Moore's second law: Difference between revisions
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"Moore's law" -> "Moore's (first) law" - because Rock's law also known as Moore's second law |
Added brief description of Moore's law, so we don't have to look it up to understand the discussion here. |
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'''Rock's law''' or '''Moore's second law''', named for [[Arthur Rock]] or [[Gordon Moore]], says that the cost of a [[integrated circuit|semiconductor chip]] [[semiconductor fabrication plant|fabrication plant]] doubles every four years.<ref>{{cite web |first= |last= |title=FAQs |date= |work= |publisher=India Electronics & Semiconductor Association |url=http://www.iesaonline.org/aboutus/faq_pg3.html}}</ref> As of 2015, the price had already reached about 14 billion US dollars.<ref>{{cite web |first=Lucian |last=Armasu |title=Samsung's New $14 Billion Chip Plant To Manufacture DRAM, Processors In 2017 |agency=Reuters |date=8 May 2015 |work= |publisher=Tom's Hardware |url=http://www.tomshardware.com/news/samsung-14-billion-chip-plant,29058.html}}</ref> |
'''Rock's law''' or '''Moore's second law''', named for [[Arthur Rock]] or [[Gordon Moore]], says that the cost of a [[integrated circuit|semiconductor chip]] [[semiconductor fabrication plant|fabrication plant]] doubles every four years.<ref>{{cite web |first= |last= |title=FAQs |date= |work= |publisher=India Electronics & Semiconductor Association |url=http://www.iesaonline.org/aboutus/faq_pg3.html}}</ref> As of 2015, the price had already reached about 14 billion US dollars.<ref>{{cite web |first=Lucian |last=Armasu |title=Samsung's New $14 Billion Chip Plant To Manufacture DRAM, Processors In 2017 |agency=Reuters |date=8 May 2015 |work= |publisher=Tom's Hardware |url=http://www.tomshardware.com/news/samsung-14-billion-chip-plant,29058.html}}</ref> |
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Rock's law can be seen as the economic flip side to [[Moore's law|Moores (first) law]] |
Rock's law can be seen as the economic flip side to [[Moore's law|Moores (first) law]] - that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The latter is a direct consequence of the ongoing growth of the capital-intensive semiconductor industry—innovative and popular products mean more profits, meaning more capital available to invest in ever higher levels of [[Integrated circuit#LSI|large-scale integration]], which in turn leads to creation of even more innovative products. |
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The semiconductor industry has always been extremely capital-intensive, with ever-dropping manufacturing [[unit cost]]s. Thus, the ultimate [[limits to growth]] of the industry will constrain the maximum amount of capital that can be invested in new products; at some point, Rock's Law will collide with Moore's Law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506114410/http://www.edavision.com/200111/feature.pdf |format=PDF |archive-date=6 May 2006 |last=Dorsch |first=Jeff |title=Does Moore's Law Still Hold Up? |publisher=Edavision.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113014641/http://research.microsoft.com/~gray/Moore_Law.html |archive-date=13 November 2008 |last=Schaller |first=Bob |date=1996 |title=The Origin, Nature, and Implications of 'Moore's Law' |publisher=Research.Microsoft.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Jean-François |last=Tremblay |title=Riding On Flat Panels |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |volume=84 |issue=26 |pages=13–16 |date=26 June 2006 |doi= 10.1021/cen-v084n026.p013|url=http://cen.acs.org/articles/84/i26/Riding-Flat-Panels.html}}</ref> |
The semiconductor industry has always been extremely capital-intensive, with ever-dropping manufacturing [[unit cost]]s. Thus, the ultimate [[limits to growth]] of the industry will constrain the maximum amount of capital that can be invested in new products; at some point, Rock's Law will collide with Moore's Law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506114410/http://www.edavision.com/200111/feature.pdf |format=PDF |archive-date=6 May 2006 |last=Dorsch |first=Jeff |title=Does Moore's Law Still Hold Up? |publisher=Edavision.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113014641/http://research.microsoft.com/~gray/Moore_Law.html |archive-date=13 November 2008 |last=Schaller |first=Bob |date=1996 |title=The Origin, Nature, and Implications of 'Moore's Law' |publisher=Research.Microsoft.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Jean-François |last=Tremblay |title=Riding On Flat Panels |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |volume=84 |issue=26 |pages=13–16 |date=26 June 2006 |doi= 10.1021/cen-v084n026.p013|url=http://cen.acs.org/articles/84/i26/Riding-Flat-Panels.html}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 13:59, 11 September 2017
Rock's law or Moore's second law, named for Arthur Rock or Gordon Moore, says that the cost of a semiconductor chip fabrication plant doubles every four years.[1] As of 2015, the price had already reached about 14 billion US dollars.[2]
Rock's law can be seen as the economic flip side to Moores (first) law - that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The latter is a direct consequence of the ongoing growth of the capital-intensive semiconductor industry—innovative and popular products mean more profits, meaning more capital available to invest in ever higher levels of large-scale integration, which in turn leads to creation of even more innovative products.
The semiconductor industry has always been extremely capital-intensive, with ever-dropping manufacturing unit costs. Thus, the ultimate limits to growth of the industry will constrain the maximum amount of capital that can be invested in new products; at some point, Rock's Law will collide with Moore's Law.[3][4][5]
It has been suggested that fabrication plant costs have not increased as quickly as predicted by Rock's law – indeed plateauing in the late 1990s[6] – and also that the fabrication plant cost per transistor (which has shown a pronounced downward trend[6]) may be more relevant as a constraint on Moore's Law.
See also
References
- ^ "FAQs". India Electronics & Semiconductor Association.
- ^ Armasu, Lucian (8 May 2015). "Samsung's New $14 Billion Chip Plant To Manufacture DRAM, Processors In 2017". Tom's Hardware. Reuters.
- ^ Dorsch, Jeff. "Does Moore's Law Still Hold Up?" (PDF). Edavision.com.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ Schaller, Bob (1996). "The Origin, Nature, and Implications of 'Moore's Law'". Research.Microsoft.com.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ Tremblay, Jean-François (26 June 2006). "Riding On Flat Panels". Chemical & Engineering News. 84 (26): 13–16. doi:10.1021/cen-v084n026.p013.
- ^ a b Ross, Philip E. (2003). "5 Commandments". IEEE Spectrum.
External links
- Kanellos, Michael (2003). "Soaring costs of chipmaking recast industry". CNET. News.com.