Intel’s e-DRAM

When Intel launched their Haswell series chips last June, they stated that the high-end systems would have embedded DRAM, as a separate chip in the package; and they gave a paper at the VLSI Technology Symposium that month, and another at IEDM.

It took us a while to track down a couple of laptops with the requisite Haswell version, but we did and now we have a few images that show it’s a very different structure from the other e-DRAMs that we’ve seen.

IBM has been using e-DRAM for years, and in all of their products since the 45-nm node. They have progressed their trench DRAM technology to the 22-nm node [3], though we have yet to see that in production.

TSMC and Renesas have also used e-DRAM in the chips they make for the gaming systems, the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo Wii. They use a more conventional form of memory stack with polysilicon wine-glass-shaped capacitors. TSMC uses a cell-under-bit stack where the bitline is above the capacitors, and Renesas a cell-over-bit (COB) structure with the bitline below.

Intel also uses a COB stack, but they build a MIM capacitor in the metal-dielectric stack using a cavity formed in the lower metal level dielectrics. The part is fabbed in Intel’s 9-metal, 22-nm process:

When we zoom in and look at the edge of the capacitor array, we can see that the M2 – M4 stack has been used to form the mould for the capacitors.

Looking a little closer, we can see the wordline transistors on the tri-gate fin, with passing wordlines at the end of each fin. Two capacitors contact each fin, and the bitline contact is in the centre of the fin.

We can see some structure in the capacitors, but at the moment we have not done any materials analysis.  A beveled sample lets us view the plan-view:

The capacitors are clearly rectangular, but again in the SEM we cannot see any detailed structure. We’ll have to wait for further analysis with the TEM for that!

Intel claims a cell capacitance of more than 13 fF and a cell size of 0.029 sq. microns, so about a third of their 22-nm SRAM cell area of ~0.09 sq. microns, and a little larger than the IBM equivalent of 0.026 sq. microns. The wordline transistors are low-leakage trigate transistors with an enlarged contacted gate pitch of 108 nm (the minimum CGP is 90 nm). In the Haswell usage the die is used as a 128 MB L4 cache, with a die size of ~79 sq. mm, co-packaged with the CPU.

Intel got out of the commodity DRAM business almost thirty years ago; it will be interesting to see where they take their new entry, though not likely into competition with the big three suppliers. Their “Knights Landing” high-performance computing (HPC) platform is reported to use 16 GB of eDRAM, which will take the equivalent of 128 of these chips, so perhaps the future is in HPC and gaming systems such as the one we bought to get the part.

Intel Introduces 2 Ultra-Low-Power Mobile Chips

Intel has introduced nine Core i5 and Core i7 "Haswell" mobile processors, including two ultra-low-voltage processors for Ultrabooks, the 2-gigahertz i5-4310U and the 1.5GHz 4360U. The 4360U has the company's HD 5000 graphics capability, according to Intel.

The Haswell rollout has solidified the company's dominance in the computer chip business (including what it claims are record sales of desktop Core i7 CPUs), especially on the mobile side of things. Intel is looking to further its advantage with the release of a new batch of fourth-generation Core processors designed for notebooks.

The nine new mobile Haswell CPUs are a mix of Core i5 and i7 chips that will power performance portables, though a couple are ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processors that can be used in Ultrabooks.The cheapest new one is the i5-4310M at $225 (prices will factor into the cost of a new notebook, as the laptop upgrade market is neglible); its two cores run at 2.7GHz. For about $40 more, the i5-4340M goes to 2.9GHz, while for svelte systems, there's the 2GHz i5-4310U and the 1.5GHz 4360U. Despite the slower clock speed, the 4360U costs more than the other ULV chip because it makes use of Intel's more powerful HD 5000 graphics.

Even though these are new processors, they aren't a quantum leap beyond their predecessors. Because they are clocked about 100MHz higher than the initial Haswell CPUs, that's only about a few percentage points better in performance. But who's going to argue with faster, especially when it's going to be baked into new laptops over the next few months.

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Intel's Haswell chips coming into your PC in first half of next year

Laptops and desktops with Intel's next-generation Core processor, code-named Haswell, will be available in the first half of next year, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said during a financial conference call on Tuesday.

The Haswell chip will succeed current Core processors code-named Ivy Bridge,which became widely available in April. Intel has said that Haswell will deliver twice the performance of Ivy Bridge, and in some cases will double the battery life of ultrabooks, which are a new category of thin and light laptops with battery life of roughly six to eight hours.

Intel shed some light on Haswell at its Intel Developer Forum trade show in September, saying its power consumption had been cut to the point where the chips could be used in tablets. Haswell chips will draw a minimum of 10 watts of power, while Ivy Bridge's lowest power draw is 17 watts. Intel has splintered future Haswell chips into two families: 10-watt chips for ultrabooks that double as tablets, and 15-watt and 17-watt chips designed for other ultrabooks and laptops.

 

Haswell will be "qualified for sale" in the first half of 2013, said Stacy Smith, chief financial officer at Intel, during the conference call. Chips go through a qualification process internally and externally, after which Intel can put the chip into production.

The Haswell chip could provide a spark to the ultrabook segment, which has stagnated in a slumping PC market. Worldwide PC shipments dropped between 8 percent and 9 percent during the third quarter, according to research firms IDC and Gartner. They said ultrabook sales were lower than expected due to high prices and soft demand for consumer products.

 

Many ultrabook models with Ivy Bridge processors are expected to ship in the coming weeks with the launch of Windows 8, which is Microsoft's first touch-centric OS. Otellini said more than 140 Core-based ultrabooks will be in the market, of which 40 will have touch capabilities. A few models -- between five and eight -- will be convertible ultrabooks that can also function as tablets. A majority of the ultrabooks will have prices either at or above US$699, with a few models perhaps priced lower, Otellini said.

The new graphics processor in Haswell will support 4K graphics, allowing for a resolution of 4096 by 3072 pixels. Ultrabooks with Haswell will also include wireless charging, NFC capabilities, voice interaction and more security features.

Otellini said Intel can't tell how the segment will perform in the coming quarter. A number of factors needed to be considered including Microsoft's Windows 8 and the launch of new ultrabooks, he said. Intel reported a profit and revenue decline in the third fiscal quarter of 2012.

"We saw a softening in the consumer segments" in the third fiscal quarter, Otellini said. "The surprise there was China, which was strong, [but] turned weak on us."

Tablets have changed the way people use computers, and Microsoft is bringing touch to mainstream PCs for the first time with Windows 8, Otellini said. PCs with Windows 8 are expected to ship later this month, and it's hard to predict what the response will be until people go out and play with the devices and the OS, Otellini said.

"I see the computing market in a period of transition," with an opportunity for breakthroughs in research and creativity, Otellini said. New usage models for laptops are emerging with detachable touchscreens, voice recognition and other features, and Intel is trying to tap into those opportunities, Otellini said.

The company has a history of overcoming slumps through research and innovation, Otellini said.

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