Semiconductors and Intel

1 Semiconductors and Intel An introductionSemiconductors and Intel22 Table of contentsWhat is a semiconductor? GOSemiconductors are everywhere GOWhy are Semiconductors so important? GOThe exponential computer GOHow chips are made GOFoundries, Intel and IDM GOMoore s Law and what it means GOWhy are process nodes important? GOPackaging: protect, connect and re-architect GOProcess versus microarchitecture GOMajor processor architectures GOModern chips require a lot of software GOThe high cost of manufacturing GOSemiconductors take a global path to production GOIntel s history GOIntel invests in future technology GOGlobal patent portfolio GOIntel invests across an unmatched span of markets GOGlobal footprint GOGlossaryGOSemiconductors and Intel Semiconductors and Intel3 What is a semiconductor?

2 Semiconductors are essential for the operation of all modern electronic devicesDid you know? Semiconductors are the critical ingredient of computer chips, which are built for many functions. This motherboard is showing at least eight of them (the CPU, chipset, memory, storage, BIOS, and input/output chips).Functions of Semiconductors might include the amplification of signals, switching and energy semiconductorThe term semiconductor refers to a material that has electrical conductivity greater than an insulator but less than a conductor. However, it more commonly refers to an integrated circuit (IC) or computer chip. The most common semiconductor material is silicon, the main ingredient of computer and Intel4 Digital camerasRadiosScannersSmartphonesTelevisi onsWatches/clocksSemiconductors are everywhereComputers/laptopsXPUsDiodesMic rocontrollersRF TransmittersWireless HD videoATMsSmoke detectorsInternetRefrigeratorsCoffee makersVideo gamesWashing machinesBlood-pressure sensorsHearing aidsMRIsPacemakersUltrasound modulesWireless patient monitorsA/C temp sensorsEfficient logistics systemsLED light bulbsMonitoring systemsSecurity devicesSmart home systemsSolar panelsAdvanced driver assistance systemsDiagnostic equipmentMapping/SensingNavigation systems1.

3 TipSemiconductors are the foundation of modern technology. Billions of connected devices on the planet would not function without them. Semiconductors are probably the most complex products manufactured in the world,yet they re often as small as a fingernail. They are packed with billions of microscopic switches, called transistors, that make them EnergyCommunicationsTransportationSemico nductors and Intel5 The average American adult spends over 12 hours a dayon electronics, such as computers, mobile devices, TVs and cars. Those devices are all powered by Semiconductors , which improve our lives, increase productivity and drive economic are Semiconductors so important?$10-15 BThe approximate cost to build a new semiconductor factory or fab >6 Nearly the size of the world s largest semiconductor fab12 KThe number of construction.

4 High-tech & support jobs a semiconductor fab typically creates+$440B2020 revenue from the global semiconductor industryAMERICAN FOOTBALL FIELDSQ uick tipComputingConsumer/IoTHealthcareSmart EnergyCommunicationsTransportationSemico nductors and Intel6 The exponential computerFrom a few in the world to many per person1960s Mainframe Era1 computer1000s of users1980s Desktop/PC Era1 computer1 user2000s Mobility EraSeveral computers1 user2020s Ubiquity Era1000s of computers1 userSemiconductors and Intel7 How chips are madeA computer chip s journey begins with researchEngineers and scientists from companies and academia develop revolutionary processing and packaging technologies1 Mask OpsEngineers take the digital blueprints and convert them into glass templates, called masks, which are used in fabrication for photolithography, or printing with light.

5 2 DesignChip architects, logic designers and circuit designers create computerized drawings (blueprints).3 FabricationTechnicians in bunny suits use a multitude of machines to create layers of circuits and devices on silicon wafers. Each wafer will contain hundreds of & SortFinished wafers get cut into dies (or computer chips) and placed on test each die one last time, then mount them between a heat spreader and a substrate to form a sleek, enclosed professionals ship out chips to customers or global distribution hubs to besent to manufacturers or boxed up for & AssemblySemiconductors and Intel88 Foundries, Intel and IDM foundriesTypically, semiconductor manufacturers are either: Integrated device manufacturers (IDM) that design, build and sell their own chips; or Foundries that build chips for "fabless" customers that design, brand and sell themIntel is different.

