The origin of the 180
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). Some of the first
CPUs manufactured with this process include
Intel Coppermine family of
Pentium III processors. This was the first technology using a gate length shorter than that of light used for contemporary
lithography, which had a wavelength of 193 nm. Some more recent microprocessors and microcontrollers (e.g.
PIC) are using this technology because it is typically low cost and does not require upgrading of existing equipment. In 2022,
Google sponsored
open-source hardware projects using
GlobalFoundries 180nm
MCU (microcontroller) process on
multi-project wafers. In 1988, an
IBM research team led by Iranian engineer
Bijan Davari fabricated a 180nm
dual-gate MOSFET using a
CMOS process. The 180nm CMOS process was later commercialized by
TSMC in 1998, and then
Fujitsu in 1999. == Processors using 180 nm manufacturing technology ==