Samsung's 28nm HKMG Inside Apple's A7
Sinjin Dixon-Warren, ChipWorks
EETimes (1/21/2014 08:00 AM EST)
The Apple A7 processor used inside the iPhone 5s represents an extraordinary piece of engineering. At ChipWorks, we analyzed and discussed some of the Apple A7's details, such as the die layout, in an earlier blog.
The A7 is fabricated with Samsung’s 28nm low-power, gate-first, high-k metal gate (HKMG) process technology. The process features nine layers of copper metallization with low-k dielectrics, plus an additional top aluminum metal layer. This blog will focus on the front end of line (FEOL) transistor structure used in the A7, with comparison to advanced technologies used by both Apple and other vendors. The A7 gate-first transistor structure is based on the Common Platform Technology, which is an alliance of IBM, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries.
Chipworks has analyzed several generations of the Samsung process used to fabricate the A-series processors used in the iPhone and other Apple products. The A4 processor, released in September 2010, used a Samsung 45nm polysilicon transistor process technology with 180nm contacted gate pitch. The NMOS and PMOS transistor structures were essentially identical, with the main observable differences being in the materials used for the polysilicon gate and source/drain silicides.
E-mail This Article | Printer-Friendly Page |
Related News
Breaking News
- Logic Design Solutions launches Gen4 NVMe host IP
- ULYSS1, Microcontroller (MCU) for Automotive market, designed by Cortus is available
- M31 is partnering with Taiwan Cooperative Bank to launch an Employee Stock Ownership Trust to strengthen talent retention
- Sondrel announces CEO transition to lead next phase of growth
- JEDEC Publishes LPDDR5 CAMM2 Connector Performance Standard
Most Popular
- Arm's power play will backfire
- Alphawave Semi Selected for AI Innovation Research Grant from UK Government's Advanced Research + Invention Agency
- Secure-IC obtains the first worldwide CAVP Certification of Post-Quantum Cryptography algorithms, tested by SERMA Safety & Security
- Weebit Nano continuing to make progress with potential customers and qualifying its technology Moving closer to finalisation of licensing agreements Q1 FY25 Quarterly Activities Report
- PUFsecurity Collaborate with Arm on PSA Certified RoT Component Level 3 Certification for its Crypto Coprocessor to Provide Robust Security Subsystem Essential for the AIoT era