Infineon Announces 300 mm Thin Wafers

I think we should stop using the term 'quantum leap' when talking about semiconductor tech unless the leap in question is in fact quantum in nature.

I think people should stop using the term "quantum leap" altogether when they don't know what it means, and they actually apply it in situations when what they do mean is actually the total opposite. You would think that an R&D and Labor director would have a background with a degree in physics, in which case he should know that quantum leaps are very small, not very large.

So from what I read, they are making an already existing technology that was already being used to make CPUs more affordable for other types of chips. Even if you could say a "quantum leap" meant a very big advancement, I don't see how it would apply here.

LOL, I don't think a wafer that is 300mm thick, is very thin. Ok now I get it (diameter), makes perfect sens to use larger wafers so each batch produces more chips.

300mm=30cm which is almost 1ft...I think they mean the width of the wafer....not the thickness?

Do you mean nm?

Interesting.

Im guessing this move is mainly so they can stack more layers in memory chips. You can only stack so thick before you run into thermal problems.

anyone tell me what this means, because it sounds like the tech already existed?

what? molecular leap?

Here's some very informative data on switching from 150mm/200mm/300mm/450mm if you want to know about the different dimensional differences.
http://smithsonianchips.si.edu/ice [...] CTION7.pdf

From what I read for SEMI specifications here:
http://www.virginiasemi.com/pdf/se [...] w71002.pdf

300mm diameter (+/-0.2mm)
775um thickness (+/-20um)

Infineon's newest thickness specs are 100um = 0.1mm thick. Last post didn't get included with this data.

um = .001mm

yes, but i don't get why this is special, as there are already 300mm being used.

i skimmed the pdf in case that had anything that told me the relevance besides the yeilds and cost.

nanoleap?

To a point does sounds like in the interest of use with ideas of chips, they are the first to make 300mm "Thin Wafers". Given at times having 200mm wafers to a point more "viable" then a 300mm wafer. Rather a difference for say, is probably any guess of course. Given there has been 300mm say wafers before. AS rather for any interest within use for what might be of interest within given maybe who does and does not make them as well. Rather is normal for the size or not, I don't know.

As for term of quantum im not sure. Usually think within the idea of usage within termanology or the like usually has a varying place of say use. To say on some ideas the use of such might have more then one appliance of such within for a use, might be say "quantum" within its own use or say, maybe more towards say of use of course though. I don't know though for the most part either probably to a decent point.

Think quantum usually places alot of interest within deeper interest of say studies more then not, namely some form of one more then another. Maybe not though as well, and the usejust finds a fitting for what the intial interest of the say "term" implies or applies too.

More lost on MOSFETs then anything, for interest of like wafers nd the such might be placed within ideas of the same within interest of relating place of use for one, I don't know. Think had thought it was a brand name/brandname more then anything.

Apparently they are getting up to 25% power efficiency with this new THINNER wafer. I have worked with 300mm wafers since 2002, so the technology in making chips on 300mm has been in use since about 2000-2001 or so. They are just using a thinner wafer to produce a more power efficient chip, from what I've read.

Here's a link to Infineon's article about it:
http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/cor [...] 0-002.html

I guess none of you kids ever watched quantum leap

I think people should stop using the term "quantum leap" altogether when clearly Scott Bakula isn't going to jump into the body of a mentally retarded man and spend the whole episode fighting against inequality and prejudice, helped along by a cigar chewing Dean Stockwell, thumping his flashy-light box and extolling the low percentage of success for whatever the hell he is trying to do next.

The term "quantum leap" doesn't necessarily have to relate to a small size. A "quanta" is a discrete quantity or amount which can not be sub-divided into smaller units. Although the term usually refers to the very small differentials described in modern physics, it is not limited to that use. Each child born represents a quantum leap in size for that family.

the article does not say how thin the wafers are! And honestly, I do not see how manufacturing on thin wafers would justify a switch to the otherwise more expensive 300 mm technology. Traditionally, wafers get thinned by grinding its backside before sawing the wafers into individual chips. I believe, some essential information is missing in this article in order to give it some meaning.

He said Quantum Leap. He meant Quantum Leap.

In other words, yes he recognizes that this is no big deal, hence it is a quantum leap (very small and unimportant).

No shit?

I always thought wafers were tough, solid pieces but looking at the image it seems rather soft.

Ok, seems like people here don't understand the "clue" about it: for power semiconductor you can say: the thinner, the more efficient. So far Infineon has achieved to manufacture 200 mm diameter wafers with tickness far below 100 µm (just try to handle such a wafer, you'll see what it means - it's like handling a very brittle foil, they break VERY easily). Nobody so far has tried to manufacture such thin wafers in a 300 mm diameter (thick wafers in 300 mm - that's rather easy in terms of handling), so Infineon are the first to produce power semiconductors on such large wafers, which gives them the advantage of almost 2,25 times the number of chips on a wafer compared to 200 mm - this surely gives them a cost-advantage!
And by the way - Quimonda was located in Dresden, the wafers were processed in Villach on a newly installed production line (Infineon Villach never produced for Quimonda).

i wonder why wafer makes me think of waffle......