Brite Semiconductor: Design Services
By Ed Sperling - 20 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

These days it's increasingly common for large commercial foundries to have a design services counterpart—TSMC has GlobalUnichip. GlobalFoundries has an entire ecosystem as well as a dedicated partner, Invecas. And China's SMIC has Brite Semiconductor. Brite was founded in 2008 by Open-Silicon as a way to tap the Chinese market, but the startup has taken some twists since then. It now is un... » read more

System Bits: April 21
By Ed Sperling - 20 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

DARPA's Research DARPA's Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network, aka Starnet, unveiled its research plans for 2015 and 2016. Topping the list in 2015 is an investigation into the feasibility of using advanced 2D materials for ultra low-power devices, along with the fab methodology, modeling and simulation tools necessary to make it all work. The fiscal 2015 research will look a... » read more

Power Reduction At RTL: Data Gating Adders And Multipliers
By Rob Eccles - 20 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

In our previous blog, “Low Power Paradox”, we discussed the implications of the move to FinFET technology. Dynamic power is dominant in finFET designs. Several techniques are available to reduce dynamic power consumption. Microarchitecture changes are one method and they can result in significant power savings. One technique that is frequently used is the data gating of adders and m... » read more

Sponges, Skyscrapers, And Low-K
By Katherine Derbyshire - 20 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 1

A sponge is a porous structure. So is a skyscraper. These two very different images exemplify the materials being considered for advanced low dielectric constant (κ) materials. Most porous dielectrics that have been tested up to this point resemble sponges. As Intel’s David Michalak explained at this month's Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting, these materials consist of a ba... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

It could be a long year for the equipment industry. First, Intel reduced its 2015 capital expenditure budget to $8.7 billion, plus or minus $500 million. This is down from the previous mid-point guidance of $10.1 billion. As a result of Intel’s announcement, Pacific Crest Securities cut its worldwide 2015 semiconductor CapEx forecast. The new CapEx forecast is now $62.5 billion in 2015. Th... » read more

Week 45: 7 Weeks To DAC
By Anne Cirkel - 17 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

Make sure to download and use the mobile app for #52DAC this year. It will make your time at the conference a lot easier and should even bring you a bit of fun — and a chance to win a new Apple watch. This year the app includes a game called DAC Attack. No, you don’t score by throwing virtual tomatoes at the executive committee, though we can help you rack up points. (More on this in a b... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT
By Jesse Allen - 17 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

Mergers & Acquisitions ARM made two acquisitions related to Bluetooth radio: Wicentric, a Bluetooth Smart stack and profile provider, and Sunrise Micro Devices (SMD), a provider of sub-one volt Bluetooth radio IP. The IP of both companies will be integrated to form ARM's new low-power radio IP portfolio. Numbers EDA revenue grew 11.9% in Q4 2014 to $2.1 billion, a new record for th... » read more

Are Three Eyes Better Than Two?
By David Abercrombie - 16 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

It is clear that having two eyes is better than having just one. Not only is depth perception much better, but we get to enjoy 3D movies because of it. There is also some sense of security in knowing that if something terrible happened to one eye, you always have a backup. Have you ever wondered if these sorts of advantages are extendable? You’ve probably heard the phrase about someone ha... » read more

Big Changes At 10nm And Beyond
By Ed Sperling - 16 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

The move to 16/14nm finFETs is relatively straightforward. The move to 10nm and 7nm will be quite different. While double patterning with colors at 16/14nm has a rather steep learning curve, reports from chipmakers developing advanced chips is the technology and methodologies are manageable once engineering teams begin working with it. The hardest part is visualizing how different parts will... » read more

New Patterning Paradigm?
By Mark LaPedus - 16 Apr, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chip scaling is becoming more difficult at each process node, but the industry continues to find new and innovative ways to solve the problems at every turn. And so chipmakers continue to march down the various process nodes. But the question is for how much longer? In fact, at 16nm/14nm and beyond, chipmakers are finding new and different challenges, which, in turn, could slow IC scaling or br... » read more

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