The Semiconductor Environment in 1982 - Semiconductor Research ...

SRC: Celebrating 30 YearsWorking together we are formidable!June 26, 2012

The Semiconductor Environment in 1982U.S. semiconductor companieswere rapidly losing market shareand federal support for siliconresearch was decreasing.Very little silicon-oriented researchwas being conducted in universities.• Less than 100 students and facultyconducted silicon researchAs a result, the pipeline oftalent was drying up.2

Founding SRC Companies5

Current Founding SRC Member SRC Companies6

SRC Senior Staff (Circa 1982)Larry SumneyRobert Burger & Richard Alberts7

Example 10-year SRC ResearchGoals (1984) 256Mb DRAM with 0.25 micron minimum featuresize 50 ps logic gate delay and switching energy of 5 fJ Six person-month design time for error-free layoutof chips with 10 8 transistors Tests that enable less than 1 in 10 6 defective devices 5X increased manufacturing productivity10

SRC Goals Were Sometimes Met WithDisbelief• “0.25 micron minimum features – doesn’t that violate the laws ofphysics?”“It is doubtful that one can scale the device dimensions to below 0.1 µm andgain any advantage in circuit performance because of several basiclimitations“Proc. IEEE (1983): “A systems approach to 1 µm NMOS”NeverHappen!• Working together, we achieved the 1984 SRC goals!

1982: SRC ‘Springs into Action’166 proposals received 80 proposals fundedSRC-CMU Center ofExcellence for CADThree research centers were formedSRC-UC/Berkeley Center ofExcellence for CADSRC-Cornell Center of Excellencefor Microscience & TechnologySteve Director, CMUDon Pederson,UC-BerkeleyNoel MacDonald& Jeffrey Frey,Cornell

Knowledge creation forinformation technologiesSRC Pathways for CollaborationThis chart represents how SRCimpacts, and is impacted by, itsmember companies. SRC MemberCompanies and Government Partnersdetermine Industry Needs, provideFunding to Universities, monitor theresearch through regular Reviews andestablish partnerships throughIndustrial Liaisons.SRC Member Companies receiveResearch Results, relevantly educatedand experienced Graduates, access toPublications, Intellectual Propertyand Spin-offs.These outputs benefit thesemiconductor industry, and Society,as a whole.

SRC Funding Pathways – Actual $Total FundingMemberCompanies$955M $190MSRCDirectedFunding• Sources of Directed, Collaborative andInfluenced Funding are typicallygovernment agencies• Directed Funding relates toSRC/Agency co-sponsorship ofResearch with all $ managed by SRC∑$1,145M$1,445M$300MCollaborativeFunding• Collaborative Funding occurs whenSRC and an agency agree to co-fund aresearch programUniversities$455MInfluencedFunding• Influenced Funding : SRC supportsresearch needs development,proposal evaluations, and links fundedprojects to membersOverall: $1.9B

SRC Technical Advisory Boards• Currently there are 1133members of TechnicalAdvisory Boards (TABs)who define researchneeds/review projects• There have been 1704distinct TAB membersacross 52 different TABsthroughout the SRC history15

Research Reviews• SRC Members take theresponsibility of researchmonitoring very seriously andreview every SRC researchprogram every year• ~ 850 reviews since inception to strengthenresearch and the industry-university partnership

Graduates• Since 1982, over 9400 students have workedon SRC sponsored projects.• At any given time, there are between 1200and 1500 students involved in SRC research• The vast majority of our alumni obtainedgraduate degrees, mostly the Ph.D.

Major AccomplishmentsBuilt the world’s largestand most successfuluniversity research forceto support the 10,000-foldadvances of thesemiconductor industry.• In 1982, less than 100students and facultyconducted silicon research.3,0002,500No. of Publications24302,00016261,50012471,000500 304 343 34129118001981 1991 2001 2009SRC Member Companies SRC Universities• In 2011, that number is500 faculty and 1,500students!The SRC community publishes 20% of theworld’s research on silicon; seven timesmore than AMD, GLOBALFOUNDRIES,IBM, Intel, Freescale, and TI combined.18

SRC Influential Publications• Currently, 210 SRC- supported papers havereceived over 100 citations.• Almost 2/3 of SRC’s Influential Publicationshave received at least 15% industry citations

Celebrating AccomplishmentsA few examples of research contributing to ourmembers’ technologies• The Copper Revolution• The high-K Breakthrough• ‘Green’ Flip-Chip Packages• The Birth of CAD Industry

Where Are We Going?• Some technology projections from currentresearch• Sub-16 nm patterning• III-V channel FET• Optical Interconnects• 3D-IC• Integrated Sensors• Terahertz Electronics

Many Challenges and Opportunities Stand Before Us• Continue to drive-down integrated circuit fabrication costs• Even as features sizes approach atomic dimensions• Expand the space of integrated circuit applications• Dramatically reduce energy consumption of integrated circuits• May need to invent new devices & interconnect technologies• Expand the sensory domain of integrated circuits• And learn to utilize the vast amount of data that results• Develop new ways of processing information• Is it possible to develop machines that reason and discover?

Working Together We Can AccomplishWonders!“Never doubt that a smallgroup of thoughtful,committed people canchange the world. Indeed,it is the only thing that everhas.”– Margaret Mead

Let’s Keep Rolling!

SRC Pathways for Collaboration