Doctor Who Dimensions In Time
Joke Grinman
As it happens, I saw the very first episode of Dr Who (in B&W). Because of a macabre coincidence, I can even tell you the date. It appeared the day following President Kennedy's assassination the night before (British time) on November 23, 1963. William Hartnell was the first doctor. But he became too sick to continue after a couple of seasons, and so the idea of "regeneration" was invented to allow the series to continue. In those days, videotape was so expensive that most shows were not preserved, and all the early episodes have been lost except for the regeneration scene when Patrick Troughton takes over as the second doctor. It survived only because it was shown on the children's show Blue Peter, started in 1958 and still on the air, in an episode that was not erased. Of course, now it is on YouTube.
Flash memory went first. Memory is under scaling pressure, too, for some of the same reasons as semiconductor in general and for some special reasons. DRAM relies on charge storage on a capacitor, and flash by charge storage on a floating gate. As the capacitors and gates get smaller, the number of electrons that can be stored gets smaller, with all sorts of fairly obvious challenges.
2D flash reached the limit whereby the next process generation would be very challenging, both because it would require expensive lithography and because there were charge storage challenges. Instead, a new set of challenges were attacked: if the memory could be built up into the third dimension, not only could a lot more bits be stored in the same die area, the lithography could be less aggressive and the charge storage would have fewer issues. But we are not talking about just a couple of bits vertically, we are talking 24, 32, 64, or even 128. This means a huge number of steps, and some very challenging etching to get down through the whole stack. To get an idea of just how complex and how many steps this takes, watch this movie Coventor made with their virtual fabrication software:
At the imec technology forum (ITF, or maybe we have to say itf since imec is really into lower case), Diederik Verkest talked about the challenges of moving logic into the third dimension. Memory has the advantage that it is regular, but logic does not. As traditional area scaling has run out of steam, we have moved towards design technology co-optimization (DTCO) where we optimize tools, IP, and usually some process kickers to get higher density anyway (things like buried power that allow us to make smaller standard cells).
The above diagram shows the challenges. Back on the left, what An Steegen (also of imec) always calls "happy scaling", the focus was on scaling devices and wires. In the DTCO area, it was on scaling logic cells with tweaks to the process. In the future, we will need to scale system functions.
One big gain in terms of moving things into the third dimension is the complementary FET (CFET) where the P and N devices are stacked vertically with a common gate. This simplifies access to the device, too, which is one area where a lot of area is lost. This should allow standard cells to be scaled down to four tracks (and maybe three with buried power).
The next step in "going vertical" is vertical transistors (VFET). In the above diagram, you can see immediately the advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that the gate length can be varied without it changing the device footprint (since the channels are vertical). The devices are also structurally isolated. But...while it is easy to get to the top electrode, getting to the bottom one is a challenge.
But keeping Moore's Law on track requires logic to scale, too. The problem for logic cells is that they don't scale when the bottom electrode is hidden. The interconnect needed to get to it loses all the gains.
One approach is to add the regularity back in and embed logic in nanofabrics. This reminds me of when I first learnt anything about IC design, in the era before standard cells and automated place and route, when we had programmable logic arrays that had the same advantage of regularity. But working out where to put the implants was tough since synthesis hadn't yet been invented and there wasn't really any automated approach for it. We were still in the Karnaugh map era.
Nanofabrics have the potential to reduce the amount of random interconnect, just as they do with FPGAs. However, just as with FPGAs, a completely new logic synthesis flow will be required. As an aside, one of the dirty secrets of synthesis is that FPGA synthesis is harder than synthesis for SoCs, but people think it is easier since the FPGA companies give it away, and so the amount third parties can charge is constrained. But it will require a similar approach, although not necessarily field-programmable, based onLUTs (look-up tables).
The Dark Dimension, also known as the Zero Matter World,[1] the Darkforce Dimension, the Hell Dimension,[2] or simply Hell,[3] is a vast dimension in the Multiverse ruled by Dormammu. A strange and hostile dimension, it is an amalgamation of itself and all other dimensions Dormammu had conquered and absorbed into it.[4] Time does not exist in the Dark Dimension in the same way it does within the regular universe. This allows it to be the power source of life-extending spells and the removal of mortality, at times, giving sorcerers superhuman abilities beyond their magic.
