In this paper, we discuss the role of adequate modelling tools in the development of nanoelectronic technology and devices, including both down-the-roadmap Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and alternative nanodevices. Such tools can enable understanding of the relevant physical mechanisms on the one hand, and performance evaluation and optimization of device structures,...

Nanolithography is the key technology driving technological progress in electronics, photonics, information technology and biotechnology. The tools and techniques used in the semiconductor industry have become too expensive for applications other than high-volume manufacturing. Masks, which are required for each unique design, can cost tens of thousands of dollars per layer. This economic const...

In order to continue technology shrink roadmaps and to provide year by year smaller chips with more functionality, nearly all of the leading edge semiconductor companies have adopted double patterning process technologies in their fabrication lines to bridge the time until next generation EUV lithography reaches production maturity. Double patterning technology can be classified into two major ...

Lithography is the most challenging technology in the semiconductor industry. The most promising next generation lithography technology is extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). EUVL was proposed long ago, in 1988, but its implementation has been postponed several times. Presently, most “showstoppers” are gone, but there are still several challenges that need to be addressed. The semiconductor...

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) identifies production test data as an essential element in improving design and technology in the manufacturing process feedback loop. One of the observations made from the highvolume production test data is that dies that fail due to a systematic failure have a tendency to form certain unique patterns that manifest as defect cluste...

Microfabricated semiconductor devices are becoming increasingly relevant, also for the detection of biological and chemical quantities. Especially, the “marriage” of biomolecules and silicon technology often yields successful new sensor concepts. The fabrication techniques of such silicon-based chemical sensors and biosensors, respectively, will have a distinct impact in different fields of app...

h A YEAR AGO, this column contemplated the road ahead for semiconductor-based products that build on basic design, test, process, and device technologies. In late 2011, a workshop on the ‘‘Future of IT and Society’’ presented several broad visions of how societal changes will build on semiconductor-based products and information technology in such contexts as social mobility, healthcare, securi...

Power semiconductor manufacturers are offering IGBT modules with ever greater power densities. The limit is represented by the maximum power loss that can be dissipated; optimisation criteria are the packaging technology as well as the conduction and switching losses of the semiconductor chips. The high current density of the modules together with high switching speeds place increased demands o...

The recent development of a semiconductor-based, non-optical DNA sequencing technology promises scalable, low-cost and rapid sequence data production. The technology has previously been applied mainly to genomic sequencing and targeted re-sequencing. Here we demonstrate the utility of Ion Torrent semiconductor-based sequencing for sensitive, efficient and rapid chromatin immunoprecipitation fol...

Semiconductor lasers are the most widely used type of lasers. The very broad area of applications makes them almost indispensable in our every day life. We find them in CD and DVD players, in laser printers or in supermarkets. Semiconductor lasers can be very easy integrated in the optical systems and they have found numerous applications in science, technology, industry and medicine. We should...