6 Its IDM strategycombines: Intel s internal factory networkto build most of its products The use of external foundriesfor flexibility, scale and cost Intel Foundry Services,a new group dedicated to manufacturing for customersIntel Foundry Servicesinternal factory networkIDM and Intel99 Intel s first microprocessor, the 4004, had 2,300 transistors in 1971. Today s have billions. Every process node ( , 22nm, 14 nm, Intel 7, Intel 4) means improvements in power, performance, area and/or other tipMoore s Law was an observation of increasing economic efficiencyIn 1965, Gordon Moore made what he later called a wild extrapolation of very little data that the number of components per integrated circuit would keep doubling annually (revised later to biannually).Moore s Law and what it meansIntel co-founder Gordon MooreSemiconductors and Intel10 Quick tipWhy are process nodes important?

7 The result of each new process node can include:Denser componentsExisting functional blocks (IPs) use less silicon areaMany options for better chips: Multiply IPs (more throughput) Add new IPs (new features and capabilities) A smaller overall chip (lower cost)More power-efficient and quicker operation, and/orMore dynamic range (efficient at idle, faster at full throttle)123A note on node names: Intel introduced a simple and clear naming structure for its process nodes in 2021, one that no longer refers to nanometers. New names include Intel 7, Intel 4, Intel 3, and Intel 20A, ushering in the angstrom era of and Intel1111 The packagePackaging: protect, connect and re-architectThis Intelprocessor shows the silicon die at center, which would be attached to the substrate (left) and covered with a heatspreader(right).

8 The combined enclosure is called the package. It connects micron-sized features on the die to millimeter-sized features on a computer s motherboard, protects the die from contaminants, cools it, powers it, and increasingly, allows multiple die to be combined in novel and Intel1212 Packaging: protect, connect and re-architectNew packaging technologies allow the combination of myriad die into systems in packages, enabling more design and performance flexibility leading to entirely new kinds of chips, like the powerful Ponte Vecchio GPU. Intel is a world leader in advanced packaging development and tipIntel EMIB very efficiently connects two die sitting side-by-side. Intel s Foverostechnologyallows vertical stacking of processor die for the first packaging enables new era of chip designSemiconductors and Intel13 Quick tipProcess versus microarchitectureThink of a chip as a multistory urban buildingMicroarchitectures are blueprints; they convey what to build A microarchitecturerepresents a specific design, a single, unique building.

9 An architecturecomprises a family of buildings based on a unifying theme. Example: Willow Coveand Goldmontare CPU microarchitectures; both use Intel technologies are construction techniques How you take raw materials and create a building. Each new nodeis a refinement in process technology new and better ways to build new and better as tiny skyscraper: A common chip the size of your smallest fingernail is only around 1 millimeter thick but contains roughly 30 different layers of components and wires (called interconnects) that make up its complex and Intel14 Quick tipCPU architecturesX86: mobile device to supercomputer cores from Intel and AMDARM: a large span of processors for license or customizationRISC-V: open-source processor designMajor processor architecturesWhat Intel defines as XPUsCPUC entral processing unit(the brain of the computer)What do they do:Run the computer and all its programsMajor suppliers: Intel , AMD, ARM (Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung)GPUG raphics processing unitWhat do they do:Make images.

10 Accelerate highly parallel operationsMajor suppliers: Intel , AMD, Nvidia, ARM, ImaginationFPGAF ield-programmable gate array; software-configurable circuitsWhat do they do:Acceleration, communications, circuit design, applications that change oftenMajor suppliers: Intel , XilinxASICA pplication-specific integrated circuitWhat do they do:Do one thing, very quickly: deep learning, encryption, network processingMajor suppliers:Many and varied (including Intel ) Semiconductors and Intel15 Modern chips require a lot of software For every order of magnitude performance potential from new hardware architecture, there is often more than 2 orders of magnitude unlocked by software. Raja Koduri, Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) Group at IntelSoftware supplied by Intel for developers and customersDeveloper toolsMiddleware frameworks and runtimesLow-level libraries Virtualization/orchestration Operating systemDriversFirmware IP & BIOSA pplicationsServices & solutionsHardware.