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Are U.S. C-MOS makers falling behind?
World Abstracts orl Microelectronics and Reliability used to provide advanced communications network management functions. This paper describes the design objectives, implementation decisions, and design rationale for implementing these characteristics in the IBM 3863, 3864, and 3865 family of data modems. This network management function, which has been integrated into IBM Communications Network Management (CNM) offerings for IBM's Systems Network Architecture user networks, extends the problem-determination capability to cover the modems and communication lines. Support for this new function has been integrated into the 3705 ACF/NCP/VS control program and the System/370 NPDA program product.
How Japan's chip makers line up to compete. JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 113 (2 June 1981). Beneath the facade of Japan Inc. lie individual companies, each with its own marketing strategies and technological strengths. Soviet chips feature refined fabrication but mimic U.S. ICs. JOHN G. POSA.Electronics 39 (27 January 1981). The Soviet Union can build integrated circuits about as well as the United States can, but the design expertise of its engineers may well lag behind their fabrication skills. Separate dissections of a 16-K random-access memory and an 8-bit microprocessor made in the USSR have disclosed cleanly resolved features--but layout of the RAM and of the processor have simply been lifted from U.S. chips. Are U.S. C-MOS makers falling behind? JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 97 (10 March 1981). Japanese manufacturers at ISSCC talk of 2-#m processes while Americans are just getting down to 3 #m. Oil prices fuel power IC work. GIL BASSAK.Electronics 97 (7 April 1981). Conference spotlights emerging importance of power electronics as computer technology begins to make inroads.
Auto slump drags IC prices down. GIL BASSAK.Electronics 108 (24 March 1981). At the same time, addedcompetition
and cost pressures force semiconductor makers to look for more efficient processing.
Detour ahead for IC equipment makers? JAMES B. BRINTON and LINDA LOWE. Electronics 108 (24 February 1981). Semiconductor capital equipment spending is predicted to drop, but there is little agreement on how far and when. Copy Japanese, U.S. managers urged. RAY CONNOLLY. Electronics 106 (21 April 1981). Speakers at EIA-J seminar laud productivity techniques as trade groups prod Congress to reform taxes. ECC tackles fiber optics, bonding, hybrid technology. VINCENT BIANCOMANO. Electronics 137 (5 May 1981). A fiber-optic switch, a new semiconductor oxide, and a silicontantalum hybrid are among the advances discussed at this year's Electronic Components Conference. Innovations which reduce costs and turn around time of integrated circuit production for small electronic engineering companies. K. F. POOLE, D. L. KNEE and I. JCLARK. Microelectron. J. 12 (1) 33 (1981). An approach is given which enables small companies to enter into the design and prototype production of integrated circuits to meet their specific requirements, without the major financial and quality control commitments normally associated with integrated circuit production. An uncommitted integrated circuit is used as the basic vehicle of a microelectronics facility thus reducing costs and speeding up process time without compromising quality. The use of polyester backed film and the re-cycling of slices are cost saving measures which are possible on an uncommitted chip as it is specifically designed as a low packing density, highly versatile chip. Prototype circuits are made routinely, costing less than U.S.$50 and with a turn around time of less than five days between completion of the design and availability of a packaged integrated circuit for testing.
5. M I C R O E L E C T R O N I C S - - D E S I G N Is epitaxy right for MOS? JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 93 (10 February 1981). T1 thinks epitaxial layer for 64-K dynamic RAM is worth added cost; Bell Labs agrees, and other manufacturers eye the move.
Plasma etching of aluminum. DENNIS W. HESS. Solid-St. Technol. 189 (April 1981). Plasma etching of aluminum is an important aspect of the VLSI effort. Current attempts to attain reproducible plasma etching of aluminum and its alloys are described. The inhibition period associated with aluminum etching is discussed, and related to water vapor and oxygen contamination, along with native aluminum oxide effects. Differences in the chemistry of CCI 4 and BC1a discharges are indicated, and related to aluminum etch rates, etch reproducibility, and line profiles. Corrosion effects after aluminum pattern definition are discussed. Some of the safety precautions necessary when dealing with chlorinated plasmas are described. Thermal transients in electronic packages. M. LAWRENCE BULLER. IEEE Trans. Components, Hybrids, Manuf Technol. CHMT-3 (4) 588 (December 1980). The use of a transient analysis to accurately characterize the operating temperature of electronic modules should result in lower temperature estimates. This will reflect increases in both the reliability estimates and the performance specifications. An accurate cooling analysis would also enhance the projected product life or reduce the system cooling requirements.
755
AND CONSTRUCTION
Simplified expressions have been obtained for the calculation of chip and module thermal transients which, when superimposed, characterize the total package time/temperature response. Empirical data demonstrate the validity of the assumptions used to obtain these expressions. The thermal time constants are also presented in graphical form using parameters easily obtainable by the design engineer (e.g., cooling air velocity, steady-state temperature differences, and module location) so that order of magnitude assessments can be made.
X-ray lithography breaks the submicrometer barrier. MARTIN P. LEPSELTER.IEEE Spectrum 26 (May 1981). A new X-ray lithography system allowed Bell Labs engineers to make the smallest, fastest MOSFETs yet reported. Plasma planarization. A. C. ADAMS. Solid-St. Technol. 178 (April 1981). A process is described for smoothing steps in Pdoped silicon dioxide. Samples to be smoothed or planarized are coated with photoresist which flows during a subsequent low temperature bake to form a relatively smooth surface. The resist is etched in a CF4-O 2 plasma using conditions that etch the resist and the P-glass at about the same rate. This preserves the original resist profile and leaves only small steps with very shallow angles in the P-glass. In contrast to the flowed P-glass process, planarization does not require high temperatures and is nearly independent of the phosphorus concentration.
