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 As semiconductor designs migrate to advanced process geometries like 90nm, 65nm, 45nm and beyond, major challenges to traditional design scaling methodologies have appeared. There are two major categories of challenges that must be addressed to enable continued scaling of performance gains and power reductions in these new geometries.
First, as the geometry shrinks, the variation in transistor performance across the manufacturing process is growing rapidly. These expanding variations of transistor speed result in a far wider distribution between the offered minimum performance point ("Slow/Slow corner", which typically sets the frequency specification) and maximum performance point ("Fast/Fast corner", which typically sets the power specification). As these distributions widen, it may be impractical to achieve the high yields necessary for low cost. Companies are thus forced to accept higher cost parts (by accepting yield loss), or reduced specifications (widening the allowed range to keep cost down).
The second major challenge is the exponential growth in leakage power that occurs particularly in 90nm and beyond. This parasitic leakage power delivers no useful work, and may result in an increase in active power, average power, standby power and burn-in power. Moreover, other factors are causing minimum operating voltage to stay fairly constant between 90nm and 65nm nodes, which reduces the potential opportunity to decrease voltage to counteract leakage power. Instead, to combat leakage many designers are choosing to run these advanced processes at lower performance points similar to older technology generations, sacrificing many of the benefits of scaling to new geometries.
 LongRun2 Technologies is a suite of advanced power management, leakage control and process compensation technologies that can diminish the negative effects of increasing leakage power and process variations in advanced submicron geometries. LongRun2 Technologies addresses these challenges with a broad set of solutions that include advanced algorithms, innovative circuits, unique devices and structures, process techniques, software and manufacturing optimization methods. Transmeta licenses its LongRun2 Technologies to semiconductor companies to use these innovations in the products they make. To date, Transmeta has licensed LongRun2 Technologies to four of the world's leading integrated design manufacturers (IDMs): NEC, Fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba.
Features and Benefits |
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Other Approaches |
LongRun2 Technologies enables semi- conductor designers to continue exploiting the advantages gained by moving designs to new finer process geometries. LongRun2 Technologies can help designers tighten manufacturing distributions, reduce active power and minimize standby power. LongRun2 can also facilitate the migration of SOI-based designs to bulk Silicon-based process more easily. Read more about features and benefits here.
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Not only are LongRun2 Technologies compatible with other low power techniques used in the semiconductor industry, but LongRun2 complements many of these techniques and provides additional benefits. Most of Transmeta's licensees use LongRun2 as an additional technique to their other efforts to reduce power, while LongRun2's added benefit of tightening manufacturing distributions helps to reduce cost. Read more about the comparison with other techniques. more |
Please Click Here for additional information on LongRun2 Technologies.
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