Simão Carreira: Samsung Starts Mass Production of Chips Using Its 7nm EUV Process Tech

Samsung Foundry on Wednesday said that it had started production of chips using its 7LPP manufacturing technology that uses extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) for select layers. The new fabrication process will enable Samsung to significantly increase transistor density of chips while optimizing their power consumption. Furthermore, usage of EUVL allows Samsung to reduce the number of masks it requires for each chip and shrink its production cycle.

The maker of semiconductors says that the 7LPP fabrication technology enables a 40% area reduction (at the same complexity) along with a 50% lower power consumption (at the same frequency and complexity) or a 20% higher performance (at the same power and complexity). As it appears, usage of extreme ultraviolet lithography enables Samsung Foundry to place 40% more transistors inside its next-gen SoCs and reduce their power consumption, a very compelling proposition for mobile SoCs that will be used by the parent company inside its future flagship smartphones.

Advertised PPA Improvements of New Process Technologies Data announced by companies during conference calls, press briefings and in press releases
	14LPP vs 28LPP	10LPE vs 14LPE	10LPE vs 14LPP	10LPP vs 10LPE	10LPU vs 10LPE	7LPP vs 10LPP
Power	60%	40%	30%	~15%	?	50%
Performance	40%	27%	>10%	~10%	?	20%
Area Reduction	50%	30%	30%	none	?	40%

Samsung produces its 7LPP EUV chips at its Fab S3 in Hwaseong, South Korea. The company can process 1500 wafers a day on each of its ASML Twinscan NXE:3400B EUVL step and scan systems with a 280 W light source. The company does not say whether it uses pellicles that protect photomasks from degradation, but only indicates that usage of EUV enables it to cut the number of masks it requires for a chip by 20%.

This is a breaking news. We are adding details.

quarta-feira, 17 de outubro de 2018

Samsung Starts Mass Production of Chips Using Its 7nm EUV Process Tech