IMEC

Three highlighted papers at IEDM, taking place in December, show the different approaches to the use of the vertical dimension to cut energy use and improve density.

Imec showed at VLSI Symposia a process flow that can cut the gap between complementary transistors to less than 20nm.

The upcoming VLSI Symposia will feature a number of papers that show the ways in which novel approaches are going to be needed to continue scaling.

The metal has done sterling service for 20 years but the time is approaching to find a replacement for copper as problems with parasitics continue to build up, work presented at last month’s IEDM shows. But it's not an obvious switch.

Imec's senior vice president of CMOS outlined future directions for the technology over the coming decade.

This year's IEDM will feature papers that exploit stacked nanoribbons to reduce CMOS footprint, graphene interconnects that support easier integration, and the variability prospects of 2D semiconductors.

Heterogeneous integration has the potential to overcome the yield and cost challenges presented by the growing headwinds associated with process scaling. But it may take a dramatic rethink in design approaches.

As 2D scaling becomes increasingly difficult, researchers reporting at VLSI Symposia have focused attention on what can be done in the third dimensions to improve density and performance without a sudden break from conventional CMOS processes.

Adaptive power-aware clocking and buried rails are among the techniques to be explored at the 2020 VLSI Symposia.

Imec, TNO, and Cartamundi have developed a low-cost way of letting tags communicate with embedded devices wirelessly by using a capacitive touchscreen.