Beyond Backside Power: Scaling Chips to 2nm and Beyond Also Requires Frontside Wiring Innovations

by Mehul Naik, Ph.D. | July 1, 2024

Today’s advanced logic chips have as many as 20 layers of metal that support two types of wires – thin signal wires that switch transistors on and off, and thicker power wires that deliver the current that flows when the transistor is switched on. In the near future, all of the world’s leading chipmakers plan to move the power lines to the backside of the wafer, which promises to reduce wiring complexity, free up space for more transistors, and improve chip performance and power efficiency.