Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Glacial pace? Try to make a chip, you'll quickly realize that your challenges will be primarily non technical in nature. It wasn't always this way, the semi industry was once incredibly innovative and open to new ideas, and that helped drive exponential progress. >Who will produce your chips then? I meant "die" to mean stagnate as the common euphemism in tech.
> Try to make a chip, you'll quickly realize that your challenges will be primarily non technical in nature. I studied microelectronics. I am aware of the technical challenges. Can you explain those challenges that are primarily non-technical? > It wasn't always this way, the semi industry was once incredibly innovative and open to new ideas, and that helped drive exponential progress. Things like Silicon-on-insulato…
We spent far more time buying EDA software, installing it, talking to foundries, getting the PDKs, signing NDAs, dealing with buggy EDA software, dealing with slow EDA response times, etc. than actually working on our chip.
>Things like Silicon-on-insulator, high-k dielectrics, finfets, extreme ultraviolet lithography are not innovative or new ideas?
I'm not saying they aren't, but I have noticed that the general level of openness, and following that, innovation and open-mindedness has dropped dramatically in the past decade or so, and I do have to say that the general semi industry has stayed generally innovative, and much of my criticism is directed towards the rest of the industry primarily. That being said, there is a major glacial pace.
Example of a real conversation I had with an engineer at one of the major (can't name the exact one) foundries about a device that's actually pretty close to reality:
Me: "Why don't you use this X device?"
Him: "Because it's still research"
Me: "Sure, but it's very promising, why aren't there at least any industrial research efforts to commercialize it?"
Him: "Because it's still research"
Me: -__-
SOI is innovative, but it's been held back by cost and the self-heating effect, both things that really aren't that much of a problem.
FinFETs were launched by a DARPA initiative.
High-k dielectrics I will say are the single most interesting (if not innovative) innovation in the last decade in the semi industry, although I have some bias there.
EUV is a feat to engineering no doubt, but again, my grievances aren't really focused in that area.