Father of Flash Memory to Develop 3D Processors

Imagine how our lives would be had Fujio Masuoka not invented the flash memory back in the eighties. We would have never known the miracle of thumb drives or even subscriber-identity-modules in mobile telephony, not to mention memory cards or portable MP3 players. They would have never been born. Or, maybe someone would have invented them. Anyway, the point is that Masuoka made history in the consumer electronics industry.

The famous law Moore stated says that the amount of transistors able to be packed onto processors will double at least once every two years. However, given the evolution of semiconductors, there won't be long until crowding transistors would reach the physical limit and induce industry heart-attack. Moore's law is plain and simple and it seems that it can not be broken, as it has proven right over time. Masuoka decided that it's time the law was bent and proposed a three-dimensional architecture to allow the building of 3D processors.

The 3D processors will allow for more than pushing more transistors on a die coating, they will also feature a speed boost since the number of transistors to be in close proximity to one another is increasing. Classic layout makes it difficult for a transistor situated at one end of the chip to link to another one on the other end, and the operation is time-consuming, which reflects in slower computing speeds. 3D models would enhance transistor interconnection, as well as the processor response time.

Three-dimensional layers of silicon are Masuoka's specialty, since the process is the cornerstone of flash memory manufacturing - the 3D model allowed flash memory to increase capacity over time. As for 3D processors, Intel and IBM have already announced that they are progressing in engineering a 3D processor. Fujio Masuoka will be working closely with Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics and the Singaporean government, and it won't be long until the actual 2D processors will get obsolete.