The Kynix Blog

As integrated circuit components are coming up against size limits, manufacturers are turning to new approaches based on stacking extremely thin wafers. However, the thin wafers easily warp under the stresses involved in fabrication, and measuring the stress and warpage has so far proven challenging.In a paper published in the Journal of Applied Crystallography, Professor Patrick McNally's team at Dublin City University, together with collaborators Brian Tanner at Durham University and Andreas Danilewsky at the University of Freiburg, report on a new technique using the Test beamline (B16) at Diamond Light Source to accurately, precisely, and verifiably measure the stress and warpage in individual silicon wafers. The researchers are now cooperating with industry partners to translate their approach into a tool which can be used for quality assurance and to improve fabrication processes. Meanwhile, they continue to work at Diamond to improve the technique and adapt it to different contexts and materials.A stack of measurement troubleIn a 1965 paper, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore observed that the density of transistors in integrated circuits doubled every 18-24 months, a trend which has held well in the decades since. However, manufacturing techniques are nearing the limits of 'Moore's law' as the components printed onto integrated circuits approach atomic dimensions. To continue improving performance, manufacturers are exploring a new direction by combining different chips, each with a specialised function, into a vertical package in a 'more than Moore' approach known as heterogeneous integration.The new technique involves using wafers less than a tenth as thick as those currently in use. Since they are so thin – just 25 to 100 µm – the wafers are extremely flexible, but they are also subjected to extreme stress during the fabrication process. "Imagine you glue together four or five pieces of silicon, each thinner than a human hair, then heat them up to 100-200° C, and then stand on top of them with your boot. Maybe you jump up and down a bit. That's the sort of damage that's done as part of semiconductor processing," explains Professor Patrick McNally of Dublin City University. The stress and resulting warpage of the wafers during manufacturing can lead to malfunctions, altered performance, and silicon 'real estate' lost to stress-related 'keep out zones' on the chip. To avoid these pitfalls, manufacturers are eager to understand how to manage stress and warpage in their design and fabrication processes.So far, measuring the warpage of the individual silicon wafers without damaging them has been impossible, forcing people to use the warpage of the entire package as a proxy. Using the Test beamline (B16) at Diamond, the trio have developed a non-destructive technique to precisely and accurately measure the warpage of each wafer in a package through transmission X-ray diffraction imaging. To confirm their measurement technique, the team included samples with known curvature and displacement from IMEC in Belgium. "We've proven that it can be done reliably and verifiably," said Professor McNally.To industry and beyondWhile the new technique shows great promise, "no one in the semiconductor business is going to back a synchrotron into their fabrication facility," noted Professor McNally. The team has already successfully carried out preliminary trials with a commercial tool as an X-ray source, and work is underway with X-ray metrology companies to bring the technique into industry as a quality assurance tool. Improving the measurement speed of the commercial tools is a major outstanding challenge – measurements done in minutes at Diamond can take hours with commercial tools – but the team is pursuing avenues to improve this.The technique offers an opportunity not only to measure warpage during fabrication but also to improve the design process. Mechanical engineers at a large chip company are working with the team to test the finite element models they use to predict stress and warpage in their designs. "The idea is that we provide a 'sanity check' on their modelling so they can use it to improve their designs," said Professor McNally.Meanwhile, the team is continuing to develop the approach using the facilities at Diamond, which underpins any advancements. The team has recently tested their new technique on chips, which were receiving power to measure how the warpage might change under different usage conditions. "We do our top end development at Diamond," said Professor McNally, explaining that the ability to rapidly test and explore ideas at the synchrotron is crucial before they can be adapted for industry applications.Ref:KY32-MAX1490AEPG+KY32-LMX4169AQFXN      

