The semiconductor industry has experienced rapid development in the past few decades and has continuously driven technological and economic changes. As we enter 2024, with the rise of emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and 5G communications, semiconductor technology is also constantly breaking through itself and showing many remarkable developments. From process innovation to the application of new materials, to the exploration of quantum computing, the global semiconductor industry ushered in a number of milestone technological breakthroughs in 2024. This article will review these breakthroughs and explore their profound impact on the future development of science and technology.
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Commercial application of 3nm and below process technology
In 2024, global semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC, Samsung, Intel, etc. successfully achieved commercial production of 3nm and below process nodes. In particular, TSMC and Samsung have made major breakthroughs in the mass production of 3nm and 2nm processes, respectively. These advanced process technologies enable semiconductor chips to integrate more transistors, significantly improving computing performance and reducing power consumption.
In chips at the 3nm and 2nm nodes, FinFET (fin field-effect transistor) technology has reached a bottleneck, and manufacturers have begun to adopt new architectures, such as GAA (Gate-All-Around) transistors, to improve integration and performance Further. This technology not only provides huge processing power for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, but also provides longer battery life for low-power devices such as mobile terminals and IoT devices.
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Advances in heterogeneous integration and 3D packaging technology
As semiconductor design and manufacturing gradually develop towards high integration, breakthroughs in heterogeneous integration and 3D packaging technology will become the key to technological development in 2024. Heterogeneous integration technology can break through the limitations of traditional 2D chip architecture and greatly improve performance and functionality by vertically or horizontally integrating different chips, components or materials in the same chipset.
In 2024, Intel Foveros 3D packaging and TSMC’s CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) technology have made significant progress, supporting a wider variety of chip combinations, such as combining high-performance The processor is integrated with dedicated accelerators (such as AI processing units, GPUs, etc.) to meet high-performance computing and AI reasoning needs. These technologies not only improve chip performance, but also reduce power consumption and reduce chip size, driving the development of electronic devices towards more efficiency and miniaturization.
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The commercialization process of quantum computing chips is accelerating
In 2024, quantum computing ushered in an important breakthrough as one of the cutting-edge technologies in the semiconductor field. Several global technology giants, including IBM, Google, Intel, and some start-ups, have made significant progress in developing quantum computing chips. In particular, IBM and Intel have respectively launched quantum computing prototype chips based on superconducting quantum bits (Qubits) and achieved relatively stable quantum computing capabilities.
In 2024, the mass production of quantum computing chips has taken an important step forward. Although quantum computing still faces major technical challenges, such as error correction of quantum bits and quantum interference, in some specific fields (such as chemistry), The application scenarios of artificial intelligence (AI) have shown great potential. These breakthroughs mean that quantum computing is getting closer to actual commercial applications, and in the future it may provide new solutions for solving complex problems, optimizing algorithms, and accelerating the development of artificial intelligence.
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Revolutionary progress in AI chips
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, AI-dedicated chips have become an important innovation direction in the semiconductor field. In 2024, many companies worldwide launched AI chips based on the Neural Network Architecture, which achieved significant improvements in computing power, processing speed, and energy efficiency. For example, NVIDIA has launched a new generation of H100 AI accelerator cards based on its advanced GPU architecture, which can provide powerful computing power in large-scale AI training and reasoning.
In addition, Google’s TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) and Huawei’s Ascend AI chip also reached new technological heights in 2024, especially in deep learning, large-scale data processing, and self-learning capabilities. The performance is remarkable. The continuous evolution of AI chips has not only promoted the development of AI technology but also led to explosive growth in applications in multiple fields, such as autonomous driving, smart medical care, and smart cities.
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Exploration and application of new semiconductor materials
Traditional silicon-based semiconductor materials have gradually approached their physical limits. To break through this bottleneck, the exploration of new semiconductor materials has become an important topic in the semiconductor industry in 2024. In this field, important progress has been made in applying wide bandgap semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). These materials can operate at higher temperatures and voltages than traditional silicon, thereby improving the performance of power electronics and high-frequency applications.
In 2024, GaN and SiC materials will be increasingly used in EV charging stations, 5G base stations and renewable energy systems, especially in power conversion, efficient energy The application of these new materials in areas such as storage and wireless communications has enabled new levels of energy efficiency and performance.
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Green Revolution in Semiconductor Manufacturing
With the world’s increasing attention to environmental protection and sustainable development, the semiconductor industry has also made significant progress in green manufacturing in 2024. Many semiconductor companies have begun adopting more environmentally friendly production processes to reduce energy consumption and waste during production. For example, companies such as TSMC and Samsung have launched green factories that use renewable energy to minimize their carbon footprint.
In addition, new breakthroughs were made in the recycling and reuse of semiconductor materials in 2024, especially in silicon wafers’ recycling and reuse technology. The innovative process can significantly reduce material waste and environmental pollution.
Conclusion
In 2024, the global semiconductor industry has achieved major technological breakthroughs in many fields, from advanced process technology to the application of new semiconductor materials, to the revolutionary progress of quantum computing and AI chips. These technological breakthroughs will undoubtedly bring great benefits to global science and technology development. New opportunities. As these technologies continue to mature, future electronic devices will be more efficient, intelligent and green, and the semiconductor industry will play an increasingly important role in the global technology ecosystem.
Author Bio:
Ali Mus works as a digital marketing manager at Censtry Electronics. Censtry Electronics is a global semiconductor electronic components supply chain company. In his free time, he writes informational blogs and articles that aim to help people.
Website: https://www.censtry.com/