tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post134969695098350014..comments2024-03-28T04:15:44.459-05:00Comments on nanoscale views: Silicon nanoelectronics is a truly extraordinary achievement.Douglas Natelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-56557487672026507152020-10-28T18:08:38.690-05:002020-10-28T18:08:38.690-05:00@Jon, the automated TEMs that Intel and others use...@Jon, the automated TEMs that Intel and others use are highly optimized for a particular kind of material/structural cuts. In academia, you are preparing many different kinds of samples and I am not sure if you can automate more while still retaining flexibility.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-86178586525674599372020-10-28T07:16:10.089-05:002020-10-28T07:16:10.089-05:00@Raj Giri - two days ago, I was trying to explain ...@Raj Giri - two days ago, I was trying to explain to a colleague why TEMs within Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) Departments in academia are generally not automated. Your comment reminded me that, for the nano-electronics industry, this is actually the case. I suppose companies like Intel tend to buy a lot of microscopes that must work 24/7 with industry standard metrology algorithms and processes. The diffusion of automated microscopes down to universities has yet to materialize (unless, of course, you count cryo-EM fro structural biology). Thanks for the reminder!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-44361229940861313022020-10-28T01:30:01.291-05:002020-10-28T01:30:01.291-05:00I spent several years in Intel before returning th...I spent several years in Intel before returning the academia. It was funny how mundane it seemed to everyone inside to talk about 10 nm transistors (that was the node I last worked on), but also just the scale of the tools required is incredible and amazing. I mean things like an entire suite filled with many TEMs running literally 24/7, teams of engineers working night shifts on million-dollar optical microscopes, things like that. <br /><br />I won't really talk about last anon's points-- aside from my info being 5 years out of date, Intel did (and does) struggle a lot at 10 nm.Raj Girihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05500016407672588795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-87914759702647085052020-10-25T23:11:01.824-05:002020-10-25T23:11:01.824-05:00Agreed. It's a shame that the US has lost lea...Agreed. It's a shame that the US has lost leadership (permanently?) of silicon nanoelectronics given that Intel is behind and its CEO is considering outsourcing production to Asian foundries due to internal manufacturing issues.<br /><br />https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2020/10/intel-shares-fall-sharply-on-weak-outlook.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-86763498570067912422020-10-25T20:11:47.359-05:002020-10-25T20:11:47.359-05:00@Anon commenting on valuation of software companie...@Anon commenting on valuation of software companies for their trivial pursuits: I propose a solution to that. Just like many are wearing masks in the pandemic, if they were also using ad-blockers whenever they browse the web - the valuation problem would be largely solved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-28956865325730508442020-10-24T14:35:31.450-05:002020-10-24T14:35:31.450-05:00The way wall street treats the semiconductor manuf...The way wall street treats the semiconductor manufacturing companies is also incredible. A software company gets valued at multiple times the value of chip manufactureres.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-44700321149104298362020-10-24T14:16:55.373-05:002020-10-24T14:16:55.373-05:00Another good book on the history of the semiconduc...Another good book on the history of the semiconductor industry and its lasting effects on industry and society is Cyrus Mody's "The Long Arm of Moore's Law".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com