Are We Ready for the 2nm Process Node?

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I'm a simple man. We could stop this column here and call it a day, but mayhap you were expecting more. Oh well if you insist. As you are doubtless aware, there's a lot of buzz about the forthcoming 2nm process node, but what does this term actually mean in the real world? Ah, therein lies the rub, as the Bard might say.

www.eejournal.com/, Nov. 02, 2023 – 

The term "process node" (a.k.a. "process technology," "technology node," or just "node") refers to a specific semiconductor manufacturing process. As part of this, we include a number, like "The 90nm process node." So, the real question is, "To what does this number refer?"

If I am talking to someone new to electronics, the way I typically describe this as "the size of the smallest structure that can be fabricated on the chip," on the basis that–although this is a gross simplification–they are in no position to argue.

Actually, it is fair to say that the numbers associated with process node nomenclature did indeed refer to physical quantities in the dim and distant past, although what those quantities were depended on who you were talking to. Some people defined the node number as the minimum width of a track, some regarded it as being the length of the channel between the source and drain diffusion regions of a field-effect transistor (FET), and some... well, let's just say that it quickly started to get complicated.

As an aside, it used to be common for people talking about earlier process nodes to describe those nodes in relation to the diameter of a human hair. For example, in the case of the first ASIC I designed in 1980, which was implemented at the 5µm technology node, you might see someone say something like "It contains structures 1/20th the diameter of a human hair." The problem here (well, one of many problems) is that–as I noted in my book Bebop to the Boolean Boogie (An Unconventional Guide to Electronics)–human hairs range in thickness from around 0.07 mm to 0.1 mm. Since my wife (Gina the Gorgeous) is blond, it behooves me to note that a hair from a typical blond lady's head is approximately 0.075 mm (three-quarters of one-tenth of a millimeter) in diameter, but we digress...

To be honest, the numbers associated with technology nodes did bear some relationship with reality up to and including the 32nm technology node, which was introduced circa 2009. For the purposes of simplicity, let's assume that 32nm did indeed reflect the length of the channel between the source and drain diffusion regions of a field-effect transistor (FET). The problem is that this refers to a traditional Planar FET. But what about FinFETs, which are a cheval d'une couleur différente ("horse of a different color"), as it were?

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