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Ann Mutschler

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Ann Mutschler is senior executive editor at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 29
By Ann Mutschler - 29 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Supercapacitor for electricity storage With the potential for solar cells that produce electricity 24/7 and mobile phones with built-in power cells that recharge in seconds and work for weeks between charges, researchers at Vanderbilt University have created a novel supercapacitor design with these and other applications in mind. They believe it is the first supercapacitor made out of silic... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 29
By Ann Mutschler - 29 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Coupling photons with electrons With the potential to lead to the creation of materials whose electronic properties could be “tuned” in real time simply by shining precise laser beams at them, researchers at MIT have produced and measured a coupling of photons and electrons on the surface of an unusual type of material called a topological insulator. This type of coupling had been predicte... » read more

Start Verification Early To Avoid Pitfalls Later
By Ann Mutschler - 24 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 1

It is well understood – at least from a theoretical point of view – that design verification should start as early as possible. The reality is that that doesn’t always happen for a variety of reasons such as enormous time to market pressure, too many new features to add, lack of foresight and discipline among other things. But progress is being made. Harry Foster, chief scientist for v... » read more

Trending Back To ASICs
By Ann Mutschler - 24 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

True to its cyclical nature, the semiconductor industry is swinging back toward ASICs from more diversified approaches such as FPGAs. This dynamic is evident at companies such as Apple. “At one point we thought Apple was being a contrarian,” said Drew Wingard, CTO at Sonics. “Everybody else on the systems side was shedding their silicon people. The easiest counterpoint to what Apple wa... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 22
By Ann Mutschler - 22 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Thermal emitter improves solar cell efficiency Stanford University scientists have created a heat-resistant thermal emitter -- an element used in specialized solar cells -- that could significantly improve the efficiency of the cells. The heat-resistant thermal emitter is designed to convert heat from the sun into infrared light that can be absorbed by solar cells to make electricity – a tec... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 22
By Ann Mutschler - 22 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Untangled nanotubes Carbon nanotubes are lightweight, strong and conduct electricity, which make them ideal components in new electronics devices, such as tablet computers and touchscreen phones, but cannot be used without being separated out from their natural tangled state. Researchers from Imperial College London have developed a way to unravel and apply carbon nanotubes in the laboratory a... » read more

Approaching IP Quality From Many Angles
By Ann Mutschler - 17 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

As SoC design complexity has increased, semiconductor design IP and the industry around it has grown in its level of sophistication. This is great news for the users of that IP whose demands for quality, reliability and other deliverables have also been on the rise. Making sure users have what they need requires close collaboration between the semiconductor foundries, IP providers and of cou... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 15
By Ann Mutschler - 15 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Improving safety with talking vehicles Researchers at USC Viterbi have spent nearly a decade working on algorithms and software to make it possible for cars to “talk” to one another by sending messages through an ad hoc wireless network to alert drivers of impending dangers such as potholes and icy roads to prevent accidents, injuries and the accompanying traffic jams. It’s all about hav... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 15
By Ann Mutschler - 15 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Perfect ICs Are integrated circuits "too good" for current technological applications? Christian Enz, the new director of the Institute of Microengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) believes perfection is overrated. Enz said the reason why we should build our future devices with unreliable circuits, and adopt the "good enough engineering" trend is that non-fully r... » read more

Experts At The Table: How To Improve IP Quality
By Ann Mutschler - 11 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the best ways to improve the quality of design IP with Piyush Sancheti, vice president of product marketing at Atrenta; Chris Rowen, Cadence Fellow and former CTO at Tensilica; Gene Matter, senior applications manager at Docea Power; Warren Savage, president and CEO of IPextreme; and Dan Kochpatcharin, deputy director of IP portfolio marketing at TS... » read more

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