Very interesting article! I wonder if the inspection now also needs EUV light sources for checking the quality of the fabbing steps? And I guess these would not be full scans and just finding the critical contours and patterns to inspect would be an arduous process. With all this multi masking already going on previously, this would seem awfully much in the 'analog' domain and I guess you'd want a lot of this to happen right in the middle of the fabbing steps so you can skip working on chips you already know to be bad.
A lot of words and hyperbole about this novel technology. However, Applied's major competitor KLA introduced 4 AI metrology/inspections a year earlier. In the overall metrology/inspection market, KLA has a 4.9X market share value over Applied Materials in the global sector and a 4.6X market share in the Optical Inspection segment. Readers can see my analysis here: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4414610-kla-intro...
What I've been wondering for a few years is whether AI is being utilized for multi-parameter optimization problems in the *design* phase of chips. That would indeed be interesting, but it's probably the sort of thing we'd never hear about.
For years it has been. Basically any "library functions" are AI built. You can tell because that part of the chip looks "organic". Hand traced always look rectangular. Fun fact: hand traced is always faster and more efficient than AI built, so far. They call it "synthesized CPU core". Look at the lithography of the Jaguar or Bobcat processors, you'll clearly see "organic" zones, those are synthesized with AI models.
Maybe you are, but it's not clear to me that you're drawing a distinction between "AI" in terms of deep learning vs. the sort of automated layout and routing that EDA tools have provided for decades.
Also, linear paths have to be broken up past a certain length, or else they act as antennas. So, that's an example of why chip layouts might not seem more rectangular.
Maybe Applied wouldn't need so much inspection if their systems didn't release so many particles by shaking like an electric toothbrush. I'm sure the authors that have been to trade shows know how noisy their systems are.
sounds like a typical press release / marketing flyer. in the defect inspection business Applied has always been playing catch up with KLA but could never get there. SEMVision has been their only successful product in this subcategory but KLA optical inspection beats them by a mile.
Echoing the sentiment that this is mostly PR fluff. KLA has at least a 5x install base advantage in advanced fabs. They have similar AI/Big Data filtering techniques in use as well. The technique does make a difference in cost to scan (especially the man hour cost of review/classification)
Hi there! A few months ago, I was looking for the answer to the same question. I found this company https://axonim.com/ . They said that they are the best software development company. I trusted them, and yeah, actually, they are. They finished my project in a month, and now they are working on my 3rd project.
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abufrejoval - Friday, March 19, 2021 - link
Very interesting article! I wonder if the inspection now also needs EUV light sources for checking the quality of the fabbing steps? And I guess these would not be full scans and just finding the critical contours and patterns to inspect would be an arduous process. With all this multi masking already going on previously, this would seem awfully much in the 'analog' domain and I guess you'd want a lot of this to happen right in the middle of the fabbing steps so you can skip working on chips you already know to be bad.basroil - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
ASML bought out HMI a few years back for exactly that technology. DUV and EUV need more than optical scanning for initial run yield checksRobert Castellano - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
A lot of words and hyperbole about this novel technology. However, Applied's major competitor KLA introduced 4 AI metrology/inspections a year earlier. In the overall metrology/inspection market, KLA has a 4.9X market share value over Applied Materials in the global sector and a 4.6X market share in the Optical Inspection segment. Readers can see my analysis here: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4414610-kla-intro...mode_13h - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
What I've been wondering for a few years is whether AI is being utilized for multi-parameter optimization problems in the *design* phase of chips. That would indeed be interesting, but it's probably the sort of thing we'd never hear about.basroil - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
Not sure about design, but for mask development they use a ton of optimization stepsandychow - Saturday, March 27, 2021 - link
For years it has been. Basically any "library functions" are AI built. You can tell because that part of the chip looks "organic". Hand traced always look rectangular. Fun fact: hand traced is always faster and more efficient than AI built, so far. They call it "synthesized CPU core". Look at the lithography of the Jaguar or Bobcat processors, you'll clearly see "organic" zones, those are synthesized with AI models.mode_13h - Saturday, March 27, 2021 - link
Maybe you are, but it's not clear to me that you're drawing a distinction between "AI" in terms of deep learning vs. the sort of automated layout and routing that EDA tools have provided for decades.Also, linear paths have to be broken up past a certain length, or else they act as antennas. So, that's an example of why chip layouts might not seem more rectangular.
basroil - Saturday, March 20, 2021 - link
Maybe Applied wouldn't need so much inspection if their systems didn't release so many particles by shaking like an electric toothbrush. I'm sure the authors that have been to trade shows know how noisy their systems are.SteelRing - Monday, March 22, 2021 - link
sounds like a typical press release / marketing flyer. in the defect inspection business Applied has always been playing catch up with KLA but could never get there. SEMVision has been their only successful product in this subcategory but KLA optical inspection beats them by a mile.FullmetalTitan - Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - link
Echoing the sentiment that this is mostly PR fluff. KLA has at least a 5x install base advantage in advanced fabs. They have similar AI/Big Data filtering techniques in use as well. The technique does make a difference in cost to scan (especially the man hour cost of review/classification)Altuzza - Thursday, June 17, 2021 - link
Hi there! A few months ago, I was looking for the answer to the same question. I found this company https://axonim.com/ . They said that they are the best software development company. I trusted them, and yeah, actually, they are. They finished my project in a month, and now they are working on my 3rd project.