Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 6
By Mark LaPedus - 06 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 1

Vertical SiC chips for electric cars Silicon carbide (SiC) is a promising material for power electronics. The material has a high breakdown voltage, high operating temperatures and a superior thermal conductivity. At the recent 2014 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, Toyota, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the... » read more

System Bits: Jan. 6
By Ann Mutschler - 06 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 1

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
By Ann Mutschler - 06 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

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

Software-Driven Verification (Part 2)
By Brian Bailey - 05 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

[getkc id="10" comment="Functional Verification"] has been powered by tools that require hardware to look like the kinds of systems that were being designed two decades ago. Those limitations are putting chips at risk and a new approach to the problem is long overdue. Semiconductor Engineering sat down with Frank Schirrmeister, group director, product marketing for System Development Suite at [... » read more

Imitation game movie review, fair or foul ?
By Michael Watts - 04 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

It’s a bit of a stretch, but seeing as Alan Turing is the original thinker behind this whole industry, I am going to take the liberty of a review of the new movie “Imitation Game”. Prior to raising the curtain on the story of the breaking of the Enigma code during the second world war, Turing was unknown outside the computer science community. He was the original thinker behind the comput... » read more

Invionics: EDA Development Platform
By Brian Bailey - 04 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

There has been a dearth of EDA startups over the past year. In fact, if you check out the Knowledge Center for companies founded in 2014 you will find exactly one - [getentity id="22834" comment="Pollen Technology"], a metrology company. In 2013 there were four, one of which was [getentity id="22413" comment="Invionics"]. Now before we get excited about a new EDA startup—and yes, it is an EDA... » read more

sureCore: ULP SRAM
By Ed Sperling - 04 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

Ultra-low-power technologies are suddenly very much in vogue. While three years ago it was almost impossible to raise venture funding in this space, it has become far easier in the past year as power becomes both a stumbling block and a competitive differentiator in the Internet of Things world. This is particularly true for wearable electronics such as multi-function watches. The ability to... » read more

Week 30: Recovering From Holiday Travel…
By Anne Cirkel - 02 Jan, 2015 - Comments: 0

Happy New Year! The good news is that one more weekend looms, maybe a useful window for recovery if your batteries are running low after hustling around during the holidays as I did. Packed roads, busy airports, standing in line, being impatient, getting angry… I admit wondering, as my seasonal spirit waned, why we all do this to ourselves? My destination was Germany, so I could spend Christm... » read more

Worldwide Semiconductor Market Booms
By Kenji Tsuda - 31 Dec, 2014 - Comments: 0

Worldwide sales of semiconductors have been growing steadily. In September, shipments passed 30 billion units—the highest monthly amount ever for that month, and 2014 is predicted to be a record-breaker when the numbers are finally tallied. Figure 1. Transition of worldwide semiconductor shipment prices peak in March, June, September, and December. Source: WSTS data edited by Semicon po... » read more

Blog Review: Dec. 31
By Ed Sperling - 31 Dec, 2014 - Comments: 0

Mentor's J. VanDomelen zeroes in on the two most interesting discoveries from the Philae comet landing. So what was that "eerie cyclical clicking" sound? Synopsys' Ray Varghese digs into basic coherent transaction testing for AXI/ACE compliant interconnects. You might want to put on another pot of coffee. Cadence's Brian Fuller offers some deep insights into synthesis, verification and te... » read more

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