carry.
Chip makers typically use gases containing silicon dioxide to create the insulation. The gas later hardens on the chip during a heating process.
But the method developed by Plasma & Materials Technologies over the past four years, dubbed ``Flowfill,'' applies the insulation in a liquid state and adds a tiny amount of carbon to the mix -- giving properties to the insulation that reduce interference between wires.
The company says the insulation's ``dielectric constant'' -- a measure of its effectiveness -- is below 2.0. That is considered far less than constants of about 3.5 for today's most efficient insulation.
``That's a pretty major improvement,'' said Daniel Klesken, a semiconductor analyst at Robertson Stephens & Co. in San Francisco. ``It's all about having a nice clean signal between the different transistors on the circuit.''
Industry analysts said the development could spark wide interest among manufacturers as they attempt to squeeze more transistors on each chip. While more transistors result in faster computers, they also mean more wires connecting them -- and more chances for interference between signals.
For example, Intel Corp.'s Pentium Pro has 5.5 million transistors.
``If you took an existing (microprocessor) and replaced the dialectic with this new material, you would speed up the operation considerably,'' said Tony Denboer, a chip analyst with Integrated Circuit Engineering, a consultant firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Greg Campbell, founder and chief executive of Plasma & Materials Technologies, said that Intel was not currently one of the companies testing its manufacturing process. Intel is the dominant maker of chips used in most personal computers.
Campbell said the main hurdle to his production technique gaining industry acceptance is demonstrating ``it's truly reliable in mass production.''
AP-NY-02-09-97 1354EST
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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