When consolidation thinned the ranks of semiconductor foundries and equipment makers, materials companies figured things were about to get better. They haven't. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, semiconductors are now so complex and difficult to develop that a slew of innovations are required on all sides. Everyone is familiar with transistor structures, interconnects and lithog... » read more

By Ed Sperling & Mark LaPedus EUV lithography is creating a new set of challenges on the photomask side for which there currently are no simple solutions. While lithography is viewed as a single technology, [gettech id="31045" comment="EUV"] actually is a collection of technologies. Not all of those technologies have advanced equally and simultaneously, however. For example, aberrations... » read more

Silicon photonics is gaining significant traction inside the data center, but creating a simpler method of packaging the laser with other circuitry remains a stumbling block for cutting costs and using this technology across a wider swath of applications. Progress does appear to be on the horizon, even though exact time frames remain unclear. The advantages of light in communications are wel... » read more

The rollout of 10/7nm was a long time coming, and for good reason. It's hard stuff, and chipmakers have to be ready to take a giant step forward with new processes, tools, and to deal with a slew of physical effects that no longer can be handled by just guard-banding a design. The big question is what's next, when it will happen, and how much it will cost. Preparing for the next process node... » read more

ANSYS' Karthik Srinivasan talks about the effect of heat on reliability at advanced process nodes, including self-heating, circuit aging, and how that will affect automotive electronics. https://youtu.be/SS6iAXp0Kn8   Related Tech Talk: 7nm Power Dealing with thermal effects, electromigration and other issues at the most advanced nodes. » read more

The shift from IP blocks to subsystems, with pre-integrated and pre-verified IP, has never lived up to the initial hype. That doesn't mean the concept isn't valid, though. The problem with subsystems, as originally conceived, is they were far too limited for widespread adoption. When this idea first began surfacing in the early pat of the Millennium, this all made sense because the number o... » read more

Mention the Internet of Things and most people think about smart appliances or wearable electronics. But one of the biggest growth opportunities involves the digitalization of the workplace, and this is where a business case can be made—or lost—for widespread adoption of connected devices. A new Economist Intelligence Unit study found that 21% of executives surveyed believe the IoT alrea... » read more

Volkan Oktem, director of product applications at Achronix, explains how to design a test approach for embedded FPGAs, including how to plan for sufficient coverage and how much it will cost. https://youtu.be/aGXd8QH-BfY   Related Stories Tech Talk: EFPGA Acceleration When and why to use embedded FPGAs. » read more

The basic business proposition for third-party IP is that it's cheaper, faster, and less problematic to buy rather than build. But things haven't exactly worked out according to plan, either for companies that license IP or those that develop it. For [getkc id="43" kc_name="IP"] licensees, just keeping track of an endless series of updates is becoming unwieldy. Complex designs often include ... » read more

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss IoT chip design issues with Jeff Miller, product marketing manager for electronic design systems in the Deep Submicron Division of [getentity id="22017" e_name="Mentor, a Siemens Business"]; Mike Eftimakis, IoT product manager in [getentity id="22186" comment="ARM"]'s Systems and Software Group; and John Tinson, vice president of sales at Sondrel Lt... » read more