Author's Latest Posts


Productivity And The IoT


The market for devices that connect almost everything to the Internet of Things is projected to explode, creating opportunities for companies that haven’t been traditional chip developers to decide to start developing devices. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss this topic with Jack Guedj, corporate VP of Tensilica products at Cadence; Bill Neifert, CTO at Carbon; Marc Evans, direct... » read more

Higher Frequencies Mean More Memory


As SoCs get more complex, whether due to higher frequencies or adding more functionality, there is a spillover effect on bandwidth, [getkc id="22" kc_name="memory"] and power. There is no simple way to just turn up the clock frequency in a complex [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"]. That relatively straightforward objective will likely require more power domains, more cores, more ways to move sig... » read more

Designing For Automotive


As cars include an increasing amount of electronics and electronics subsystems, the number of design challenges involving reliability, cost and power are on the rise. “Reliability tops the list of concerns for the design team because when you put these electronics in, you must know if they are going to operate efficiently by themselves," said Aveek Sarkar, vice president of product enginee... » read more

CES: THE Must-See Auto Show?


Power is such a huge concern for the automotive sector these days, it was not too much of a surprise to hear from Atrenta CTO Bernard Murphy that while at CES, he heard many folks suggesting that the experience that can only be called ‘CES’ may be the new must-see auto show. He observed that car companies are paying attention to surveys showing that a significant percentage of buyers vi... » read more

Productivity And The IoT


The market for devices that connect almost everything to the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"] is projected to explode, creating opportunities for companies that haven’t been traditional chip developers to decide to start developing devices. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss this topic with Jack Guedj, corporate VP of [getentity id="22342" comment="Tensilica"] products ... » read more

System Bits: Jan. 13


Quantum computational circuits MIT researchers have built an array of light detectors sensitive enough to register the arrival of photons and mounted them on a silicon optical chip, which could be critical components of quantum computing devices. They pointed out that single-photon detectors are notoriously temperamental. For example, of 100 deposited on a chip using standard manufacturing ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 13


Glass instead of crystals Since today's lithium-ion batteries are not good enough if our future energy system is to rely on electrical power, researchers around the world are continually looking to improve capacity and energy density. To this end, ETH Zurich researchers have developed a type of glass that can be used as an electrode material in lithium-ion batteries. ETH researchers discove... » read more

Americans Are Concerned About Privacy, Security, But Will Still Adopt It


As I wrote in my last blog post I have some concerns about the security and privacy aspects of some aspects of applications in the Internet of Things, and it seems I am not alone. According to NXP Semiconductors, which announced this week the findings of an IoT study it had Harris Poll conduct, 81% of respondents are concerned about their privacy and that this concern impacts their decision ... » read more

System Bits: Jan. 6


Quantum channel of light In experiments using ultracold atoms and laser light, ETH researchers have measured a stepwise change in conductivity as the atoms pass through tiny structures. This is the first time that this quantum effect has been observed for electrically neutral particles. [caption id="attachment_16993" align="alignnone" width="300"] A point contact through which neutral, ultr... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 6


3D nanoshaping A team of researchers led by Purdue University report they’ve developed a method for creating large-area patterns of 3D nanoshapes from metal sheets. They believe this represents a potential manufacturing system to inexpensively mass produce innovations such as "plasmonic metamaterials" for advanced technologies, and could enable high-speed electronics, advanced sensors and so... » read more

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