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Terahertz Spectroscopic / Imaging Analysis System
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Electronic Measuring Instruments
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Reducing the Development Costs
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Sky-rocketing Development Costs |
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Figure 1 shows the IC device development costs for different generations of process technologies. The development costs shouldered by system manufacturers have increased tremendously as process technology has moved beyond 0.18 micro-m. The main reason for the jump is mask costs (due to the many new technologies used in the manufacturing process of masks). Other reasons for the high development costs are prolongation of the design period, simulation until tape-out, and logical verification.
As miniaturization continues to advance, system manufacturers cannot continue to shoulder these costs.
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Figure 1 LSI development costs
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Achieving Lower Costs by Reducing the Number of Prototype Lots |
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IC device development includes many processes in which parameters are decided on an experimental basis, such as specification of channel length, clock optimization, and prevention of wiring interference. Expensive masks are used even for these types of development projects. As shown in Figure 2, an E-Beam direct-write model can easily write different chips on a wafer while setting the channel length parameter on the horizontal axis and the channel width parameter on the vertical axis. As a result, unlike conventional methods in which only one set of parameters can be realized on a wafer, an E-Beam direct-write model can reduce the number of lots and shorten the development period, significantly reducing development costs.
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Figure 2 Fewer prototype lots
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