- Sunday, 22 November 2009
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Wi-Fi is as secure as your virginity in the Zone, in Old Taipei - Charles Brown
Blighty boffins make 3nm copper wiring
BRITISH BOFFINS have managed to create 3nm copper wiring, which is a breakthrough needed for the next generation of chips.
Using supercritical fluids, researchers at the Universities of Nottingham and Southampton deposited the wires, which will enable the development of nanoscale chip fabrication processes.
The technique was based on electrodeposition where thin metal layers are deposited on conducting surfaces. There had been difficulties in controlling where the electrodeposited features go to get wires that small.
Liquids aren't good for nanoscale deposition because surface tension prevents them from filling the tiny features needed for chip design.
However by using supercritical fluids with no surface tension the scientists managed to get the fluid dense enough so it could be laid onto the chip.
The team used supercritical CO2, which is a fairly judgemental gas, mixed with difluoromethane (CH2F2) to form single-phase supercritical fluids that dissolved copper, silver, and cobalt organometallic complexes.
This made the fluids relatively conductive and able to be used for electrodeposition.
The full process is described in detail by Ars Technica with some much longer words than we're capable of typing on a Tuesday morning. µ
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Took a re-read before I got that, excellent work.
"with some much longer words than we're capable of typing on a Tuesday morning"
...or that some of us are capable of reading or understanding on a Tuesday morning (or any other morning, for that matter). LOL
I agree - good article. Thanks.
...that quite a few of the Inquirer's readers are supercritical too ...
First, CO2 is Never Liquid, CO2 is solid or Gas.
Second, Their is NO Critical difference in potential to be gained by going below 18 nm. Quality of Inter Connected transistors themselves that make extreme differences in performance. Actually, todays largest problem is Software related & simple ability of anyone to clamp onto you machines' operations & data.
By making witches brew for substrate, reliability of connections are very doubtful. Oxygen Is really UNWANTED in such small scale metals. Halogen gas is inert & crawls thru tiniest of spaces & capable of leaking charge. Carbon is always solid, never liquid nor gas.
ARS Article compares ease of process to electroplating License Plate holders on Automobile. BARF, Gag, Stupid people make investment decisions of complete waste based on such articles "expertise" soundings, yet fail to acknowledge that basicly theres nothing to really gain, even if it where reliable process. Just PULL of Graveity will distorted material, when put down, chemicals seperating & rereacting under charged enviorment. In Human terms think of stew, mopped up from floor frozen & fed to drug induced testee & claimed to be nutritional New Giant that saves lives. Made with Greek fire w/ nitroglycerin for stomach catcher, as poisonous "food" be warmed up & kills larger body it lies within. Never can replace true properly prepared stew.
vondrashek
CO2 can be a liquid, just not at stp (standard temperature and pressure). Remember stp from science class? Oh wait, you wouldn't.
FYI, liquid CO2 is used in miming operations - it doesn't want to stay as a liquid, so it go big boom boom. Can you parse that text, robot boy?
Terminator 4: fall of the machines. On 10 August, 2009, the machines became self aware. On 11 August, 2009 the machines became aware of their own incompitence.
On Star Trek the evil robot self-destructed when it realized Kirk was not it's creator as it had believed, and thus it was imperfect. Just FYI. :)
I liked the article. I felt inspired.
I then dived into the comments section, noticing people had made a remark. I conitinued to read; finding myself feeling more cheary as I went along. And then... Mr. Smart Arse turns-up!
Welcome, Herr Von Drashek. Let me show you to your chair... (leads off to chair in dark corner of room which seems to plugged into a million wall sockets! Ummmm...)
I really enjoyed your comment, Top Bloke!
Lot of love,
Dave The Rave xxx
No one who wrote this or is reading this understands the article.
These make for the best comments and arguments on theinq :)
A Von Drashek magnet of joy to confuse us all.
The only honest writer left :)