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AMD and 90nm Manufacturing: Paving the Way for Tomorrow, Today
"Texpert"
Processor manufacturers employ several techniques to improve their products. One of the most significant involves shrinking the lithography process to reduce surface area and power consumption, thereby increasing production efficiency and operating frequencies. Using its Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM) system, AMD has taken the critical step from its 130 nanometers (nm) Silicon On Insulator (SOI) process to a 90nm SOI.
Shrinking a Die
AMD’s 90nm Manufacturing Process
Dual-Core
Conclusion
Shrinking a Die
Lithography is the printing process used to manufacture processors. When we say we manufacture a device at 90 nanometers (nm), that number corresponds to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors’ (ITRS) definition of the minimum metal pitch – the smallest metal “lines” – used. These tiny proportions allow AMD to etch onto a silicon die complex circuits of millions upon millions of transistors, which allow for more-powerful-but-smaller processors. AMD uses a combination of 248nm and 193nm lithography tools, along with resolution enhancement techniques, to etch sub-50nm transistor gates – the smaller transistors switch faster and draw less power.
There is more to what we call a processor “die shrink” than using fancy new equipment to manufacture smaller transistors. Rather, designers and engineers must strike a delicate balance between replacing tools, accelerating gate switching speeds, and improving yields. AMD achieves each of these goals in a different way, but the result is a faster, cooler, and more efficient processor.
Just as AMD’s advanced 130nm process facilitated power management through Cool’n’Quiet™ technology, large on-die caches for accelerated performance, and the promise of 64-bit computing through extensions to the x86 ISA, the 90nm process enables exciting new technologies, such as more advanced power management features and the integration of two processing cores onto a single die.
AMD’s 90nm Manufacturing Process
Because AMD designed its 130nm process with migration to 90nm in mind, the transition was smooth and necessitated a limited number of modifications to guarantee optimal performance. Like the 130nm process before it, 90nm employs copper interconnects, Black Diamond low-k dielectric technology, and SOI, which combine to lend the architecture superior thermal characteristics. For example, the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor fabricated at 130nm and running at 2.2GHz, employs a nominal voltage of 1.5V – its maximum thermal design power is 89W, and processor current is specified at 57.4A. The same processor fabricated at 90nm only needs 1.4V – its thermal design power drops to 67W, and its current maxes out at 45.8A.
AMD’s 90nm success rests somewhat on APM (Automated Precision Manufacturing) v2.0, the approach used to maximize quality and efficiency during manufacturing. APM v2.0 not only automates the process, but also the decisions made during that process. In short, it enables each tool to subtly adjust AMD’s master recipe according to information received from other equipment, thus optimizing the yield for every lot of 25 wafers.
Despite this success, AMD refuses to rest on its laurels, and is opening Fab 36, a new fabrication plant in Dresden, Germany, to spearhead the push to 65nm manufacturing in 2006. There, APM v3.0 will gather information about each processor die and adjust the master recipe on a per-wafer basis. In the meantime, AMD will further enhance its 90nm manufacturing process by stretching the silicon atoms that comprise the channel region of each transistor to increase drive current.
Dual-Core
The miniaturization of electronic circuits enables such advances as the exciting new Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ processors. Because AMD Opteron processors are built with both future innovations and legacy technology in mind, system integrators should have no problem incorporating them into existing platforms.
And any desktop motherboard supporting a 90nm AMD Athlon™ 64 processor also should accommodate the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor.
The seamlessness of AMD’s dual-core adoption is due to at least two factors:
- 90nm manufacturing, which reduces power consumption to the point that putting two cores on one die is feasible
- AMD Opteron processors already feature the crossbar switch and system request interface needed to arbitrate between two cores – and because both cores share a memory controller and HyperTransport™ technology resources, the processor’s pin-outs remain consistent with existing interfaces
Conclusion
In addition to boasting improved power characteristics, AMD’s 90nm processors feature better clock scalability too. With strained silicon already a part of the AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-57 processor, Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ processors and AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processors impressing reviewers and users alike, and Fab 36 a reality, the next targets are 65nm manufacturing and the eventual adoption of 45nm and beyond.
Cautionary Statement
Activities and projects described herein may involve the use of tools and materials that may present health and safety hazards. These must be handled carefully and all tools and products should be used strictly according to manufacturers' precautions and instructions for the safe use of the respective tool or product. The techniques described herein may result in the voiding of manufacturers' warranties. The user assumes all risks associated with the techniques described in this article/guide. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. AMD ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE/GUIDE AND HAS NO LIABILITY OR OBLIGATION FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS ARTICLE/GUIDE.
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