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Apple A6 Teardown

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Apple A6 Teardown: crwdns2935265:00crwdnd2935265:01crwdnd2935265:02crwdne2935265:0 Apple A6 Teardown: crwdns2935265:00crwdnd2935265:02crwdnd2935265:02crwdne2935265:0
  • The raised mesa-looking shapes in the magnified cross-section view (second image) are the transistors' structures, and the little pegs running between them are the actually the contacts between layers.

  • We can't help but think that the transistor layout looks a lot like a Roman aqueduct.

  • This very thin line confirms that this is a 32 nm HKMG (Hi-K metal gate) process.

  • The A6's 32 HKMG process is the same as the one utilized in the Apple TV 3rd Generation (APL2498 on Chipworks).

  • In an FET (Field Effect Transistor), K is the dielectric constant of the layer between the gate electrode and the silicon. This is a physical parameter of the material which helps control the turn-on voltage of the transistor.

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