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Transcending process technology toward a sustainable future

Super-gap
technology
turns
the world green

Electrical switch next to an upside-down outlet. The switch is turned on.

We all try to do our part and save energy by using less light and air conditioning or unplugging unused electronics. This is because saving energy also helps cut down on carbon emissions generated from thermal power, a driving force behind climate change.
It’s just like how Samsung creates low-power memory chips to reduce the energy used in data centers.

How are
White and red lights create a curve. Close-up of the shadow of a spring. Close-up of a semiconductor with blue light surrounding it.
our chips made?

How are
White and red lights create a curve.
our
Close-up of the shadow of a spring. Close-up of a semiconductor with blue light surrounding it.
chips made?

A grid of squares with a rainbow gradient over it.

From AI to 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), and self-driving cars, chips are leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As the technology within these chips becomes more advanced and complex, the process technology used to make these chips is also undergoing huge developments. In particular, we see devices getting smaller and so chips are designed to even smaller to match, which is exactly why ultra-fine processing technology has become so important.

How do micro-processes
create a new future
and
a sustainable
environment?

Packaging with
Multiple green wafers overlapping each other.
Top view of rows of solar panels seen on grass.
the innovative X-Cube

Packaging with
Multiple green wafers overlapping each other.
the innovative
Top view of rows of solar panels seen on grass.
X-Cube

Close-up of system semiconductor in blue packaged with X-Cube 3D stack packaging technology. Close-up of system semiconductor in blue packaged with X-Cube 3D stack packaging technology.

Samsung’s innovative technology isn’t just to make
products, but to also help the environment. We’ve
used 3D stack packaging technology X-Cube on
system semiconductors for the first time in the
industry. X-Cube allows you to vertically stack multiple wafers into a single chip, so you can fit a high-capacity memory solution while decreasing the chip’s overall size.

This allows clients to have more freedom in their designs, and it also dramatically increases data processing speeds and energy efficiency, enhancing performance and lowering the effect of energy on the environment. In addition to X-Cube, we continue to innovate and evolve to create a sustainable environment. By powering everything from AI and 5G to IoT and self-driving cars, we’re pioneering the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

3nm GAA (MBCFET®)
Rows of blue light moving at high speeds.
brings us from 2D to 3D
Close-up of a person's face wearing protective goggles. Close-up of semiconductor with data lines connecting to it.

3nm GAA (MBCFET®)
Rows of blue light moving at high speeds.
brings us from
Close-up of a person's face wearing protective goggles. Close-up of semiconductor with data lines connecting to it.
2D to 3D

3D model of Planar Structure and 3D Structure FinFET. Planar structure consists of Substrate, insulator, and gate with a channel going from source to the drain. 3D structure FinFET has the gate surrounding the channel on three sides.

Planar
Structure

3D Structure,
FinFET

Chips are made of multiple transistors, which is an electrical component that can either amplify current flow or act as a switch to control it. GAA (Gate-All-Around) is one type of transistor.

When voltage is applied to the gate, current flows through the channel from the source to the drain. In a planar or 2D structure, its main limitation is that the transistor’s gate and channel are connected on one side. If you try to reduce the size of the transistor to make a small, low-power chip, the distance between the source and drain becomes too close and the gate doesn’t work. There were also limits in lowering the operating voltage, like leakage currents in short channels.

To improve on this, we developed FinFET, a transistor with a 3D structure. It’s named after the structure’s shape of a fin, which is why it’s also called a fin transistor. We built this on the idea that as the side where the gate and channel connect becomes wider, it becomes more efficient. With a 3D structure, FinFET increases the area where the two meet to three sides, increasing chip performance. But we discovered that FinFET also had a limit — it was unable to reduce the operating voltage during the process past 4nm.

3D model of Planar Structure and 3D Structure FinFET. Planar structure consists of Substrate, insulator, and gate with a channel going from source to the drain. 3D structure FinFET has the gate surrounding the channel on three sides.

Planar
Structure

3D
Structure,
FinFET

Chips are made of multiple transistors, which is an electrical component that can either amplify current flow or act as a switch to control it. GAA (Gate-All-Around) is one type of transistor.

When voltage is applied to the gate, current flows through the channel from the source to the drain. In a planar or 2D structure, its main limitation is that the transistor’s gate and channel are connected on one side. If you try to reduce the size of the transistor to make a small, low-power chip, the distance between the source and drain become too close and the gate doesn’t work. There were also limits in lowering the operating voltage, like leakage currents in short channels.

To improve on this, we developed FinFET, a transistor with a 3D structure. It’s named after the structure’s shape of a fin, which is why it’s also called fin transistor. We built this on the idea that as the side where the gate and channel connect becomes wider, it becomes more efficient. With a 3D structure, FinFET increases the area where the two meet to three sides, increasing chip performance. But we discovered that FinFET also had a limit —
it was unable to reduce the operating voltage during the process past 4nm.

We brought forth the next-generation
3nm GAA
to further reduce the operating
the voltage of
ultra-fine circuits.

With GAA transistors in ultra-fine circuits under 3nm, the gate wraps around all four sides of the channel to have more control over the current flow. This is why we’ve been able to achieve higher power efficiency.

3D models of Planar FET, FinFET, MBCFET™ (Nanosheet) and GAAFET (Nanowire) transistors.

Planar FET

MBCFET™(Nanosheet)

FinFET

GAAFET
(Nanowire)

You can get higher power efficiency
with our unique GAA technology,
Multi Bridge Channel FET (MBCFET™).

It was difficult and complex to maintain sufficient current on a thin wire channel with a 1nm diameter, so our MBCFET™ makes this process easier with layers of long, thin nanosheets to improve performance and power efficiency.

Compared to a 7nm FinFET transistor, we reduce the area of the chip’s logic area by 35%, consume approximately 50% less energy and see about a 30% increase in performance.

Battery and data center with arrows pointing up, and a semiconductor with arrows point down.

35%
Reduction in
logic area

50%
Reduction in power
consumption

30%
Improvement in
performance

The Fourth Industrial
Revolution
begins with
technology that reduces
energy and carbon emissions.

Side of glass building seen reflecting the sky. The building is seen between two trees.

The next generation of high-performance chips for AI, big data, self-driving cars and IoT must use low-power technology for the sake of the Earth. We are doing all we can to overcome the limits of technology and enhance its process competitiveness of low-power semiconductors.

Explore more about Sustainability

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