Companies Rev Up For 90 nm Chips

Fujitsu Microelectronics America’s 90-nanometer process technology is designed for high-end servers, networks, and storage as well as a wide range of consumer products including advanced digital cameras and low-leakage mobile devices for next-generation cellular systems. The 90-nm process technology employs copper and low-k dielectric material with 193-nm wavelength argon fluoride lithography to create new ICs with 11 levels of metal. Transistors are as small as 40 nm, and up to 600 million transistors will be available on one device. A couple of analog components, including an on-chip inductor, will be available for RF and 10 Gb/s SERDES applications. Three types of transistors for different functions can be used on a single IC, in order to meet different performance, density and power consumption requirements. The highest performance transistors can be used in the most critical functions, while transistors with lower power consumption can be applied in support functions with narrower power requirements. A set of ASIC libraries will support 1.0V or 1.2V core functions, 1.8V or 2.5V I/O interfaces, high-speed and high-density memories, and analog/mixed-signal macros including SERDES and RF using optimized analog components. A low-power and low-leakage ASIC library also will be available. Fujitsu has begun prototype production of devices built using 90-nm technology in its Akiruno Technology Center, which consolidates all aspects of development activities from basic research to product planning, design and pilot production. FUJITSU MICROELECTRONICS AMERICA INC., San Jose, CA. (800) 866-8608.