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Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 9


3D chip consortium The 3D integration consortium of IRT Nanoelec has a new member--EV Group. Based in Grenoble, France, IRT Nanoelec is an R&D center headed by CEA-Leti. Formed in 2012, the 3D integration consortium is one of IRT’s core programs. EV Group joins Leti, Mentor Graphics, SET and STMicroelectronics as members of the 3D consortium. The program is developing a 3D integration ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Samsung introduced inFlux, a new lineup of high-flux, linear LED modules optimized for industrial lighting applications such as plants, parking lots and warehouses. The LED modules serve as a replacement for conventional T8 and T5HO tubes and are suitable for high-flux LED luminaires covering up to 40,000lm. The semiconductor market is off to a slow start in 2016. And it might be a long yea... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Feb. 2


Do-it-yourself optoelectronics The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a technology to make optical components on a do-it-yourself basis. To make a component, researchers have devised what they call plasmon-assisted etching. The process makes use of a nanostructured template, which can be used to create optical components. The template is a 2D array of gold pillar-su... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Qualcomm recently announced the new Snapdragon 820. The cell-phone chipset is based on Samsung Electronics’ new 14nm LPP (Low-Power Plus) process, the second-generation of the company’s 14nm finFET process technology. What’s next? Qualcomm is developing the Snapdragon 830. “Snapdragon 830 leaks indicate that the chip will sport 8GB of RAM, an enhanced Kryo custom architecture, and fabbe... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 26


Giant vice Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a research center within the Helmholtz Association, has installed a giant vise or press in its organization. The vise, dubbed the Large Volume Press (LVP), measures 4.5 meters in height and weighs 35 tons. It can exert a force of up to 500 tons on each of its three axes. [caption id="attachment_25030" align="alignleft" width="160"] Th... » read more

Inside Neuromorphic Computing


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk about neuromorphic technology with Guy Paillet, chief executive of General Vision. The fabless IC design house is a pioneer and supplier of neuromorphic chips. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: In 1993, you invented and co-patented a neural networking chip with IBM. Then, you joined General Vision in 1999. Briefly tell us about Gen... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Samsung Electronics announced that it has begun producing the industry’s first 4-gigabyte DRAM package based on the second-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2) interface. The 4GB HBM2 package is created by stacking a buffer die at the bottom and four 8-gigabit core dies on top. These are then vertically interconnected by TSV holes and microbumps. A single 8Gb HBM2 die contains over 5,000 T... » read more

Neuromorphic Chip Biz Heats Up


It’s no secret that today’s computers are struggling to keep up with the enormous demands of data processing and bandwidth, and the whole electronics industry is searching for new ways to enable that. The traditional approach is to continue to push the limits of today’s systems and chips. Another way is to go down the non-traditional route, including an old idea that is generating stea... » read more

5nm Fab Challenges


At a recent event, Intel presented a paper that generated sparks and fueled speculation regarding the future direction of the leading-edge IC industry. The company described a next-generation transistor called the nanowire FET, which is a finFET turned on its side with a gate wrapped around it. Intel’s nanowire FET, sometimes called a gate-all-around FET, is said to meet the device require... » read more

Inside AI And Deep Learning


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk with Dave Schubmehl, research director for content analytics, discovery and cognitive systems at International Data Corp. (IDC), a market research firm. Schubmehl’s research covers information access, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, deep learning, machine learning and other topics. He also addressed neuromorphic technology. What follows... » read more

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