- Node size traditionally meant the smallest feature dimension on a transistor
- Leading edge chips today are at 3 nanometer (nm) and 2 nm nodes
The Semi 101 series explains the fundamentals of the semiconductor industry.
We often hear talk about nodes: future nodes, advanced nodes, technology nodes—what’s it all mean?
Traditionally, a node more or less referred to the size of the smallest features of a microchip transistor, namely gate length and/or half of the Metal 1 line pitch.
But today, the term “node” doesn’t necessarily represent the size of any transistor features. And to complicate matters even more, different chip manufacturers measure and report nodes differently.
The takeaway: Node size today indicates device generation, signifying smaller features and higher transistor density, and therefore greater performance and efficiency.
Here’s an example: In 2003, the 90 nanometer (nm) node roughly had a Metal 1 line half-pitch size of about 90 nm.
- In contrast, modern 3 nm semiconductor chips may have a transistor gate length of 3 nm, but a metal half pitch size of 9 nm, depending on the manufacturer.
Small World
As transistor features continue to shrink, our ability to comprehend and appreciate the innovations and engineering required to make them can also diminish.
So, how small is a nanometer, exactly?
1 nm is a millionth of 1 millimeter. We can all imagine what 1 millimeter (mm) looks like, which is roughly the width of a credit card.
But what does 1/1,000,000 of a millimeter look like?
Here’s a helpful analogy:
- Imagine that 1 nm is the size of one standard brick.
- Then imagine a tower made of many bricks, with 1 million stacked on their sides on top of each other.
- The result would be much taller than any known structure or natural landmark on Earth. It would extend into outer space!
How Does a Nanometer Compare to a Millimeter?
If we imagine 1 nanometer as one standard 8 x 4-inch building brick, then 1,000,000 nanometers, equivalent to 1 millimeter, would be taller than any structure or natural landmark on Earth.
Here’s the math:
- 1 brick: 203.2 x 101.6 x 50.8 mm (8 x 4 x 2 inches)
- 1 million bricks, on their side (4 inches tall each), stacked on top of each other = 101,600 meters (333,333 feet) tall
And some points of reference:
- The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, is 828 meters (2,717 feet).
- Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, is 8,848 meters (29,029 feet).
- Commercial airplanes typically cruise at around 10,668 meters (35,000 feet).
- The “edge of space” or Karman line sits at 38,405 meters (126,000 feet) above Earth.
The fabrication of today’s leading-edge devices use advanced manufacturing processes that operate at a scale so small that it’s difficult for us humans to comprehend.
Device features measuring thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair require specialized depositing, patterning, etching, and cleaning equipment, all at near atomic-level accuracy. Lam Research's tools and technologies enable chipmakers to produce these amazing devices in high volume manufacturing.
Glossary
Gate length: The distance between the source and drain regions of a transistor, specifically the length of the gate electrode that controls the flow of current. The gate length was sometimes considered the node.
Integrated circuit (IC): A single, complete semiconductor product of electrically connected components (such as transistors and capacitors) fabricated on the same substrate.
Line pitch: The distance between the centers of two adjacent metal interconnect lines on an integrated circuit (IC). Half the Metal-1 line pitch was sometimes considered the node.
Technology node: Commonly used to describe device generation, for example, the 65 nm technology node is followed by the 45 nm technology node.Historically each new node was roughly 30% smaller than the prior one.
Transistor: A component that is used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power; a primary component integrated circuits, each of which can be comprised of several billion transistors.