The ITRS design technology and system drivers roadmap: Process and status

The Design technology working group (TWG) is one of 16 working groups in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) effort. It is responsible for the ITRS´ Design Chapter, which roadmaps design technology requirements and potential solutions for elements of the semiconductor supply chain that are produced by the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. The Design TWG is also responsible for the ITRS´ System Drivers Chapter, which roadmaps the key product classes that drive the leading-edge requirements for process and design technologies. Through these activities, the Design TWG sets a number of fundamental parameters in the overall ITRS: layout density, die size, maximum on-chip clock frequency, total chip power, SOC and MPU architecture models, etc. This paper reviews the process by which the Design TWG evolves its roadmap content, and some of the key modeling and roadmapping questions that the semiconductor and EDA industries will face in the near term.