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Intel's 45nm CMOS Technology
FOREWORD
Bill Holt, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Technology and Manufacturing Group
In 1965, as the first integrated circuit products entered the marketplace, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore made the now famous observation that the number of transistors on a chip doubled periodically. Not only would Moore's dictum prove true, its longevity has surprised everyone, including Moore himself. The most powerful chips today have over two billion transistors each, up from less than a hundred components per chip when Moore made his observation. This steady, relentless increase in transistor density has made computing powerful, affordable, and ubiquitous. It has enabled the internet age.
While Intel's 45nm technology represents the next step in this continual evolution, lurking under the hood are some revolutionary changes in materials and structures. As the transistor was scaled, fundamental limits of some of the building blocks were reached. One component of the transistor, the gate insulator, had been thinned successively to the point that in the prior generations it was a scant 5 atomic layers thick and could be scaled no further. In anticipation of this issue, Intel began a program in the 1990s to find a new material to replace silicon dioxide, the material used for the gate insulator for over 40 years. The result was a new insulator material based on the element hafnium. This new high k (high dielectric constant) gate insulator needed to be coupled with a change to another component of the transistor, the gate electrode, which was changed from silicon to a proprietary set of metals. Intel's 45nm CMOS technology is the first in the world to feature these new materials, in what Gordon Moore has called "the biggest change in transistor technology since the introduction of the polysilicon gate MOS transistors in the late 1960s." Interestingly, Intel led the move to manufacturing polysilicon gate electrodes in the 1960s and now is leading the move back to metal gate electrodes. Intel's ability to lead the industry in delivering this exciting new technology is a reflection of a strong research and development pipeline, and the dedication, discipline, and hard work of hundreds of talented engineers.
Beyond the significant changes to the transistors, this technology also features improved interconnects, the wires that link the transistors together on a chip. Ideally, these wires transit signals across the chip with rapid speed and low power consumption. 45nm interconnects are, on average, 10% faster than those of the previous generation. The technology also needs to be affordable. Intel's unique low-cost patterning techniques allowed the extension of proven 193nm dry lithography to 45nm at a lower cost than immersion lithography. The technology also supports Intel's green computing initiative. In addition to the lower power consumption levels that result from the new transistors and interconnects, Intel's 45nm technology features another first: a lead-free process and enablement of lead-free packaging.
A key strength that allows Intel to bring new technologies to market quickly lies in its advantage as an integrated device manufacturer to co-optimize the product design and the manufacturing process. Design for manufacturability techniques, methods for dealing with variation, and the ability to prototype circuits early in the development cycle all lead to a technology that is ready to enter the market early and ramp to high volumes quickly. The details of these aspects of Intel's groundbreaking 45nm CMOS technology are covered in this issue of the Intel Technology Journal.