How Japan's chip makers line up to compete. JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 113 (2 June 1981). Beneath the facade of Japan Inc. lie individual companies, each with its own marketing strategies and technological strengths. Soviet chips feature refined fabrication but mimic U.S. ICs. JOHN G. POSA.Electronics 39 (27 January 1981). The Soviet Union can build integrated circuits about as well as the United States can, but the design expertise of its engineers may well lag behind their fabrication skills. Separate dissections of a 16-K random-access memory and an 8-bit microprocessor made in the USSR have disclosed cleanly resolved features--but layout of the RAM and of the processor have simply been lifted from U.S. chips. Are U.S. C-MOS makers falling behind? JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 97 (10 March 1981). Japanese manufacturers at ISSCC talk of 2-#m processes while Americans are just getting down to 3 #m. Oil prices fuel power IC work. GIL BASSAK.Electronics 97 (7 April 1981). Conference spotlights emerging importance of power electronics as computer technology begins to make inroads.
Auto slump drags IC prices down. GIL BASSAK.Electronics 108 (24 March 1981). At the same time, addedcompetition
and cost pressures force semiconductor makers to look for more efficient processing.
Detour ahead for IC equipment makers? JAMES B. BRINTON and LINDA LOWE. Electronics 108 (24 February 1981). Semiconductor capital equipment spending is predicted to drop, but there is little agreement on how far and when. Copy Japanese, U.S. managers urged. RAY CONNOLLY. Electronics 106 (21 April 1981). Speakers at EIA-J seminar laud productivity techniques as trade groups prod Congress to reform taxes. ECC tackles fiber optics, bonding, hybrid technology. VINCENT BIANCOMANO. Electronics 137 (5 May 1981). A fiber-optic switch, a new semiconductor oxide, and a silicontantalum hybrid are among the advances discussed at this year's Electronic Components Conference. Innovations which reduce costs and turn around time of integrated circuit production for small electronic engineering companies. K. F. POOLE, D. L. KNEE and I. JCLARK. Microelectron. J. 12 (1) 33 (1981). An approach is given which enables small companies to enter into the design and prototype production of integrated circuits to meet their specific requirements, without the major financial and quality control commitments normally associated with integrated circuit production. An uncommitted integrated circuit is used as the basic vehicle of a microelectronics facility thus reducing costs and speeding up process time without compromising quality. The use of polyester backed film and the re-cycling of slices are cost saving measures which are possible on an uncommitted chip as it is specifically designed as a low packing density, highly versatile chip. Prototype circuits are made routinely, costing less than U.S.$50 and with a turn around time of less than five days between completion of the design and availability of a packaged integrated circuit for testing.
5. M I C R O E L E C T R O N I C S - - D E S I G N Is epitaxy right for MOS? JOHN G. POSA. Electronics 93 (10 February 1981). T1 thinks epitaxial layer for 64-K dynamic RAM is worth added cost; Bell Labs agrees, and other manufacturers eye the move.
Plasma etching of aluminum. DENNIS W. HESS. Solid-St. Technol. 189 (April 1981). Plasma etching of aluminum is an important aspect of the VLSI effort. Current attempts to attain reproducible plasma etching of aluminum and its alloys are described. The inhibition period associated with aluminum etching is discussed, and related to water vapor and oxygen contamination, along with native aluminum oxide effects. Differences in the chemistry of CCI 4 and BC1a discharges are indicated, and related to aluminum etch rates, etch reproducibility, and line profiles. Corrosion effects after aluminum pattern definition are discussed. Some of the safety precautions necessary when dealing with chlorinated plasmas are described. Thermal transients in electronic packages. M. LAWRENCE BULLER. IEEE Trans. Components, Hybrids, Manuf Technol. CHMT-3 (4) 588 (December 1980). The use of a transient analysis to accurately characterize the operating temperature of electronic modules should result in lower temperature estimates. This will reflect increases in both the reliability estimates and the performance specifications. An accurate cooling analysis would also enhance the projected product life or reduce the system cooling requirements.
755
AND CONSTRUCTION
Simplified expressions have been obtained for the calculation of chip and module thermal transients which, when superimposed, characterize the total package time/temperature response. Empirical data demonstrate the validity of the assumptions used to obtain these expressions. The thermal time constants are also presented in graphical form using parameters easily obtainable by the design engineer (e.g., cooling air velocity, steady-state temperature differences, and module location) so that order of magnitude assessments can be made.
X-ray lithography breaks the submicrometer barrier. MARTIN P. LEPSELTER.IEEE Spectrum 26 (May 1981). A new X-ray lithography system allowed Bell Labs engineers to make the smallest, fastest MOSFETs yet reported. Plasma planarization. A. C. ADAMS. Solid-St. Technol. 178 (April 1981). A process is described for smoothing steps in Pdoped silicon dioxide. Samples to be smoothed or planarized are coated with photoresist which flows during a subsequent low temperature bake to form a relatively smooth surface. The resist is etched in a CF4-O 2 plasma using conditions that etch the resist and the P-glass at about the same rate. This preserves the original resist profile and leaves only small steps with very shallow angles in the P-glass. In contrast to the flowed P-glass process, planarization does not require high temperatures and is nearly independent of the phosphorus concentration.