9/7/2015 IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuchHigherCapacityChipTheNewYorkTimes

http://nyti.ms/1JQEUx2

TECHNOLOGY

IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuch
HigherCapacityChip
ByJOHNMARKOFF JULY9,2015

IBMsaidonThursdaythatithadmadeworkingversionsofultradense
computerchips,withroughlyfourtimesthecapacityoftodaysmostpowerful
chips.

Theannouncement,madeonbehalfofaninternationalconsortiumledby
IBM,thegiantcomputercompany,ispartofanefforttomanufacturethemost
advancedcomputerchipsinNewYorksHudsonValley,whereIBMis
investing$3billioninaprivatepublicpartnershipwithNewYorkState,
GlobalFoundries,Samsungandequipmentvendors.

Thedevelopmentliftsabitofthecloudthathasfallenoverthe
semiconductorindustry,whichhasstruggledtomaintainitslegendarypaceof
doublingtransistordensityeverytwoyears.

Intel,whichfordecadeshasbeentheindustryleader,hasfacedtechnical
challengesinrecentyears.Moreover,technologistshavebeguntoquestion
whetherthelongstandingpaceofchipimprovement,knownasMooresLaw,
wouldcontinuepastthecurrent14nanometergenerationofchips.

Eachgenerationofchiptechnologyisdefinedbytheminimumsizeof
fundamentalcomponentsthatswitchcurrentatnanosecondintervals.Today

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9/7/2015 IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuchHigherCapacityChipTheNewYorkTimes

theindustryismakingthecommercialtransitionfromwhattheindustry
generallydescribesas14nanometermanufacturingto10nanometer
manufacturing.

Eachgenerationbringsroughlya50percentreductioninthearea
requiredbyagivenamountofcircuitry.IBMsnewchips,thoughstillina
researchphase,suggestthatsemiconductortechnologywillcontinuetoshrink
atleastthrough2018.

ThecompanysaidonThursdaythatithadworkingsamplesofchipswith
sevennanometertransistors.Itmadetheresearchadvancebyusingsilicon
germaniuminsteadofpuresiliconinkeyregionsofthemolecularsize
switches.

Thenewmaterialmakespossiblefastertransistorswitchingandlower
powerrequirements.Thetinysizeofthesetransistorssuggeststhatfurther
advanceswillrequirenewmaterialsandnewmanufacturingtechniques.

Aspointsofcomparisontothesizeofthesevennanometertransistors,a
strandofDNAisabout2.5nanometersindiameterandaredbloodcellis
roughly7,500nanometersindiameter.IBMsaidthatwouldmakeitpossible
tobuildmicroprocessorswithmorethan20billiontransistors.

Imnotsurprised,becausethisisexactlywhattheroadmappredicted,
butthisisfantastic,saidSubhashishMitra,directoroftheRobustSystems
GroupintheElectricalEngineeringDepartmentatStanfordUniversity.

EventhoughIBMhasshedmuchofitscomputerandsemiconductor
manufacturingcapacity,theannouncementindicatesthatthecompany
remainsinterestedinsupportingthenationshightechnologymanufacturing
base.

ThisputsIBMinthepositionofbeingagentlemangamblerasopposed
tobeingahorseowner,saidRichardDoherty,presidentofEnvisioneering,a

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9/7/2015 IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuchHigherCapacityChipTheNewYorkTimes

Seaford,N.Y.,consultingfirm,referringtothefactthatIBMschip
manufacturingfacilitywasacquiredbyGlobalFoundrieseffectivelastweek.

Theystillwanttobeintherace,headded.

IBMnowlicensesthetechnologyitisdevelopingtoanumberof
manufacturersandGlobalFoundries,ownedbytheEmirateofAbuDhabi,to
makechipsforcompaniesincludingBroadcom,QualcommandAdvanced
MicroDevices.

ThesemiconductorindustrymustnowdecideifIBMsbetonsilicon
germaniumisthebestwayforward.

Itmustalsograpplewiththeshifttousingextremeultraviolet,orEUV,
lighttoetchpatternsonchipsataresolutionthatapproachesthediameterof
individualatoms.Inthepast,Intelsaiditcouldseeitswaytowardseven
nanometermanufacturing.Butithasnotsaidwhenthatgenerationofchip
makingmightarrive.

IBMalsodeclinedtospeculateonwhenitmightbegincommercial
manufacturingofthistechnologygeneration.Thisyear,Taiwan
SemiconductorManufacturingCompanysaidthatitplannedtobeginpilot
productofsevennanometerchipsin2017.UnlikeIBM,however,ithasnot
demonstratedworkingchipstomeetthatgoal.

Itisuncertainwhetherthelongerexposuretimesrequiredbythenew
generationofEUVphotolithographicsteppermachineswouldmakehigh
speedmanufacturingoperationsimpossible.Eventheslightestvibrationcan
underminetheprecisionoftheopticsnecessarytoetchlinesofmolecular
thicknesses,andthesemiconductorindustryhasbeenforcedtobuild
specializedstabilizedbuildingstotrytoisolateequipmentfromvibration.

AnIBMofficialsaidthattheconsortiumnowseesawaytouseEUVlight
incommercialmanufacturingoperations.

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9/7/2015 IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuchHigherCapacityChipTheNewYorkTimes

EUVisanothergamechanger,saidMukeshKhare,vicepresidentfor
semiconductorresearchatIBM.Todate,henoted,thedemonstrationhas
takenplaceinaresearchlab,notinamanufacturingplant.Ultimatelythegoal
istocreatecircuitsthathavebeenreducedinareabyanother50percentover
theindustrys10nanometertechnologygenerationscheduledtobeintroduced
nextyear.

AversionofthisarticleappearsinprintonJuly9,2015,onpageB2oftheNewYorkeditionwith
theheadline:IBMDisclosesWorkingVersionofaMuchHigherCapacityChip.

2015TheNewYorkTimesCompany

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