The giant chip maker Intel has finally released its 3ed generation chips named Ivy Bridge. They says that the new microprocessor chips used fundamentally different technology. These chips comes with 3D Transistors and are manufactured at 22nm process. The new technology will ensure high processing speed along with power saving. The chip makers keep the pace of Moore’s law by making the new chips using 3d transistor technology along with other advanced capabilities. We can hope that, customers will certainly welcome the new chip, because of the competence of it predecessors including the current Sandy Bridge chips. We know that transistors are the heart of processors and a microprocessor contains millions of it. Until today transistors were 2D (planar) devices, but Intel’s new Ivy Bridge chips comes with sophisticated 3D Tri-Gate Transistors. The new Ivy Bridge chips will power Gaming PC’s, Servers, Super Computers and all-in-one PC’s. We can hope that through this new line of chips, Intel will dominate in chip market with its major rival AMD. Now we will discuss some of the important features of the new Ivy Bridge chips. Ivy Bridge chips are relatively smaller and lighter in weight as it utilizes advanced technologies. The 3D Transistors these chips are lighter compared to transistors used in previous chips of Intel, through this Intel delivers the advantages of Moore’s law to its users. Intel has shrunk the Manufacturing technology of Ivy Bridge chips lower to 22nm because Intel notes that smaller chips are better in providing higher performance and higher efficiency. Intel says that in 2007 their CPU manufacturing process has changed to 45nm with high-k/metal gate, in 2009 to 32nm and now to 22nm with the world’s first 3-D transistor in a high volume logic process. Intel has made the new Ivy Bridge transistors in such a way that it can work efficiently even at lower voltages. Thus through this advanced sophisticated Ivy Bridge chips Intel strengthened its domination in global chip market and the company lifts up challenge not only to AMD but also to ARM holding the mobile chip market. Reference: KY32-NU80579EZ600CT KY32-NU80579ED009C

For the first time ever, a cloud of ultra-cold atoms has been successfully created in space on board of a sounding rocket. The MAIUS mission demonstrates that quantum optical sensors can be operated even in harsh environments like space – a prerequisite for finding answers to the most challenging questions of fundamental physics and an important innovation driver for everyday applications.According to Albert Einstein's Equivalence Principle, all bodies are accelerated at the same rate by the Earth's gravity, regardless of their properties. This principle applies to stones, feathers, and atoms alike. Under conditions of microgravity, very long and precise measurements can be carried out to determine whether different types of atoms actually "fall equally fast" in the gravitational field of the Earth – or if we have to revise our understanding of the universe.As part of a national consortium, Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik (FBH) and Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin (HU) now made a historical step towards testing the Equivalence Principle in the microcosm of quantum objects. In the MAIUS mission launched on January 23, 2017 a cloud of nano-Kelvin cold rubidium atoms has been generated in space for the first time ever. This cloud was cooled down with laser light and radio frequency electrical fields so that the atoms finally formed a single quantum object, a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).More than 20 years after the groundbreaking results of the Nobel laureates Cornell, Ketterle, and Wieman on ultra-cold atoms, preliminary evaluation of the sounding rocket mission data indicates that such experiments can also be carried out under the harsh conditions of space operation – back in 1995, living room-sized setups in a special laboratory environment were required. Today's quantum optical sensor is as small as a freezer and remains fully operational even after experiencing huge mechanical and thermal stress caused by the rocket launch. This groundbreaking mission is a pathfinder for applications of quantum sensors in space. In the future, scientists expect to use quantum sensor technology to cope with one of the biggest challenges of modern physics: the unification of gravitation with the other fundamental interactions (strong, weak, and electro-magnetic force) in a single consistent theory. At the same time, these experiments are drivers of innovation for a broad range of applications, from inertial (non-GPS referenced) navigation to space-borne geodesy used to determine the Earth's shape.For this mission, the FBH has developed hybrid micro-integrated semiconductor laser modules that are suitable for application in space. These laser modules, together with optical and spectroscopic units provided by third partners, have been integrated and qualified by HU to provide the laser subsystem of the scientific payload. The results of this mission coordinated by Leibniz Universitaet Hannover do not only prove that quantum optical experiments with ultra-cold atoms are possible in space, but also give FBH and HU the opportunity to test their miniaturized laser system technology under real operating conditions. The results will also be used to prepare future missions which are already scheduled for launch. MAIUS, however, is not the first sounding rocket test for both institutions' laser technology in space; the technology has already been successfully tested in April 2015 and January 2016 on board of two sounding rockets within the FOKUS and KALEXUS experiments.  