Page 5 - Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook

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HOW SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPS ARE MADE

1.4 SEMICONDUCTOR FUNDAMENTALS AND BASIC MATERIALS

Integrated circuit complexity
Transistors
per Dle
4G
10 10 1965 actual data 1G 2G
512M
10 9 MOS arrays MOS logic 1975 actual data 256M ?
10 8 1975 projection 64M 128M Pentium
Memory 4M 16M Pentium 4
?
10 7 Microprocessor 1M Pentium III
?
10 6 256K Pentium ?
Pentium II
?
1488 TM
10 5 64K 1388 TM
4K 16K ?0288
10 4 1K 8088
8080
10 3 4004
10 2
10 1
10 0
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
*
FIGURE 1.1 Moore’s law. (Image Courtesy of Intel Corporation.)
different functions. A transistor is turned on when a low-voltage electrical charge is applied to the
gate. This change in the electrical charge on the transistor allows electrons to move from the
source to the drain. There are several types of switch technologies—CMOS (complementary metal
oxide semiconductor), RF CMOS, silicon germanium (SiGe), BiCMOS, and CMOS on silicon-on-
insulator (SOI) technologies.

1.3 MOORE’S LAW

Dr. Gordon Moore made his famous observation in 1965 and the press called it Moore’s law.
Moore observed and predicted the doubling of transistors in the same size of an IC every two years
(Fig. 1.1).
Moore’s law has tremendous implications—it motivates and challenges all of us. With a global
consumer’s need and an orchestrated and cooperative effort from all industry manufacturers, suppli-
ers, government organizations, consortia, and collaborations between universities and semiconduc-
1
tor industries, we are marching and keeping pace with Moore’s law. Intel expects that it will continue
at least through the end of this decade.

1.4 HOW CHIPS ARE DESIGNED

Once the customer and chip design house agree on the purpose of a chip, the design process com-
mences. A typical design process includes architecture, logics, circuit, verification, layout, test,
approval of design, and release to fabrication.

* “No Exponential Is Forever ... but We Can Delay ‘Forever’,” Gordon Moore, International Solid State Circuits Conference,
February 10, 2003.

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