TI Improves Wireless Chip ManufacturingTI Improves Wireless Chip Manufacturing

Texas Instruments Inc. has a new 90-nanometer (0.09 micron) manufacturing process, designed to create chips that will give wireless products a functionality boost without taking a heavy toll on batteries.

One major change is that TI will use a different photo lithography tool--a 193 nanometer with a shorter light wavelength, says Peter Rickert, TI's director of process technology development. It lets TI print smaller geometries and pack more than 400 million transistors on a single chip. Also, TI is using a new material--OSG--for the interconnect dielectric and is focusing on power optimization by changing the threshold voltages and gate lengths of transistors to avoid unnecessary power drains from functions that aren't being used. "The idea is to move a cell phone from [second generation] to [third generation], and at the same time bring onboard video and functions you have on PDAs and MP3s--but could still run off of the same type of batteries you have today," Rickert says.

"The interesting part is that they came out with 90-nanometer technology instead of 100 nanometer," says Risto Puhakka, an analyst at VLSI Research. "They're shrinking more aggressively than we expected," he says, pointing out that TI will be able to take advantage of reduced manufacturing costs as a result.

TI is equipping two Dallas factories to accommodate the 90-nanometer process. In March, it will ship design kits to customers and will send sample chips to use in products by the first quarter of next year. Rickert says that by the fourth quarter of 2003, TI should be in full production mode.