Non-Volatile Memory Tradeoffs Intensify


Non-volatile memory is becoming more complicated at advanced nodes, where price, speed, power and utilization are feeding into some very application-specific tradeoffs about where to place that memory. NVM can be embedded into a chip, or it can be moved off chip with various types of interconnect technology. But that decision is more complicated than it might first appear. It depends on the ... » read more

Survey: 2019 eBeam Initiative Mask Makers’ Survey Results


In 2019, eBeam Initiative's Multi-beam Masks survey reported for the first time • 599,536 masks reported by 11 companies • 2789 were EUV masks • Average mask turnaround time (TAT) for =7nm was 11 days. Click here to see the survey results. » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 21


New high-frequency transistors The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF has developed a novel high-frequency transistor type—the metal oxide semiconductor HEMT or MOSHEMT. Still in R&D, Fraunhofer’s MOSHEMT has reached record frequencies of 640GHz. MOSHEMTs are designed for the 100GHz frequency ranges and above. Applications include communications, radar and sens... » read more

Network Storage Optimization In Chip Design


Prathna Sekar, technical account manager at ClioSoft, explains how to manage large quantities of data, how this can quickly spin out of control as colleagues check in data during the design process, and how to reduce the amount that needs to be stored. » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 21


Two-layer MRAM Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology propose a simpler MRAM construction that could perform faster with less power than conventional memories. The idea relies on unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance (USMR), a spin-related phenomenon that could be used to develop MRAM cells with an extremely simple structure. The spin Hall effect leads to the accumulation of elect... » read more

How Chips Age


Andre Lange, group manager for quality and reliability at Fraunhofer IIS’ Engineering of Adaptive Systems Division, talks about circuit aging, whether current methods of predicting reliability are accurate for chips developed at advanced process nodes, and where additional research is needed. » read more

Determining What Really Needs To Be Secured In A Chip


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss what's needed to secure hardware and why many previous approaches have been unsuccessful, with Warren Savage, research scientist in the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security at the University of Maryland; Neeraj Paliwal, vice president and general manager of Rambus Security; Luis Ancajas, marketing director for IoT security softw... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Fab tools, chips and technologies What happened at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) this week? The annual three-day conference of executives gave the year’s first comprehensive outlook of the global electronics manufacturing industry. Click here to see the details. CyberOptics has unveiled its new WaferSense Auto Resistance Sensor (ARS) and its CyberSpectrum software. The produc... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Inphi Corporation and Synopsys finalized the acquisition of eSilicon. Synopsys acquired certain IP assets from eSilicon, including TCAMs and multi-port memory compilers, as well as its Interface IP portfolio with High-Bandwidth Interface (HBI) IP and a team of R&D engineers; it did not disclose terms of the deal. Inphi Corporation bought the rest of the company for approximately $216 millio... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Security, Autos


The United States signed trade agreements with the China (phase one agreement) and North American countries Mexico and Canada this week. The SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association), which represents the U.S. semiconductor industry, applauded the agreements. Still to be worked out is the second part, or phase two, of the U.S.’s agreement with China. AI/Edge M&A Apple is acquiring edge... » read more

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