Mass Production of 450mm Wafers Bumped Back Again: 2018 67
Taco Cowboy writes with news on the slipping schedules in the move toward both larger wafers and 3D integrated circuits in the semiconductor fab world. From the articles: "TSMC ... said it planned to start mass-producing next-generation 450mm wafers using advanced 10-nanometer technology in 2018. The advanced 10-nanometer chips could first be used in mobile devices and other consumer electronics, like game consoles, that demand high-performance and low power consumption. The plan was included in the latest technology roadmap unveiled by TSMC about one year after the chipmaker attributed its delay in making 450mm wafers, originally scheduled in 2015, to semiconductor equipment suppliers' postponement in developing advanced equipment for manufacturing amid the industrial slump. Chipmakers can get 2.5 times more chips from a 450mm wafer than from a 300mm wafer ... The industry's gradual migration toward 3D ICs with through-silicon vias (TSV) is unlikely to happen until 2015 or 2016, according to sources at semiconductor companies. Volume production of 3D ICs was previously estimated to take place in 2014. Leading foundries and backend assembly and test service companies have all devoted much of their R&D efforts to TSV development, and are making progress. The major players are believed to be capable of supporting 3D ICs by 2014, but the emerging technology going into commercial production may not take place until around the 2015-16 timeframe."
Probably one of the most interesting presentations at HOPE9, "Indistinguishable From Magic: Manufacturing Modern Computer Chips," covered modern semiconductor fabrication and why these things are cool. If you're interested in more background (what do all of those TLAs mean?), check out the slides / audio (or attached video of the presentation from YouTube).
It's all lies! (Score:3, Funny)
As we all know, however much They don't want us to, the pace of 'innovation' in semiconductor fabrication is based almost entirely on the reverse engineering of artefacts taken from crashed Grey spacecraft.
Unfortunately, a recent downturn in the tourism sector of Theta Epsilon Minus, caused by the booming popularity of direct neural hedonostimulator technology, has sharply reduced our supply of samples...
Shameless Spam (Score:2, Funny)
Silicon Chips, Yum . . . (Score:1, Funny)
But
Prefer Nacho Cheese dip for my Silicon Chips
Re:450mm (Score:4, Funny)
It's even more important when you attempt to mock people for wrong units when the units are actually correct.
Re:It's all lies! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Eventually this will be how Moore's law ends. (Score:4, Funny)
Exactly! Why do some people even try and make things better? I mean, are they mental or something? We should gather up all these folks that won't give up and refuse to recognize the futility that is man and shoot them off on a rocket ship to another planet!