Not only the American company IBM and the Belgian research organization Imec are involved in reviving the Japanese semiconductor industry to its best, but also French specialists from the Leti Institute, as explained Nikkei. They will help the Japanese consortium Rapidus master the production of 1nm semiconductor components by the beginning of the next decade.
Image source: CEA-Leti
According to Japanese sources, representatives from Leti and Rapidus will begin sharing experiences and sending their employees on business trips in relevant directions starting next year. According to preliminary estimates, the transition to 1nm production technology will improve the ratio of chip performance to power consumption by 10-20%. As part of the development of 1nm technology, IBM will also support partners and share experiences with them. Mass production of chips using this technology is expected to begin in the next decade.
Last year, Rapidus signed cooperation agreements with several Japanese universities, under which the LSTC research center was established in Japan, which will focus on the development of advanced technologies for the production of semiconductor components. In October, LSTC signed a collaboration agreement with the French research institute Leti. The latter is developing some technologies that could be useful in producing chips using 1nm lithography standards.
Currently, chips no newer than 40 nm are manufactured in Japan, but already in 2025 Rapidus expects to start pilot production of 2 nm chips in order to move to series production by 2027. Rapidus was founded last August by a consortium of investors who invested $48.5 million in the company’s capital. Government subsidies for the development of 2nm technology are expected to amount to $2.2 billion.
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