The MAIUS mission is supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and tests all key technologies of a space-borne quantum optical sensor on a sounding rocket: vacuum chamber, laser system, electronics, and software. MAIUS constitutes a historical milestone for future missions in space that will take advantage of the full potential of quantum technology. For the first time world-wide, a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) based on rubidium atoms has been created on board of a sounding rocket and has been used to investigate atom interferometry in space. Quantum optical sensors based on BECs enable high-precision measurements of accelerations and rotations using laser pulses which provide a reference for precise determination of the positions of the atomic cloud.The compact and robust diode laser system for laser cooling and atom interferometry with ultra-cold rubidium atoms has been developed under the leadership of the Optical Metrology Group at HU. This system is required for the operation of the MAIUS experiment and consists of four diode laser modules that have been developed by FBH as hybrid-integrated master-oscillator power-amplifier laser modules. The master laser is a monolithic distributed feedback (DFB) laser which is frequency-stabilized to the frequency of an optical transition in rubidium and generates spectrally pure and highly stable (~ 1 MHz linewidth) optical radiation with low output power at 780 nm wavelength. The three other laser modules feature a tapered amplifier chip with a ridge waveguide input section. These tapered amplifier chips boost the optical output power of a DFB laser to beyond 1 W without any loss of spectral stability. Two additional redundancy modules were integrated. Free space acousto-optical modulators and optical components are used to generate the laser pulses according to the experimental sequence. The laser light pulses are finally transferred to the experimental chamber by optical fibers.Furthermore, a laser technology demonstrator designed for future missions has been integrated, consisting of two micro-integrated semiconductor Extended Cavity Diode Laser modules developed by FBH. These modules are specifically required for future atom interferometry experiments that pose more stringent requirements on the spectral stability of the lasers.Reference:GP1A173LCS2FOPB626GP1A53HRJ00F  

At a ceremony today at ESO's Headquarters four contracts were signed for major components of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) that ESO is building. These were for: the casting of the telescope's giant secondary and tertiary mirrors, awarded to SCHOTT; the supply of mirror cells to support these two mirrors, awarded to the SENER Group; and the supply of the edge sensors that form a vital part of the ELT's huge segmented primary mirror control system, awarded to the FAMES consortium.  The construction of the 39-metre ELT, the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world, is moving forward. The giant telescope employs a complex five-mirror optical system that has never been used before and requires optical and mechanical elements that stretch modern technology to its limits.Contracts for the manufacture of several of these challenging telescope components have just been signed by ESO's Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, and representatives of three industrial contractors in the ESO Member States.Introducing the ceremony, Tim de Zeeuw said: "It gives me great pleasure to sign these four contracts today, each for advanced components at the heart of the ELT's revolutionary optical system. They underline how the construction of this giant telescope is moving ahead at full speed—on target for first light in 2024. We at ESO look forward to working with SCHOTT, SENER and FAMES—three leading industrial partners from our Member States."The first two contracts were signed with SCHOTT by Christoph Fark, Executive Vice President. They cover the casting of the ELT's largest single mirrors—the 4.2-metre secondary and 3.8-metre tertiary mirror—from SCHOTT's low-expansion ceramic material Zerodur.Hanging upside-down at the top of the telescope structure, high above the 39-metre primary mirror, the secondary mirror will be largest ever employed on a telescope and the largest convex mirror ever produced. The concave tertiary mirror is also an unusual feature of the telescope. The ELT secondary and tertiary mirrors will rival in size the primary mirrors of many modern-day research telescopes and weigh 3.5 and 3.2 tonnes respectively. The secondary mirror is to be delivered by the end of 2018 and the tertiary by July 2019.The third contract was signed with the SENER Group by Diego Rodríguez, Space Department Director. It covers the provision of the sophisticated support cells for the ELT secondary and tertiary mirrors and the associated complex active optics systems that will ensure these massive, but flexible, mirrors retain their correct shapes and are correctly positioned within the telescope. Great precision is needed if the telescope is to deliver optimum image quality.The fourth contract was signed by Didier Rozière, Managing Director (FAMES, Fogale), and Martin Sellen, Managing Director (FAMES, Micro-Epsilon), on behalf of the FAMES consortium, which is composed of Fogale and Micro-Epsilon. The contract covers the fabrication of a total of 4608 edge sensors for the 798 hexagonal segments of the ELT's primary mirror [6].These sensors are the most accurate ever used in a telescope and can measure relative positions to an accuracy of a few nanometres. They form a fundamental part of the very complex system that will continuously sense the locations of the ELT primary mirror segments relative to their neighbours and allow the segments to work together to form a perfect imaging system. It is a huge challenge not only to make sensors with the required precision, but also to produce them quickly enough for thousands to be delivered to the necessarily short timescales.The signing ceremony was also attended by other senior representatives of the companies involved and ESO. It was an excellent opportunity for representatives of the contractors producing many of the giant telescope's optical and mechanical components to get to know each other informally as they begin to help create the world's biggest eye on the sky.Reference:GP1S036PKGS-00GXP1-RRB-3R0232-50

