Samsung readies 8nm LPP process with 10% lower power draw and area space than 10LPP

Posted on Wednesday, October 18 2017 @ 10:43 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
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Samsung announces its 8nm LPP process is now ready for production. This new node is a further improvement of the 10LPP process, it offers up to 10 percent lower power consumption with up to 10 percent area reduction. The South Korean conglomerate says this is achieved primarily be using a smaller metal pitch.

The new 8LPP process is described as the company's most advanced and competitive process before EUV is employed at 7nm. It's pitched as a process for mobile, cryptocurrency and network/server chips.

These days, the naming of new process nodes is increasingly about marketing rather than technical specifications. Perhaps the 8LPP node is the same thing as the 10LPU process that was previewed last year. At the time, Samsung said 10LPU would offer 10 percent better performance and a smaller footprint than 10LPP.
Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that 8-nanometer (nm) FinFET process technology, 8LPP (Low Power Plus), has been qualified and is ready for production.

The newest process node, 8LPP provides up to 10-percent lower power consumption with up to 10-percent area reduction from 10LPP through narrower metal pitch. 8LPP will provide differentiated benefits for applications including mobile, cryptocurrency and network/server, and is expected to be the most attractive process node for many other high performance applications.

As the most advanced and competitive process node before EUV (extreme ultra violet) is employed at 7nm, 8LPP is expected to rapidly ramp-up to the level of stable yield by adopting the already proven 10nm process technology.

“With the qualification completed three months ahead of schedule, we have commenced 8LPP production,” said Ryan Lee, Vice President of Foundry Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung Foundry continues to expand its process portfolio in order to provide distinct competitive advantages and excellent manufacturability based on what our customers and the market require.”

“8LPP will have a fast ramp since it uses proven 10nm process technology while providing better performance and scalability than current 10nm-based products” said RK Chunduru, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm.

Details of the recent update to Samsung’s foundry roadmap, including 8LPP availability and 7nm EUV development, will be presented at the Samsung Foundry Forum Europe on October 18, 2017, in Munich, Germany. The Samsung Foundry Forum was held in the United States, South Korea and Japan earlier this year, sharing Samsung’s cutting-edge process technologies with global customers and partners.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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