Senior technologists, executives, and faculty from across the semiconductor
R+D community presented technical data revealing significant advances in emerging
memory technologies, energy efficient devices and high mobility channel transistors
at a SEMATECH-led workshop
on "Emerging Technologies in Solid State Devices".
The 5th annual SEMATECH workshop, co-sponsored by Tokyo Electron Limited and
Aixtron AG and held in conjunction with the IEEE International Electron Devices
Meeting (IEDM), featured a complementary set of over 40 presentations and panel
discussions on cutting-edge solutions to the technical and manufacturing challenges
associated with emerging nanoelectronics technologies. Workshop participants
outlined important developments and challenges in the following areas:
Emerging Memory Technologies
- A number of emerging technologies, such as 3D NAND, phase change memory
(PRAM), magnetoresistive memory (MRAM), spin torque transfer memory (STT-RAM),
and resistive memory (RRAM), are currently in play, and advancements include:
- A new understanding in resistive memory, using approaches based either
on formation of conducting filaments in resistive materials or on ion
transport.
- Embedded STT-RAM for integrated wireless device applications.
- The integration of 3D interconnects and memory technologies to increase
memory density.
- The use of band gap engineering for charge trap flash memories and
alternatives to conventional DRAMs such as novel single transistor DRAMS.
- The industry has identified at least 34 materials as candidates for RRAM
technology. From a manufacturing perspective, SEMATECH encouraged a focus
on down-selecting, as feasible, to the dozen "green materials"
that have already been accepted into fabs.
- Guest panelists acknowledged that emerging memory technologies are promising
solutions to replace scaling problems associated with current memories, concluding
that emerging memories will be application-driven - with different permutations
of power, density, speed, and cost - and that there are no universal
memory solutions.
High Mobility Channel Transistors
- Transistors using non-silicon materials such as III-V and germanium (Ge)
are showing significant promise in mobility improvement, injection velocity,
and voltage scaling as compared to strained silicon.
- III-V materials based on an InGaAs system seem to be the preferred option
for N channels, while either Ge or III-V (perhaps a strained antimonide-based
system) may be appropriate for P channels.
- While several critical challenges remain - including gate stacks,
channels with low defect density, and suitable junction and contact technology
- panel members agreed that these are not showstoppers and may be overcome
with novel architectures for sub-15nm nodes.
- Additional uses for III-V materials beyond CMOS were discussed, including
RF circuits, tunneling field-effect transistors, and nanophotonic devices.
Energy Efficient Devices
- Presentations featured new approaches to blending conventional and low-power
electronics with More than Moore concepts, ranging from graphene-based nanomaterials,
energy harvesting devices, and self-powered sensors, to NEMS and NEMory (nano-electro-mechanical
non-volatile memory) devices and MEMS displays for mobile applications.
SEMATECH's materials and emerging technologies technical teams are consistently
innovating to develop and extend existing technologies and accelerate adoption
of emerging technologies. SEMATECH has hosted workshops on the topic of III-V
materials for the last several years. The objective is to exchange ideas with
experts and enhance collaboration among different institutions and researchers.