Semiconductors

Compound semiconductors like silicon carbide (SiC) signal a new era of materials engineering in the automotive semiconductor market, one that can significantly increase efficiency, reduce heat dissipation and cut down the cost of end systems, thereby accelerating electric vehicle adoption rates.

At Applied’s 2021 Logic Master Class held today, the company showcased several innovations that help solve key logic scaling challenges and deliver continued improvements in PPACt™ at 3nm and beyond.

Unless we can solve pattern variability challenges, we won’t be able to further scale logic chips and provide users with simultaneous improvements in power, performance and cost. Innovations in “DTCO” and materials engineering are here to help.

While transistor performance improves with scaling, the same cannot be said for interconnects. In fact, interconnect resistance increases as we move to smaller process nodes, which compromises device performance and power consumption. To continue scaling interconnects in advanced logic requires innovations in materials engineering.

At our upcoming Logic Master Class, experts from Applied and the industry will shed light on the innovations needed to enable advanced logic to further scale and deliver improvements in PPACt. In this blog I give a preview of what we’ll be discussing related to transistor design and scaling challenges.

To help the industry meet global demand for more affordable, high-performance memory, Applied Materials today introduced solutions that support three levers of DRAM scaling: a new hard mask material for capacitor scaling, a low-k dielectric material for the interconnect wiring, and the adoption of high-k metal gate transistors for advanced DRAM designs.

The AI Era of computing is fueling exponential growth in data generation, and the entire technology ecosystem depends on the semiconductor industry finding new ways to scale DRAM architectures to keep pace with bit demand. New hard mask patterning films can enable thinner capacitors with the highest possible aspect ratios, while new dielectric insulating materials can reduce the spacing between metal lines, both resulting in new ways to shrink.

Every AI chip in the world has been built using Applied’s systems. Now we are looking at how AI can be used holistically throughout our business to help solve complex challenges and provide engineers and technologists with “Actionable Insights” from R&D to high-volume manufacturing.

In 2020, only seven suppliers in the entire Intel supply chain earned an Intel SCQI Award, making them truly the best of the best. Applied’s recognition includes distinguished performance in supplier diversity.