Alternative Text

Ann Mutschler

  (all posts)
Ann Mutschler is senior executive editor at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 25
By Ann Mutschler - 25 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

SiGe chip sets speed record Researchers from IHP-Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics in Germany and the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated what they say is the world's fastest silicon-based device to date. A silicon-germanium (SiGe) chip has been operated transistor at 798 gigahertz (GHz) fMAX, exceeding the previous speed record for silicon-germanium chips by abou... » read more

Many Stresses Impact TSVs
By Ann Mutschler - 20 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Too much stress in humans is typically not beneficial, and the same goes for 3D-ICs with through-silicon vias (TSVs). Stress effects here come from the fact that copper, which is the conductor of choice for the TSVs, and silicon have different coefficients of thermal expansion. “If you can imagine that a via will be etched through the silicon, copper will be deposited inside and then t... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 18
By Ann Mutschler - 18 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 1

Outperforming copper Carbon nanotube-based fibers invented at Rice University have greater capacity to carry electrical current than copper cables of the same mass -- on a pound-per-pound basis -- according to new research. While individual nanotubes are capable of transmitting nearly 1,000 times more current than copper, the same tubes coalesced into a fiber using other technologies fail l... » read more

System Bits: Feb. 18
By Ann Mutschler - 18 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Is my iPad making me sick? If you’ve ever felt sick or queasy after using a mobile device for an extended period of time, researchers from the University of Minnesota, believe they know why. In a recent study, participants played video games on iPads - under controlled, experimental conditions - and experienced motion sickness almost a third of the time. The risk of motion sickness was fo... » read more

Schedule Versus Specifications
By Ann Mutschler - 14 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

With power being paramount in SoCs today, I was surprised to hear the amount of time spent on power reduction exercises can be only a few days. According to William Ruby at Ansys/Apache, how much time engineers spend on power reduction activities depends on how sensitive the design is to power and whether they are still trying to meet the power spec or -- based on the early power estimates �... » read more

Power Reduction Through Sequential Optimization
By Ann Mutschler - 13 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 1

Dealing with power is a multifaceted challenge and is an equal-opportunity problem — everybody can contribute to the solution and at many levels of abstraction. At the architectural or system level, fundamental tradeoffs are done and the engineering team decides how much memory the system needs, what type of processor, what performance, area, power, among other things. Some people may use ... » read more

Heat Problems Grow With FinFETs, 3D-ICs
By Ann Mutschler - 13 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 2

From high-end consumer devices to rack-mounted arrays inside of data centers, thermal issues are becoming more serious—and getting much more attention. Driving this shift is the move from single chips to 3D ICs, whether they are interposer-based or stacked die. It’s a well-understood challenge: Die stacking can cause thermal issues because of the lack of a readily accessible thermal diss... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 11
By Ann Mutschler - 11 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Low-power chip for cochlear implants without external hardware Existing versions of cochlear implants require that a disk-shaped transmitter about an inch in diameter be affixed to the skull, with a wire snaking down to a joint microphone and power source that looks like an oversized hearing aid around the patient’s ear...until now. Researchers at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory a... » read more

System Bits: Feb. 11
By Ann Mutschler - 11 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Ballistic transport in graphene Using electrons more like photons could provide the foundation for a new type of electronic device that would capitalize on the ability of graphene to carry electrons with almost no resistance even at room temperature in a process known as ballistic transport, according to researchers at Georgia Tech. Ballistic transport is the process by which electrical res... » read more

System Bits: Feb. 4
By Ann Mutschler - 04 Feb, 2014 - Comments: 0

Speeding Access To Information Big data today is usually stored on multiple hard disks on a number of machines across an Ethernet network, but this storage architecture considerably increases the time it takes to access the information. Researchers at MIT have developed a storage system for big-data analytics they claim can dramatically reduce the time it takes to access information. The sy... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →

  • Sponsors

About

Navigation

Connect With Us

Copyright ©2013-2026 SMG   |  Terms of Service  |  Privacy Policy