VLSI: Very Large Scale Integration
- Design/manufacturing of extremely small, complex circuitry using modified semiconductor material
- Integrated circuit (IC) may contain millions of transistors, each a few mm in size
- Applications wide ranging: most electronic logic devices
Facts about VLSI:
Moore says that the number of transistors in a given integrated circuit will double in some fixed amount of time. That time originally started out as eighteen months, but has since been pushed back to about every two years. That has had a corollary effect on performance as well as power consumption.
Moore said he expects his famous law to expire in ten to fifteen years. The reason, he explained, is fundamentally theoretical: "any physical quantity growing exponentially predicts disaster," he said. "It comes to an end. You can't go beyond any major limit."
Practically, the limits of how thin one can build a gate oxide is also reaching a limit. Today, those oxides are just five molecules thick. "You can't go beyond one," Moore said. "In fact, you really can't go beyond five before you hit some major limits."
The fact that Intel has -- using an element called hafnium to dope the silicon -- has allowed Intel to keep pushing the limits. Those and other types of innovations are the continuing hope for the semiconductor industry. And what happens when the ideas run out? Well, that question wasn't asked.
Advancements in VLSI Technology:
Chip on the dot tip? Isn't it imaging? Have you imagined this new technology? Now it is only possible using new 32 nm.
Intel has showed the industry's first working chips built using 32 nm (nanometer) technologies, with transistors so small that more than 4 million of them could fit on the dot. Intel's 32 nm process technology is on track to begin production in 2009. Earlier, Intel had introduced Penryn processor in Nov 2006, which was the world's
first 45 nm processor. Penryn is very high performance processor along with the Silverthorne family of 45 nm processors. The main feature of Penryn processor is small feature size, low power requirements and high performance capabilities to meet the numerous computing needs from high end servers to tiny hand held gadgets.
Now Intel has planned to show the world's first 300 mm wafer built using next-generation 32 nm process technologies. It is really a very critical milestone for high- volume manufacturing of 32 nm process technology.
The main techniques used behind are how to integrate the 19 billion transistors on a single chip. It is the consumer's demand which has been going to be fulfilled by Intel 32 nm technology. Now we have more true-to-life entertainment, right blends of gaming and realistic graphics capabilities.
Intel's upcoming 45nm family of Penryn processors, which are based on its revolutionary high-k metal gate transistor technology.
Looking to 2008, Otellini made the first public demonstration of Intel's Nehalem processor and said the company is on track to deliver the new processor design in the second half of the year. The Nehalem architecture will extend Intel's leadership in performance and performance-per-watt benchmarks, and will be the first Intel processor to use the QuickPath Interconnect system architecture. Quickpath will include integrated memory controller technology and improved communication links between system components to significantly improve overall system performance.
"Nehalem is an entirely new architecture that leverages Intel's Core Microarchitecture, bringing leading-edge performance advantages, power efficiency and important new server features to market just a year after Intel leads the industry to 45nm technology," said Otellini.
Otellini also announced that a version of a Penryn dual-core processor operating at 25 watts will be available on the upcoming Montevina platform, which will include Intel's mobile WiMAX silicon. Several equipment manufacturers are already planning to introduce Montevina-based notebook PCs starting next year when the platform is introduced. Overall, WiMAX is expected to reach more than 1 billion people worldwide by 2012.
The reach of WiMAX along with Intel's efforts to bring computing technology to developing nations through the World Ahead program and innovative products such as the Silverthorne processor will help bring computing to the next billion people worldwide according to Intel.
Applications of VLSI:
Integrated circuits are used in a wide variety of electronic equipment, including portable or handheld, devices. Such handheld devices include personal digital assistants (PDA), CD players, MP3 players, DVD players, AM/FM radio, a pager, cellular phones, computer memory extension (commonly referred to as a thumb drive or USB flash disk), etc
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