Nascent Chiplet Tech Gaining Attention In Defense and Commercial Industries


The economic benefits derived from Moore's Law have changed, and not for the better. This shift – especially on the manufacturing side of system-on-chip (SoC) devices, has both the defense and commercial customers in the semiconductor industry wondering what will come next. One way to extend Moore's Law's cost, feature, and size benefits is with multi-chip technology, now commonly known as... » read more

Making Connections In 3D Heterogeneous Integration


Activity around 3D heterogeneous integration (3DHI) is heating up, driven by growing support from governments, the need to add more features and compute elements into systems, and a widespread recognition that there are better paths forward than packing everything into a single SoC at the same process node. The leading edge of chip design has changed dramatically over the last few years. Int... » read more

TCAD-Based Radiation Modeling Technique For Reliable Aerospace Chips


By Ian Land and Ricardo Borges We demand a lot from the electronic components that bring our devices and systems to life. This is particularly true when it comes to semiconductors for space applications. From satellites to spacecraft, aerospace and defense equipment must tolerate the most extreme of operating conditions in order to perform their jobs safely and reliably. How do you ensure... » read more

Digital Transformation At The Farnborough Airshow 2022


Alternating every year with the Paris Airshow, the Farnborough Airshow was back to an in-person event this July 2022. It focused on six key themes—space, defense, sustainability, innovation, future flight, and workforce. Within these themes, digitalization and data emerged as very prominent messages. Some of the prototypes and actual devices on display at the event felt like they were taken s... » read more

SiPs And MCMs Broaden Opportunities For Military-Aerospace System Design


Military and aerospace (mil-aero) applications, from satellites and rockets to ships and planes, increasingly require electronic systems and subsystems with high functionality and performance in a small form factor. Meeting these demands poses higher-level challenges for packaging of these microelectronic devices, which needs to be rugged, long-lived, and affordable. Usage of multi-chip modu... » read more

Industry Transforming In Ways Previously Unimaginable


Early in the year, everyone expected that the availability of COVID vaccines would signal the start of a return to normal, but that has certainly not been the case. Now the industry is taking a longer-term view about how to transform business, what is necessary for people to maintain their mental health, and how to create robust hybrid work environments for the future that do not discard the po... » read more

Power, Performance — Avionics Designers Want It All


Not long ago, the prevailing philosophy among chip designers for aviation systems could be summed up as, “I feel the need — the need for speed.” Today, aviation’s top guns have pulled back on the throttle a bit. There’s a more nuanced discussion balancing the need for performance versus power, with other factors coming into consideration such as safety, security certifications and ove... » read more

Making Chip Packaging More Reliable


Packaging houses are readying the next wave of IC packages, but these products must prove to be reliable before they are incorporated into systems. These packages involve several advanced technologies, such as 2.5D/3D, chiplets and fan-out, but vendors also are working on new versions of more mature package types, like wirebond and leadframe technologies. As with previous products, packaging... » read more

Digital Transformation In Aerospace And Defense Applications


Watching the aerospace and defense verticals, one of the most impactful publications in 2020 was probably Will Roper's "There Is No Spoon: The New Digital Acquisition Reality." Using visuals from "The Matrix", which at the time was called "the first movie of the 21st century," the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics painted a picture of a "simulation ... » read more

Design Issues For Chips Over Longer Lifetimes


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the myriad challenges associated with chips used in complex systems over longer periods of time them with Jean-Marie Brunet, senior director for the Emulation Division at Siemens EDA; Frank Schirrmeister, senior group director for solution marketing at Cadence; Maurizio Griva, R&D Manager at Reply; and Laurent Maillet-Contoz, system and architec... » read more

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