4 ms·

At 7nm spacing you could draw 100,000 lines across the width of a human hair. About 70 silicon atoms lying next to each other would be 7nm wide. I know the end

At 7nm spacing you could draw 100,000 lines across the width of a human hair. About 70 silicon atoms lying next to each other would be 7nm wide. I know the end of Moore's law has been predicted before, but this time has to be different.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
nhaehnle 11y ago
Keep in mind that most features at 7nm would be quite a bit larger than 7nm. For example, in the 22nm technology I have worked with, a standard wire on the lowest metal layer might be around 40nm wide (higher metal layers use even wider wires to benefit from their lower resistance to cross larger distances). I do agree with your fundamental point that there will definitely be an end to Moore's law. It's just that the mere number of silicon atoms doesn't make <7nm infeasible.
- userbinator 11y ago
  Is it like how inkjet printers advertise huge resolutions like 5760dpi, and the positioning can achieve that resolution, but the actual nozzles can't produce lines thinner than e.g. 720dpi?
  - ghaff 11y ago
    No. There are process nodes that have real technical meaning but, especially as sizes shrink, what that means exactly in terms of the dimensions of specific features varies considerably.
    - avian 11y ago
      The "Minimum feature size" slide included in this article shows some feature sizes for existing technologies. I think names like "14 nm" and "7 nm" are mostly marketing at this point. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8367/intels-14nm-technology-in-detail http://www.anandtech.com/show/8367/intels-14nm-technology-in...
  - 13of40 11y ago
    I think it's more like Elmo's head is four inches wide on the screen but the pixels are two millimeters.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - b1661727 11y ago
    Each dot can only have a single color. Multiple dots will form a single "pixel" with the desired color.
  - mrob 11y ago
    That's better than pure 720dpi. In GIMP, try using the Erode filter on ultra-light weight fonts. Although the minimum feature size is increased you still get the benefit of smoother curves. It looks better than a normal weight font that's been scaled up from low resolution.
- esmi 11y ago
  28nm was the last node in Moore's law. Transistors are smaller, but not cheaper. http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?doc_id=1321536 http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?doc_id=1321536 I should also add, many people think 5nm will be technically feasible, although I don't think anyone knows how at scale, but there are serious question as to whether or not it makes economic sense. Thus the node may not be developed for some time, but because of business reasons.
  - hga 11y ago
    That article is very interesting, it says what sounds like fundamental SRAM (cache) scaling limits being hit is a if not the major factor, so the prospect of EUV decreasing the number of masks required won't help as much as I thought it might in decreasing costs. And as noted in the OP, EUV still have to prove itself in power and uptime.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

nhaehnle 11y ago

Keep in mind that most features at 7nm would be quite a bit larger than 7nm. For example, in the 22nm technology I have worked with, a standard wire on the lowest metal layer might be around 40nm wide (higher metal layers use even wider wires to benefit from their lower resistance to cross larger distances). I do agree with your fundamental point that there will definitely be an end to Moore's law. It's just that the mere number of silicon atoms doesn't make <7nm infeasible.

userbinator 11y ago
Is it like how inkjet printers advertise huge resolutions like 5760dpi, and the positioning can achieve that resolution, but the actual nozzles can't produce lines thinner than e.g. 720dpi?
- ghaff 11y ago
  No. There are process nodes that have real technical meaning but, especially as sizes shrink, what that means exactly in terms of the dimensions of specific features varies considerably.
  - avian 11y ago
    The "Minimum feature size" slide included in this article shows some feature sizes for existing technologies. I think names like "14 nm" and "7 nm" are mostly marketing at this point. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8367/intels-14nm-technology-in-detail http://www.anandtech.com/show/8367/intels-14nm-technology-in...
- 13of40 11y ago
  I think it's more like Elmo's head is four inches wide on the screen but the pixels are two millimeters.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- b1661727 11y ago
  Each dot can only have a single color. Multiple dots will form a single "pixel" with the desired color.
- mrob 11y ago
  That's better than pure 720dpi. In GIMP, try using the Erode filter on ultra-light weight fonts. Although the minimum feature size is increased you still get the benefit of smoother curves. It looks better than a normal weight font that's been scaled up from low resolution.
esmi 11y ago
28nm was the last node in Moore's law. Transistors are smaller, but not cheaper. http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?doc_id=1321536 http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?doc_id=1321536 I should also add, many people think 5nm will be technically feasible, although I don't think anyone knows how at scale, but there are serious question as to whether or not it makes economic sense. Thus the node may not be developed for some time, but because of business reasons.
- hga 11y ago
  That article is very interesting, it says what sounds like fundamental SRAM (cache) scaling limits being hit is a if not the major factor, so the prospect of EUV decreasing the number of masks required won't help as much as I thought it might in decreasing costs. And as noted in the OP, EUV still have to prove itself in power and uptime.