Mid-infrared Ellipsometry For Optical Critical Dimension Metrology


Abstract "Mid-infrared ellipsometry offers a powerful approach for non-destructive optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology in advanced semiconductor manufacturing. This technique supports in-line measurements of high aspect ratio structures, such as those found in 3D NAND memory devices. The incorporation of quantum cascade lasers and fast phase modulation allows rapid acquisition of Muel... » read more

AI Accelerators Usher In New Era For IC Test


Key Takeaways The parallelism in AI accelerators enables low latency but complicates failure isolation. HBM can account for 50% of package cost, so known-good stack assurance is critical. DFT and test cooperate to solve final test, singulated die test, SLT, and in-system test for data centers. AI accelerators are used for everything from training large language models to mak... » read more

Untrusted Analog Components Add Risks For Critical Infrastructure


Key Takeaways New certificate-based solutions are necessary within fabs and packaging houses to deliver trusted semiconductors. Physical IDs bind the device to the certificate, but it needs to be immutable and unclonable. Extrinsic IDs are required for analog, mixed-signal, sensor ICs as well as discrete components. Rising concern over the source and destination of chips, an... » read more

Platform-Led AI Analytics for the Semiconductor Ecosystem


Abstract: Semiconductor manufacturers face a mounting data crisis: modern fabrication facilities generate petabytes of complex, siloed data, yet less than 5% of it is typically used in analytics. Traditional business intelligence tools lack the scalability to handle datasets with millions of parameters, leaving critical yield and quality insights untapped. In this presentation we outline a c... » read more

Harnessing Digital Twins And AI/ML For Smarter Semiconductor Test Optimization


As semiconductor devices become increasingly complex, the challenge of testing them efficiently and accurately grows in parallel. Traditional testing methods—rooted in static test plans—often fall short in dealing with the nuances of today's advanced integrated circuits (ICs), especially in high-volume manufacturing environments. In response, the industry is exploring real-time, data-dri... » read more

Research Bits: Apr. 6


Reservoir computing Researchers from Loughborough University designed a memristor reservoir computing chip that can process data that changes over time directly in hardware. “Inspired by the way the human brain forms very numerous and seemingly random neuronal connections between all its neurons, we created complex, random, physical connections in an artificial neural network by designing... » read more

All AI Data Center Interconnects Will Be Optical Within 5 Years


I spent several days at OFC (Optical Fiber Communications Conference) 2026 in LA. The crowds were huge and the enthusiasm intense. Long-time attendees noted the shift from telecom to data center AI in just a few years. Nvidia GTC 2026 took place simultaneously in San Jose. OFC and GTC are entangled because data center AI needs optical interconnect to keep compute fed. Optical interconnect... » read more

Automated Security Assertion Generation Using LLMs (U. of Florida)


A new technical paper, "Assertain: Automated Security Assertion Generation Using Large Language Models," was published by University of Florida. Abstract "The increasing complexity of modern system-on-chip designs amplifies hardware security risks and makes manual security property specification a major bottleneck in formal property verification. This paper presents Assertain, an automated ... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Deals IBM and Arm are collaborating on a new dual‑architecture hardware aimed at enterprise AI and data-intensive workloads, using virtualization to boost reliability, security, scalability, and software compatibility. The goal, according to an IBM spokesperson, is to deliver side-by-side deployments of S390x-Linux and Arm-Linux virtual machines in a single kernel-based hypervisor. Nv... » read more

Developing A Security Framework For Chiplet-Based Systems


In a previous blog, From Monolithic SoCs to Chiplets: A New Hardware Security Paradigm, we discussed why chiplets change the game from a security perspective, and why security must be addressed at a platform-level in a chiplet-based system. In a monolithic SoC, device identity is often anchored in a single root of trust that owns key material and policy. In a chiplet platform, every security... » read more

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