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I think folks here are missing the point of a fab like this. 16nm FinFET is space age technology by embedded systems standards. Nobody's expecting CPUs as advan
by ryukoposting 3y ago
I think folks here are missing the point of a fab like this. 16nm FinFET is space age technology by embedded systems standards. Nobody's expecting CPUs as advanced as Sandy Bridge to come out of this fab, let alone some bazillion-core 8GHz monster. The smallest transistor used in an STM32xx chip today is 40nm, and AFAIK that's reserved for the really fancy DSP chips.
- kevin_thibedeau 3y agoActual space age tech relies on outdated, large feature process nodes for the improved radiation hardening they offer. Terrestrial embedded is light years beyond what goes into space with any expectation of long term reliability.
- ryukoposting 3y ago"space age" in the colloquial sense.
- Tade0 3y agoYeah. Up until recently my friend was employed in designing chips in this process. But it's not like they're designing them exactly the same way as years ago - some advancements are not strictly related to feature size and IIRC these new-old chips are considerably more power-efficient.
- ryukoposting 3y agoCertainly true, a 40nm transistor made in 2013 is not the same as one made in 2023. Likewise, a 16nm transistor made in 2017 will not be the same as one in 2027. The power efficiency on the newer wireless SoCs is unreal.
- addaon 3y agoBesides older processes being "good enough" for embedded, many smaller micros depend on having a process that can handle embedded NOR flash. I'm not aware of any non-planar logic process that supports flash yet.