Carbon-based memory materials promise to revolutionise how data is stored and to take computing to a new age in terms of speed, efficiency and power. Improved data storage represents the backbone of the knowledge economy, as well as modern industry, business and multimedia. Creating non-volatile data storage can be accomplished through new carbon-based memory materials, which was the aim of the Carbon resistive random access memory materials project.The project team investigated how to develop eco-friendly, cost-effective and energy-efficient memory materials that are scalable to the molecular level and boast a sub-nanosecond switching time with advanced functionality overall.To achieve its aims the team worked on two areas. On one hand it investigated amorphous-carbon based materials and devices in order to supplement current memory technologies such as hard disks and flash memory.On the other it considered graphene-oxide memories for possible use in flexible electronics applications. Storage capabilities in both concepts involved electrical resistive switching, which led to more in-depth research on the topic and establishment of the technology’s limitations, including minimum device size, temperature range and switching speed.The work involved experiments to pinpoint predicted lifetime at different temperatures, multi-level storage capability, suitability within specific applications, and several other pivotal parameters required to develop the technology. After intensive laboratory work, the team successfully built and characterised prototype devices that achieved almost all of the desired objectives.CARERAMM built nanometre amorphous-carbon based devices with sub-petajoule switching energy and oversaw their successful operation at temperatures reaching 300 degrees C. The project built graphene oxide-based devices with 4-level storage and endurance on flexible substrates, as well as GO-based devices that can resist more than 10,000 bending cycles and high bending radii.Overall the team has produced valuable knowledge on the cutting-edge of resistive switching concerning both amorphous carbon and graphene oxide based materials and devices. It combined atomistic scale modelling with nanoscale characterisation to improve switching considerably, paving the way for the commercialisation of advanced carbon-based memory in the near future.Reference:SDUS5EB-001GCXA1512M MT9VDDT6472HY-335 F2 

Chip scale high precision measurements of physical quantities such as temperature, pressure and refractive index have become common with nanophotonics and nanoplasmonics resonance cavities. As excellent transducers to convert small variations in the local refractive index into measurable spectral shifts, resonance cavities are being used extensively in a variety of disciplines ranging from bio-sensing and pressure gauges to atomic and molecular spectroscopy. Chip-scale microring and microdisk resonators (MRRs) are widely used for these purposes owing to their miniaturized size, relative ease of design and fabrication, high quality factor, and versatility in the optimization of their transfer function.The principle of operation of such resonative sensors is based on monitoring the spectrum dependence of the resonator subject to minute variation in its surrounding (e.g., different types of atoms and molecules, gases, pressure, temperature).  Yet despite several important accomplishments, such optical sensors are still limited in their performances, and their miniaturization is highly challenging.Now, a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has demonstrated an on-chip sensor capable of detecting unprecedentedly small frequency changes. The approach consists of two cascaded microring resonators, with one serving as the sensing device and the other playing the role of a reference—thus eliminating environmental and system fluctuations such as temperature and laser frequency."Here we demonstrate a record-high sensing precision on a device with a small footprint that can be integrated with standard CMOS technology, paving the way for even more exciting measurements such as single particle detection and high precision chip scale thermometry," said Prof. Uriel Levy, Director of the Harvey M. Krueger Family Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a faculty member at the Department of Applied Physics in the Rachel and Selim Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering.Among the innovations that made this development possible are chip scale integration of reference measurement, and a servo-loop locking scheme that translates the measured effects from the optical domain to the radio frequency domain. These enabled the researchers to quantify their system capabilities using well-established RF technologies, such as frequency counters, spectrum analyzers, and atomic standards.Reference:TCRT1000GP2S60ITR8307/L24/TR8