Intel Researchers Develop Breakthrough Transistor Technologies to Fight Power, Heat Issues in Future Processors
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nov. 5, 2003—
Intel Corporation today announced it has identified new
materials to replace those that have been used to manufacture chips
for more than 30 years. The breakthrough is a significant
accomplishment as the industry races to reduce electrical current
leakage in transistors -- a growing problem for chip manufacturers as
more and more transistors are packed onto tiny pieces of silicon.
Intel researchers have developed record-setting, high-performance
transistors using a new material, called high-k, for the "gate
dielectric" and new metal materials for the transistor "gate."
Transistors are the microscopic, silicon-based switches that process
the ones and zeros of the digital world. The gate turns the transistor
on and off and the gate dielectric is an insulator underneath it that
controls the flow of electric current. Together, the new gate and gate
dielectric materials help drastically reduce current leakage that
leads to reduced battery power and generates unwanted heat. Intel said
the new high-k material reduces leakage by more than 100 times over
the silicon dioxide used for the past three decades.
The industry has been searching for new transistor gate materials
for many years, but technical difficulties have impeded practical
implementation. "This is the first convincing demonstration that new
gate materials will enable transistors to perform better, while
overcoming the fundamental limits of the silicon dioxide gate
dielectric material that has served the industry for more than three
decades," said Sunlin Chou, Intel senior vice president and general
manager of the Technology and Manufacturing Group. "Intel will use
this advancement along with other innovations, such as strained
silicon and tri-gate transistors, to extend transistor scaling and
Moore's Law."
According to Moore's Law, the number of transistors on a chip
roughly doubles every two years, resulting in more features, increased
performance and decreased cost per transistor. To maintain this pace
of innovation, transistors must continue to shrink to ever-smaller
sizes. However, using current materials, the ability to shrink
transistors is reaching fundamental limits because of increased power
and heat issues that develop as feature sizes reach atomic levels. As
a result, implementing new materials and innovative transistor
structures is imperative to the future of Moore's Law and the
economics of the information age.
The High-K and Metal Gate Solution
All transistors have an insulator material, called a
gate-dielectric that is critical to their operation. For the last 30
years, silicon dioxide has served as the material of choice for this
key transistor component because of its manufacturability and its
ability to deliver continued transistor performance improvements at
smaller sizes.
Intel has successfully shrunk the silicon dioxide gate dielectric
to sizes as small as 1.2 nanometers (nm) thick, which is equal to only
five atomic layers. As the silicon dioxide material gets thinner,
electric current leakage through the gate dielectric increases and
leads to wasted current and unnecessary heat. To keep electrons
flowing in the proper location and solve this critical issue, Intel
plans to replace the current material with a thicker high-k material
in the gate dielectric, significantly reducing current leakage.
The second part of the solution is the development of a metal gate
material, since the high-k gate dielectric is not compatible with
today's transistor gate. The combination of the high-k gate dielectric
with the metal gate enables a drastic reduction in current leakage
while maintaining very high transistor performance, making it possible
to drive Moore's Law and technology innovation well into the next
decade. Intel believes that these new discoveries can be integrated
into an economical, high-volume manufacturing process, and is now
moving this transistor research into the development phase.
Transistors with these new materials are an option targeted to be
integrated into future Intel processors as early as 2007, as part of
the company's 45-nm manufacturing process.
Intel will discuss details of the development of new transistor
materials on Nov. 6 at the 2003 International Workshop on Gate
Insulator in Tokyo. Intel's invited technical paper will outline the
critical and timely challenge of developing and integrating new
materials to address current leakage, power consumption and heat
issues by focusing on two significant breakthroughs: the
identification of the correct high-k gate dielectric material to
replace the silicon dioxide used today and the identification of metal
materials to replace today's gate material that is compatible with the
high-k gate dielectric.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading
manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
Additional information about Intel is available at
www.intel.com/pressroom.
Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation
or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Contact:
Intel Corporation
Kari Skoog, 503-264-1607
kari.e.skoog@intel.com
