Where do Innovations stem from?: Further Innovations Beyond Silicon Technology

The early semiconductor industry focused on the development of monolithic devices through technological innovations in silicon-based processes and devices. This 1st Wave of innovation resulted in greater chip integration, rapid performance improvements, and reduced costs, thereby expanding the semiconductor ecosystem and ushering in the era of productivity innovation. Subsequently, the emergence of new IT devices such as PCs and smartphones resulted from the co-optimization of hardware and software technologies, enabling the creation of diverse applications. As a 2nd Wave, this highlighted the need for high-performance computing and networking to process big data, a byproduct of internet connectivity. Consequently, it accelerated the development of parallel computing architectures, high-speed memory, high-speed interfaces, and IC packaging technologies. As a result, the artificial intelligence industry experienced rapid growth, and the demand for high-performance semiconductor products surged. Despite these efforts, achieving IC performance often necessitates larger chip sizes, which produce more heat. This requires additional countermeasures that drive up costs. Recently, the semiconductor industry has shown a trend towards actively using advanced process such as Gate-All-Around (GAA) nanosheet transistor to develop ultra-deep integration ICs with lower power consumption and heat dissipation. However, these advanced processes lead to “Technology Inflation”, pushing many semiconductor products to use these sophisticated processes and “Cost Inflation” due to exponentially increasing development expenses, thereby diminishing the significance of Moore’s Law and reducing development efficiency. Furthermore, the consolidation of IP and EDA tool markets by some EDA vendors exacerbates cost inflation by inducing support for advanced processes in existing EDA workflows. To mitigate the current technology and cost inflation in the semiconductor industry and enable the development of reasonably priced and technologically sound products, innovation through diversity is necessary. This 3rd Wave involves breaking down the boundaries between various technological domains and fostering an environment where new companies can compete freely.