Smaller, faster, better: technology trends in chip and microprocessor...

Dipl. Ing. Helmut Schettler

Technological improvements in microprocessor production essentially dictate the increase in speed of the chip. Copper wiring, silicon-on-insulator and the newest silicon/germanium technologies will be discussed.

How can one use light, whose wavelength is twice as long as the structures involved, for lithographic processes? How are new technologies put into practice? Where are the natural boundaries of today’s silicon technology and when will we reach them?