TSMC, along with semiconductor equipment supplier ASML, plan on incorporating Nvidia’s ‚cuLitho‘ software library to streamline a key part of chip production.
Nvidia says it’s unlocked a way for the tech industry to produce next-generation chips at a faster rate with less energy costs.
The GPU maker has developed a way to streamline a key part of the chip-making process known as lithography, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at the company’s GTC event. Lithography essentially involves using light to create the intricate patterns on a silicon wafer to form the microscopic transistors.
Chip makers such as TSMC and Intel use expensive lithography machines to project the light through a “photomask” or “reticle,” which can stencil out the pattern on the silicon wafer. To print the patterns at nano-meter levels, semiconductor makers have to rely on what’s called computational lithography—or specialized computer models—to optimize the photomask and prevent defects during the manufacturing process.
