Extending Moore’s Law through Advanced Semiconductor Design and Processing Techniques

This book provides a methodological understanding of the theoretical and technical limitations to the longevity of Moore’s law. The book presents research on factors that have significant impact on the future of Moore’s law and those factors believed to sustain the trend of the last five decades. Research findings show that boundaries of Moore’s law primarily include physical restrictions of scaling electronic components to levels beyond that of ordinary manufacturing principles and approaching the bounds of physics. The research presented in this book provides essential background and knowledge to grasp the following principles:

Traditional and modern photolithography, the primary limiting factor of Moore’s law

Innovations in semiconductor manufacturing that makes current generation CMOS processing possible

Multi-disciplinary technologies that could drive Moore’s law forward significantly

Design principles for microelectronic circuits and components that take advantage of technology miniaturization

The semiconductor industry economic market trends and technical driving factors

The complexity and cost associated with technology scaling have compelled researchers in the disciplines of engineering and physics to optimize previous generation nodes to improve system-on-chip performance. This is especially relevant to participate in the increased attractiveness of the Internet of Things (IoT). This book additionally provides scholarly and practical examples of principles in microelectronic circuit design and layout to mitigate technology limits of previous generation nodes. Readers are encouraged to intellectually apply the knowledge derived from this book to further research and innovation in prolonging Moore’s law and associated principles.