3 ms·

Note that Samsung has abandoned FinFET for this process, and has moved to Gate-All-Around (GAA). TSMC is not yet ready to move to GAA, but will at 2nm. I'm not

by chasil 4y ago

Note that Samsung has abandoned FinFET for this process, and has moved to Gate-All-Around (GAA). TSMC is not yet ready to move to GAA, but will at 2nm. I'm not sure how this changes the geometry, or the relevance of "3nm." "The next-generation 3nm chips will be built on the Gate-All-Around (GAA) technology, which Samsung said will allow up to 45 percent area reduction while providing 30 percent higher performance and 50 percent lower power consumption, compared with the existing FinFET process."

chasil 4y ago
More information on GAA... "N2 will see TSMC switch to a nanosheet transistor architecture rather than the fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) design that has been standard in the industry for some time in order to deliver improvements in performance and power efficiency. "The nanosheet architecture involves the electrical current flowing through several stacked layers of silicon that are completely surrounded by the transistor gate material. IBM claimed to have made the first 2nm chips using nanosheet technology last year." https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/17/tsmc_details_2nm_node_using/ https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/17/tsmc_details_2nm_node... "Big Blue today claimed this is “a breakthrough in semiconductor design” using nanosheet technology. That involves layering three sheets of material to form a stack containing an NMOS transistor on top of a PMOS transistor, rather than placing them side by side, commonly called a gate-all-around design. It's a step on from today's 3D FinFETs... "It should be noted that although it’s described as being 2nm, the size of the process node is more of a naming convention to show it's smaller and more advanced than its previous 5nm design. No part of it is 2nm in size. The actual transistor gate length is 12nm." https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/06/ibm_2nm_semiconductor_chips https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/06/ibm_2nm_semiconductor... I wonder why IBM is putting so much money into GAA when they don't even own a foundry, and their previous foundry partner has little interest in making anything smaller than 14nm.
- Sakos 4y ago
  Patents/IP. They help other companies develop their manufacturing processes. I'm sure it's a profitable enough business for it to be worth the effort, or IBM wouldn't be wasting their time with it.

by chasil 4y ago

chasil 4y ago

More information on GAA... "N2 will see TSMC switch to a nanosheet transistor architecture rather than the fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) design that has been standard in the industry for some time in order to deliver improvements in performance and power efficiency. "The nanosheet architecture involves the electrical current flowing through several stacked layers of silicon that are completely surrounded by the transistor gate material. IBM claimed to have made the first 2nm chips using nanosheet technology last year." https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/17/tsmc_details_2nm_node_using/ https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/17/tsmc_details_2nm_node... "Big Blue today claimed this is “a breakthrough in semiconductor design” using nanosheet technology. That involves layering three sheets of material to form a stack containing an NMOS transistor on top of a PMOS transistor, rather than placing them side by side, commonly called a gate-all-around design. It's a step on from today's 3D FinFETs... "It should be noted that although it’s described as being 2nm, the size of the process node is more of a naming convention to show it's smaller and more advanced than its previous 5nm design. No part of it is 2nm in size. The actual transistor gate length is 12nm." https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/06/ibm_2nm_semiconductor_chips https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/06/ibm_2nm_semiconductor... I wonder why IBM is putting so much money into GAA when they don't even own a foundry, and their previous foundry partner has little interest in making anything smaller than 14nm.

Sakos 4y ago
Patents/IP. They help other companies develop their manufacturing processes. I'm sure it's a profitable enough business for it to be worth the effort, or IBM wouldn't be wasting their time with it.