#MATERIALS: IBM and ST Closing Gap with Intel"

Intel is so far ahead of the rest of the world that it is hard to image anyone catching up, but silicon wafer maker Soitec S.A. claims that chip makers can bridge the gap in a single leap by using their prefabbed wafers to sidestep the years of development work needed to perfect Intel-like fully-depleted (FD) transistors.


STMicrosystems and ST-Erikson are already using Soitec's 2D silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers for its planar system-on-chip (SoCs).

Just switch to Soitec's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and you can trim years off your catch-up efforts, a claim that has already convinced STMicroelectronics NV, ST-Erikson and IBM Corp. to give Soitec a try.


IBM is using 3D silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers for its 14 nanometer 3D FinFETs due circa 2015.
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