90 nanometer

The 90 nanometer (90 nm) process refers to the level of CMOS process technology that was reached in the 2002-2003 timeframe, by most leading semiconductor companies, like Intel, AMD, Infineon, Texas Instruments, IBM, and TSMC.

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The origin of the 90 nm value is historical, as it reflects a trend of 70% scaling every 2-3 years. The naming is formally determined by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), hosted by Sematech.

The 193 nm wavelength was introduced by many companies for lithography of critical layers mainly during the 90 nm node. Yield issues associated with this transition (due to the use of new photoresists) were reflected in the high costs associated with this transition.

As of 2008, 65 nm technology is largely replacing 90 nm technology in leading-edge chip products. However, some products, notably chipsets, have moved from older 130 nm technology to the 90 nm process.