Saturday, August 1, 2009
Got up at eight-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Japanese noodles for dinner. Read a technical paper. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (37.5 degrees C). The following graph shows the maximum temperature in Austin Texas for the last two months:
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Got up at nine forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch.
It was found that the 6-year-old battery of my Silverado was dead. A repairman of AAA's contractor ARMADA came to my house to replace a worn-out battery with a new one. The 4-year-old battery of my wife's car has also gone flat because it hasn't run for the last two months during these hot summer days. A repairman tried to talk me into buying a new battery for my wife's car. His attempt issued in failure, however. He tried to cheat me with a little trick but it could be read in his eyes.
Went out shopping at Whole Foods and HEB grocery stores this afternoon. Ate a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 94 degrees F (34.5 degrees C).
This evening, a neighbor made a seemingly discreet cough a couple of times after he gave me a backward glance. Not me. It's uncertain whether he theatrically did or not.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Read several technical papers. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Read several technical papers. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Japanese pasta for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 102 degrees F (39 degrees C).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Got up at eight-fifteen in the morning. Read a couple of technical papers. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Japanese noodles for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Three days ago, it was also found that the 4-year-old battery of my wife's car had gone flat. Today, the battery was fully recharged by connecting it to the operating generator of my pickup truck using jumper cables.
I would like to talk about information and rumor. Both information gathering and truth distinguishing count for a lot in the modern world. People daily obtain information through various sources such as mass media, educational institutions, administrative organs, word-of-mouth communications, and so on. The word "rumor" means circulating information of uncertain or doubtful truth. People have to be careful not to be misled by a rumor and not to spread a doubtful rumor.
Told my mother on the telephone last night that we have to refrain from talking about any uncertain rumor or disadvantageous topic when somebody may be listening in to our conversation. We shouldn't take part in spreading any groundless rumor or malicious slander without realizing it. Who has been eavesdropping on our telephone conversation? Indeed, the spying activities of small rats and fat rats are the root of all evil.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Got up at six forty-five in the morning. Read a couple of technical papers. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Japanese pasta for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
Placed an order for a CD-ROM of IEDM 2008 at IEEE/Proceedings.com this afternoon.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Read a technical paper. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, pieces of Central Market's Pizza, and a dish of salad for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 102 degrees F (39 degrees C).
According to the UPS tracking system, the CD-ROM of IEDM 2008 that was purchased at Proceeding.com yesterday has already been shipped. It's scheduled to be delivered to my house by Thursday, August 13.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Got up at ten-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch. Went out shopping at Whole Foods and HEB grocery stores this afternoon. Ate a dish of Japanese noodles for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C).
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Got up at ten-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Stayed at home for the entire day.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 101 degrees F (38.5 degrees C).
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-European-style meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 102 degrees F (39 degrees C). It's rained slightly this evening.
A neighbor who is healthy but out of shape gave coughs theatrically this evening. Not me.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Italian pasta for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 99 degrees F (37.5 degrees C).
As scheduled, the CD-ROM of IEDM 2008 was delivered to my house this afternoon. Read a couple of technical papers.
As written previously, a pleasant life in a luxury house together with my wife Naoko Shiho and our own healthy children for several more decades is the desire of my heart.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and pieces of California Pizza Kitchen's pizza for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C).
Can the strain profile in a semiconductor device be measured using HR-TEM correctly?
The HR-TED allows the measurement of the average atomic constant and average strain in a local area where the converged electron beam irradiates. However, TEM/TED measurement requires that the thickness of a sample should be thinned down to a couple of hundreds angstrom or below using chemical etching and an ion milling so that accelerated electrons can be transmitted through it. The stress profile in a thin slice of a device may be different from that of a device on a chip. Can the original stress profile in a 3D device structure with various stressors be memorized and maintained after a thinning process? The answer is "No". Probably, TEM/TED measurement may be used to verify the simulated strain profile around embedded SiGe to some degree.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Got up at nine o'clock in the morning. Ate a piece of California Pizza Kitchen's pizza and a bowl of vegetable soup for lunch. Read a couple of technical papers. Went out shopping at Asahi, Whole Foods, and HEB grocery stores this afternoon. Ate a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Got up at ten o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Stayed at home for the entire day.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Got up at seven-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Read a couple of technical papers.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a dish of Japanese noodles for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 100 degrees F (38 degrees C).
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-European meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 97 degrees F (36.5 degrees C).
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Got up at eight-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-European meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
As written previously, pleasant life in a luxury house (e.g. 2 Old Town Rd Wellesley MA 02481, 29 Edmunds Rd Wellesley MA 02482,153 Pine Street Dover MA 02030, 1151 La Mirada Southlake TX 76092, 1651 Mogan Southlake TX 76092,1705 Bur Oak Southlake TX 76092, 13961 Knaus Rd Lake Oswego OR 97034, 2572 Glen Eagles Pl Lake Oswego OR 97034, or 3114 Douglas Cir Lake Oswego OR 97035) together with my wife Naoko Shiho and our own healthy children for several more decades is the desire of my heart.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and pieces of pizza for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Got up at nine o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Read a technical paper. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C). Stayed at home for the entire day.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Got up at nine-fifteen in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Went out shopping at grocery stores this afternoon. Today the maximum temperature was 103 degrees F (39.5 degrees C).
Monday, August 24, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-European-style meal for dinner. Read several technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Got up at seven forty-five in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 102 degrees F (39 degrees C).
An elm tree in the backyard of my house might have died recently because of severe drought.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Got up at seven-thirty in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-European-style meal for dinner. Read a couple of technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 104 degrees F (40 degrees C). It's slightly rained for the first time in many days in Austin tonight.
