Evolution of process models, part I

By SemiWiki

February 25, 2011

Thirty five years ago, in 1976, the Concorde cut transatlantic flying time to 3.5 hrs, Apple was formed, NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, the VHS vs Betamax wars started, and Barry Manilow’s I Write the Songs saturated the airwaves. Each of those advances, except perhaps Barry Manilow, was the result of the first modern-era, high-production ICs.

During those years, researchers were anticipating the challenges of fabricating ICs that, according to Moore’s Law, would double in transistor count about every two years. Today, the solution to making features that are much smaller than the 193nm light used in photolithography is collectively referred to as computational lithography (CL). Moving forward into double patterning and even EUV Lithography, CL will continue to be a critical ingredient in the design to manufacturing flow. Before we get distracted by today’s lithography woes, let’s look back at the extraordinary path that brought us here.

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