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To: wanna_bmw who wrote (159661)	2/21/2002 6:39:17 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Beamer - Re: "Remind me again what part of the transistor benefits from LowK dielectrics? I've heard of future technologies using HighK in the gate, but where does one want lower K materials, and for what reason?" Gate dielectrics - the material between the gate electrode and the silicon substrate - are better when their dielectric constant is HIGHER. They result in higher gate currents (Idsat) - which can then more rapidly charge the gates in the next stage of a logic circuit. Low dielectric constant materials are used as insulators BETWEEN metal and gate electrodes (layers) and inter-metal layers. This lowers the capacitance between metal layers and fringe capacitance between adjacent metal traces of the same layer. The lower capacitance (C) produces lower RC delays for signal propagation along a metal conductor and reduces crosstalk (noise coupling) between adjacent conductors. Paul