I have excerpted articles on the implementation of 3D-semiconductor on Samsung Electronics’ newsroom, the most interesting semiconductor issue to me in recent years.
A research team led by Professor Kim Kyung-rok of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Computer Engineering at UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) succeeded in implementing the world’s first “Ternary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor” on a large-area silicon wafer. The results of the study were published in the world-renowned journal Nature Electronics.
□ Advantages of triad semiconductors, super power saving, high performance, and miniaturization… Expect great impact on technology development such as AI, autonomous driving, IoT, biochip, and robots, which are the core of the 4th industrial revolution
The semiconductor industry has been increasing the degree of integration by reducing the size of semiconductor devices to create high-performance semiconductors that quickly process large-scale information such as AI, autonomous driving, and the Internet of Things. In addition, the industry has been struggling to solve the problem of reducing the time to process information in binary-based semiconductors and reducing power consumption as performance increases. As a way to solve these problems, ‘trivial semiconductors’ are attracting attention.
The triad semiconductor developed by Professor Kim Kyung-rok’s research team processes information with values of 0, 1, and 2. The amount of information that needs to be processed is reduced, so the calculation speed is fast and the power consumption is low. In addition, there are advantages in miniaturizing semiconductor chips.
For example, to represent the number 128, eight bits (in binary) are required, but five trits are needed in binary.
In order to effectively process rapidly increasing information by reducing the size of semiconductor devices and increasing the degree of integration per unit area, leakage current increases due to the increase in quantum mechanical tunneling due to the miniaturization of devices. In addition, there is a big problem of increasing power consumption. Professor Kim Kyung-rok’s research team uses leakage current, one of the main causes of the surge in power consumption, to realize a state in which information is processed in semiconductor devices through a breakthrough in thinking. The research team implemented the information to be processed in triad according to the amount of leakage current.
Professor Kim Kyung-rok’s team raised expectations for commercialization by implementing triad semiconductors in semiconductor processes that are currently widely used in the industry. Professor Kim Kyung-rok said, “This study is significant in that it not only implemented super-powerful triad semiconductor device and integrated circuit technology, but also showed the possibility of commercialization of triad semiconductors.”
Professor Kim said, “Trivial semiconductors are expected to have a great ripple effect on the development of technologies such as AI, autonomous driving, the Internet of Things, bio-chips, and robots, which are the core of the fourth industrial revolution in the future.”
□ Samsung Electronics’ foundry division, FAB, verified the implementation of triad semiconductors… Support for Samsung’s future technology development project as a designated theme research project
Samsung Electronics is verifying the implementation of triad semiconductors through micro-process at the Foundry Business Department (FAB) to support the research of Professor Kim Kyung-rok’s team. Samsung Electronics has selected and supported this research as a designated theme for Samsung’s future technology development project in September 2017. Meanwhile, the Samsung Future Technology Promotion Project has been providing 1.5 trillion won for 10 years since 2013 to support national future science and technology research, and 682.6 billion won has been executed for 532 tasks so far.
Reference : http://bit.ly/2ofTlI4