April 2012 - Page 4 of 4 - Semiconductor Engineering

Fundamentals For 3D IC Flows

By Ann Mutschler - 05 Apr, 2012 - Comments: 0

While true 3D ICs are a few years off, 2.5D is here. There are some key differences, namely that with 2.5D the interposer is a passive die, but there also are some fundamental shared requirements. Samta Bansal, senior product marketing for Silicon Realization at Cadence asserted that first, the digital, custom and package environments must be seamless. “There has to be a co-design between ... » read more

Intel Turns Up Heat in Silicon Foundry Business

By Ed Sperling - 04 Apr, 2012 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus Intel Corp. continues to make waves in the foundry arena. The chip giant has recently announced three new and major customers within its embryonic foundry business. Some speculate there are more customers on the horizon, reportedly including a rumored on-and-off again foundry deal with Apple Inc. At this point, Intel is a niche player in the foundry business, as the compan... » read more

If Computers Could Write

By Chris Mack - 04 Apr, 2012 - Comments: 0

I have many titles. Gentleman scientist. Consultant. Husband. Dad. Some are self-applied (the advantage of being my own boss), and some are earned. One that I am proud of, and take seriously, is the title of “writer”. Writing well is not easy, and I have the somewhat old-fashioned idea that I should only write if I have something worthwhile to say. So when I do write somethi... » read more

Three DFM “Litho” Checkpoints at SMIC

By Mentor, a Siemens Business - 03 Apr, 2012 - Comments: 0

Design for manufacturing (DFM) has been an industry buzz word for several years, but now that it is an expected part of every design flow at 40nm and below, we are seeing how the concept of DFM can be successfully deployed. For example, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), one of the world’s largest semiconductor foundries, has established a process for litho checking... » read more

New Entrants Seek Niches in NAND Flash Fray

By Ed Sperling - 03 Apr, 2012 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus For some time, the NAND flash market has been primarily dominated by five vendors: Micron, Samsung, SanDisk, SK Hynix and Toshiba. Other vendors have been seeking to get a foothold in the exploding market — with little or no luck. Intel Corp. and Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. have separately experienced limited success in NAND. And Elpida Memory Inc. and Spansion Inc. are... » read more

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