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Next: 2.4.0.2 Power Consumption Up: 2.4 Process Optimization Previous: 2.4 Process Optimization

2.4.0.1 Performance

The on-state current density of a semiconductor device is of major concern throughout the development of a fabrication process. As a rule of thumb, the higher a device's drive current is, the higher is the frequency for acceptable operation of an integrated circuit.

Furthermore, the capacitances of the interconnect networks that are necessary in an integrated circuit play a significant role for the maximum speed of integrated circuits. They represent a capacitive load for the active devices, and, therefore, need to be taken into account.



Rudi Strasser
1999-05-27