US Senator, Mr. Edward M. Kennedy passed away from cancer at 77.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Today the maximum temperature was 99 degrees F (37.5 degrees C). It's slightly rained this evening.
The following is an overall summary of IEDM 2008:
The data in the table below are copied from the 2008 ITRS Roadmap for MPU HP:
Year 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022
MPU Node 68 45 32 22 16 11
Gate Length 32 24 18 14 10.7 8.1
Vdd 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8
It seems that there has been no breakthrough discovery in this area for the last couple of years.
The technology of the High-k Metal gate stack helps improve the gate scaleability surely and may help extend Moor's law for a while. However, it should degrade mobility by ~10% for a low-power application and by ~20% for a high-performance application. Its mobility degradation due to dipoles at the High-k/IL interface seems to be innate. Scaling the gate length down improves the pFET drive current and the gate capacitances but does not improve the nFET drive current so much in the gate length range of sub 30nm. How much circuit speed improvement has been obtained by advancing the technology node from 65nm (SiON) to 45nm (High-K Metal gate)? Probably, it shouldn't be so significant, as Intel announced in IEEE magazine last year. The speed gain from 45nm (High-K Metal gate) to 32nm (High-K Metal gate) may be reasonable, but it's not easy to fabricate the FETs with a gate length of 20nm and below on a chip. If Intel can go beyond Lg=20nm, AMD and some have to follow the tough road. It seems that they are still struggling in the gate length range of 30~20nm.
It seems that the semiconductor industry will use Si(110) with Si Migration {Si(110/331/111) for nFET, Si(110) for pFET} or Direct Si Bond Mixed Crystal Orientation Substrates {Si(100) for nFET, Si(110) for pFET} for either 32nm or 22nm node with or without scaling the FET gate length below 20nm because of the difficulty in its manufacturability.
Is the High-k Metal gate stack worth using? The answer is "Yes". Is the High-k Metal gate stack on the Si channel worth using? The answer is still "uncertain". The EOT scalability of the High-k gate dielectric is limited by the presence of the IL (SiO2 or SiON) that is necessary to avoid severe degradation in mobility and reliability-related problems. If the use of the High-k Metal gate stack allows scaling the gate length down to only 30~20nm range (45nm node) with extra production costs, the answer is still "uncertain". So far, the gate scaling down to 25nm has been demonstrated by IBM. If its use really enables scaling the gate length down to the 20~10nm range (32, 22, 16nm nodes) with high manufacturability and a reasonable penalty of extra production costs, the answer is "Yes". Intel people should know it. Some of them may think that the gate scaling of the latest ITRS roadmap is too aggressive and they may want more conservative targets such as Lg=35nm for the 45nm node and Lg=30nm for the 32nm node, as seen in one of its papers.
One of the reasons why the semiconductor industry has used the Si wafer for most MOSFET applications is that its oxide SiO2 is very good. The other reason is its low wafer cost. Therefore, there is no strong reason why the semiconductor industry still should use the Si channel when the IL between the High-k gate dielectric and the Si channel is removed. The wafer bonding technique may have helped reduce the wafer cost for a device utilizing another material channel.
When will the semiconductor industry give a Si FET up? When will it move to other materials, for instance, Ge (pFET), GaAs (nFET), InGaAs, InP, InAs, InSb, C or something else? These questions have been asked numerous times until now. This is still the biggest question in this area. It may be at the 32nm node (Lg=18nm), the 22nm node (Lg=14nm), or the 16 nm node (Lg=10.7nm). It seems that the gate length of a Si FET for the 11 nm node (Lg=8.1nm) is the limitation of its scaling from the viewpoint of device physics. Nobody believes that scaling of the Si FETs will continue beyond Lg=8nm. In order to make the decision, the trade-off relationship between the development & manufacturing costs and the performance improvement at each technology node has to be compared, as well known.
Will the semiconductor industry need a new device structure before/when switching to Ge (pFET), GaAs (nFET), and/or other III-V compound semiconductors? I think so. It may be a FinFET/TriGate. The optimization of the device structure especially at the top area of fins and the use of lower-k insulating dielectrics (SiO2: 3.9 -> Aurora: 3.0 or 2.4) should solve a problem in higher parasitic capacitances. The doping in multiple fins of the FinFET/TriGate doesn't cause a problem of higher Vt variations due to Random Dopant Fluctuations compared to a planar device when the number of its fins is enough and its effective width is comparable to that of a planar device. Indeed, my studies confirmed these findings three years ago. In the 2008 IEDM papers, higher electron mobility at the non-planar channel obtained by using the Si Migration Process over that at the planar channel also gives hope for non-planar channel devices. However, for a Si body FinFETs, the thickness of fins has to be kept within the range of 20nm~10nm in order to enable the gate length scaling from 30nm (Tfin=20nm) down to 15nm (Tfin=10nm) while avoiding degradation in mobility. Thinning the fin thickness below 10nm down to 5nm may lead to unacceptable mobility degradation. For a Ge and/or III-V compound body FinFET, the gate length scaling can be delayed because of the advantages of high mobility.
Will Carbon Nano-Tube FETs take the place of Si MOSFETs in the future? IBM people and its alliances would like to believe so.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch. Ate a Japanese-style meal for dinner.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch. Went out shopping at grocery stores this afternoon. Ate a Japanese-style meal for dinner.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Got up at nine o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Stayed at home for the entire day. Read a technical paper. Today the maximum temperature was 94 degrees F (34.5 degrees C).
Monday, August 31, 2009
Got up at eight o'clock in the morning. Ate a bowl of cereal for lunch, and a Japanese-style meal for dinner. Read several technical papers. Today the maximum temperature was 92 degrees F (33.5 degrees C). It seems that the fierce hot season has ended. The heat gradually grew cooler for the last week.
