The ITRS Design Technology and System Drivers Roadmap: Process and Status Andrew B. Kahng CSE and ECE Depts., Univ. of California at San Diego
[email protected] ABSTRACT progress of design technology. The Design technology working group (TWG) is one of 16 working • Understanding of contexts and needs for technology. Con- groups in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconduc- texts ranging from process technology to market forces affect tors (ITRS) effort. It is responsible for the ITRS’ Design Chap- the need for technology. For example, the trajectory of mo- ter, which roadmaps design technology requirements and poten- bile consumer SOC products has driven rapid innovation in tial solutions for elements of the semiconductor supply chain that low-power design techniques spanning embedded memory are produced by the electronic design automation (EDA) indus- design, power and clock gating, dynamic voltage scaling, try. The Design TWG is also responsible for the ITRS’ System etc. At the same time, these low-power design techniques Drivers Chapter, which roadmaps the key product classes that drive must acknowledge process and material attributes such as the leading-edge requirements for process and design technolo- discreteness of FinFET device widths starting at the 16nm gies. Through these activities, the Design TWG sets a number foundry node, or increasingly dominant reliability and aging of fundamental parameters in the overall ITRS: layout density, die mechanisms. size, maximum on-chip clock frequency, total chip power, SOC and • Holistic selection of potential solutions. Technology roadmap- MPU architecture models, etc. This paper reviews the process by ping must holistically model and predict impacts of potential which the Design TWG evolves its roadmap content, and some of technology solutions, at many levels.