The Dark Dimension is also the source of the energy known as the Darkforce, or Dark Matter,[5] that sometimes has been able to pour into Earth. In specific domains within this dimension reside the entities worshiped on Earth as the Loa, and exiled sorcerers like Morgan le Fay.[6] Furthermore, the Dark Dimension contains an obscure dark world known as Hell,[7] home to the Spirit of Vengeance, a realm of never-ending darkness, devoid of any form of light and warmth, that tries to absorb any living being who goes near it.
A powerful demon entity known as the Spirit of Vengeance[2] was able to escape from the obscure realm known as Hell to Earth. In order to survive, he bonded himself with humans who had a strong desire for vengeance, transforming them into the Ghost Rider.[9][2]
During the 1940s, scientists began experimenting with nuclear energy; during one such experiment performed by Isodyne Energy, a rift was created where a substance dubbed Zero Matter entered this dimension. Eventually, Whitney Frost and Jason Wilkes became infected with the substance.[10] Frost actively sought more of the Zero Matter and reopened the rift; however Wilkes entered the opening.[11] Upon his return, he described his experience in this dimension as indescribably cold and dark.[1]
Kaecilius, one of the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj had heard of the Dark Dimension as a place without time where he and the Zealots would be immortal. He knew that the Ancient One herself drew power from the Dark Dimension and believed her to be a hypocrite as she forbade others from doing the same. One night, Kaecilius and the Zealots went to the Kamar-Taj library with the intent of stealing a spell from the Book of Cagliostro to bring Dormammu to Earth.
Using the pages from the book, Kaecilius deciphered the spell hidden within it and used it to empower himself and the Zealots, summoning the power from the Dark Dimension and giving them unparalleled control over the Mirror Dimension. The process turned the skin around their eyes dark purple and outlined silver and cracked. Overflowing with these new abilities, Kaecilius began to use the new power to defeat the Masters of the Mystic Arts and destroy the Sanctums to allow Dormammu to come to Earth.[8]
Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Kaecilius and his Zealots found themselves challenged by the Masters of the Mystic Arts outside the Hong Kong Sanctum, with the Masters now being led by Wong. It did not take long however for Kaecilius and the Zealots to destroy the Hong Kong Sanctum and succeeded in bringing Dormammu and the Dark Dimension to Earth, killing Wong by trapping him underneath rubble and many other civilians in the battle as the Dark Dimension began consuming the sky.
Doctor Strange and Karl Mordo headed to the Hong Kong Sanctum only to discover it has already been destroyed and Dormammu was now coming to Earth. Using the Eye of Agamotto and breaking the natural laws of time, Strange reversed what had happened, returning Wong and many others from the dead despite Mordo's protests. He was interrupted mid-spell, freezing time around the fighting. Kaecilius returned and declared that Dormammu's arrival couldn't be stopped anymore and once again mentioned that the Dark Dimension is "beyond time". Hearing this, Strange figured out a way to defeat Dormammu and headed to the Dark Dimension.
Strange confronted Dormammu, requesting a bargain. Dormammu shrugged off Strange's words and proceeded to swiftly kill him. Suddenly Strange appeared again repeating the exact same words as before. Confused, Dormammu attempted to kill Strange again, only for him to reappear and repeat the cycle over and over.
Strange explained that he had created an endless time loop, and would keep both him and Dormammu trapped forever. Eventually, Dormammu submitted and questioned what Strange wanted. Strange demanded he never returns to Earth and takes Kaecilius and his remaining Zealots with him.
Strange soon returned to his universe, where he, Mordo, and Wong witnessed Kaecilius and his Zealots transform into Mindless Ones, who were soon drawn into the Dark Dimension by Dormammu. Although they achieved their goal for immortality, it came at a horrific cost: eternal imprisonment.[8]
When Eli Morrow activated his Quantum Particle Generator, the machine generated an energy blast which caused Leo Fitz, Phil Coulson and Ghost Rider to be placed in an inter-dimensional state where they would be trapped between Hell and Earth. As time progressed, Fitz and Coulson noticed that their environment grew darker, showing that they were slowly being dragged into Hell. Likewise, the Spirit of Vengeance felt that his host could be trapped in Hell and transferred itself to Alphonso Mackenzie to escape this fate.
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