How low can you go?
An article on EETimes by Mark LaPedus sees IBM using existing immersion lithography down to 22nm, a lot further than previously thought, rather than moving to Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) technology.
It confirms that IBM will have 45nm by the end of the year, using 193nm immersion technology where liquid is used around the lens of the equipment to provide better focussing and so make chips with smaller details (a numerical aperture of 1.2).
The article has IBM seeing 22nm in 2011 still using immersion technology, and that EUV will not be ready even by then. IBM leads with a number of customers, although Intel is using a 'dry' technology for its 45nm chips.
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has also extended its joint development effort with IBM to include 32nm CMOS process node work, reports Electronics Weekly which implies that the Common Platform Alliance with third member Samsung will also be moving to 32nm.
No comments:
Post a Comment