Samsung to Talk About 7nm SRAM EUV Design at ISSCC
Among the papers that will be presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in February is one that describes how Samsung 7nm SRAM was made using extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV).
South Korean Samsung will describe a 0.026μm2 SRAM bit cell in a 7nm process it aims to make available next year. The chip is the smallest SRAM described to date and uses a double-write driver to reduce minimum supply voltage.
TSMC will describe an 11 Mbit resistive RAM macro made in a 40nm process. It uses a new sense amplifier TSMC claims offers a 58 percent faster access speed as well as a new write scheme to improve endurance and retention.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix will describe 16 and 8 Gbit GDDR6 DRAMs, respectively, with maximum data rates of 16-18Gbits/s/pin using single-ended signaling. SK Hynix also will detail its eight-layer HBM2 that delivers 64 Gbits of memory on a 341 GByte/s interconnect.
Samsung will present its Tbit NAND based on 64 stacked layers and four bits/cell. Toshiba and Western Digital will counter with a 512 Gbit design using three bits/cell in a 96-layer stack. Separately, Samsung will describe its Z-NAND that achieves a 15μs latency as well as a solid-state drive controller for it that aims to compete with Intel's Optane drives.
Separately, Sony will describe a 1.46MP BSI global shutter CMOS image sensor expected to be used for scientific and industrial applications. It employs an in-pixel ADC thanks to 3D stacking techniques.
Microsoft will present a 1024x1024 time-of-flight image sensor made in a TSMC 65nm process. Organizers said it sports the smallest pixels and highest resolution for such products routinely used in gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality and the Internet of Things.
TSMC will show a new architecture for a CMOS imager aimed to increase video frame rates four- to nine-fold. The 13.5MP 3D-stacked sensor uses a bank of column ADCs.
Google will present the concept of a single compute fabric for machine-learning from the device to the data center as well as the technical challenges to enable it.
The 2018 International Solid-State Circuits Conference will be held in San Francisco February 11-15, 2018.