Moore's Law and Material Evolution

In this illuminating webinar, Dr. Anatoly Agulyansky, an experienced chemist with over 100 scientific publications and extensive industry experience, explores the evolution of Moore’s Law and its impact on material science in semiconductor manufacturing. The presentation delves into the critical challenges and innovations that have shaped the semiconductor industry’s pursuit of Moore’s Law – the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years.

Key Highlights:

Historical Context and Evolution

The presentation begins with a fascinating historical perspective, from the 1943 IBM chairman’s prediction of “a world market for maybe 5 computers” to the current era where microchips contain up to 10 billion transistors. This dramatic evolution demonstrates how far semiconductor technology has progressed and the continuous drive for innovation in the industry.

Technical Challenges and Solutions

• Transistor Scaling: As transistors become smaller, manufacturers face increasing challenges in maintaining performance while reducing size
• Material Innovation: The industry has evolved from aluminum to copper interconnects, and now explores cobalt as a potential replacement for certain applications
• Gate Oxide Evolution: The transition from silicon oxide to high-k dielectrics like hafnium oxide to maintain transistor performance at smaller scales
• RC Delay Challenges: The increasing impact of resistance-capacitance delay as devices shrink, requiring new materials and architectural solutions

Manufacturing Complexity

Dr. Agulyansky highlights how the pursuit of Moore’s Law has led to increasingly complex manufacturing processes, with only about 30% of operations directly adding value to the product. This complexity results in rising costs and technological challenges that require innovative solutions.

Future Perspectives

The presentation emphasizes the need to shift from component-based thinking to function-based approaches in semiconductor development. This paradigm shift could lead to simpler, more efficient solutions rather than adding complexity to existing systems.

Key Takeaway

The semiconductor industry’s continued advancement requires not just material innovations, but a fundamental rethinking of how we approach design and manufacturing processes. The focus should shift from simply making components smaller to improving their functional efficiency.

This webinar provides valuable insights into the materials science challenges in semiconductor manufacturing and suggests new ways of thinking about innovation in this critical industry.