Research Bits: Jan. 12


Wafer-scale two-photon lithography Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Stanford University demonstrated a two-photon lithography (TPL) platform for wafer-scale manufacturing. The TPL platform uses large arrays of metalenses to split a femtosecond laser into more than 120,000 coordinated focal spots that write simultaneously across centimeter-scale areas. The a... » read more

Research Bits: Jan. 6


Ultrathin ferroelectric capacitors Researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo and Canon ANELVA Corporation built an ultrathin ferroelectric memory capacitor stack using scandium-substituted aluminum nitride ((Al,Sc)N) thin films with platinum electrodes. The total thickness is just 30nm: a 20nm ferroelectric layer sandwiched between 5nm platinum top and bottom electrodes. “Previous r... » read more

Research Bits: Dec. 22


Photonic memory Researchers from the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and the University of Wisconsin-Madison fabricated a regenerative photonic latch memory on GlobalFoundries’ commercial silicon photonics platform, a step towards building a complete photonic SRAM system. The memory cell can store data as light and regenerate the signal to keep it stable a... » read more

Research Bits: Dec. 16


Back-end integration Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Waterloo propose a back-end integration platform that enables the fabrication of transistors and memory devices in a single compact stack on a chip. The approach uses amorphous indium oxide as the active channel layer of the back-end transistor. The properties of indium oxide allow a thin... » read more

AI In A/MS IC Design: Between Buzzword And Productivity Boost


In the past few years, AI has burst onto the public stage in grand style. This ongoing trend is apparent in the rising number of AI applications in everyday life. But more and more, it can also be seen in a broad range of technical niches, where the main motivation is AI’s promise of continuously increasing efficiency. One such niche that has seen decades of attempts to achieve greater eff... » read more

PCIe 8.0: Preparing For The Next Doubling


By Monica Olvera and Gustavo Pimentel Every few years, the industry confronts the same challenge: can general-purpose I/O double again without overwhelming power budgets, overwhelming signal-integrity limits, or fragmenting the ecosystem? With PCIe 8.0, the answer appears to be yes—if the entire stack continues to advance together. Public PCI-SIG information outlines an objective of 256.0 ... » read more

AI Moves Out Of The Cloud And Onto The Edge


The impact of AI to date, in the cloud, is undisputed, but the question we must answer going forward is whether we can only expect more of the same or whether there is a fundamental shift looming that will change everything. Today, we will explore historical data to find patterns repeated through the ages to help us see what I will attempt to prove is imminent. A brief history of time… keepi... » read more

MIPI CSI-2 Provides The Backbone Of Automotive Sensor Networks


As the automotive sector accelerates toward higher levels of autonomy, the complexity and scale of sensor networks within vehicles are rapidly expanding. For semiconductor engineers, the challenge is not only to deliver high-performance silicon but also to ensure robust, scalable, and secure data transport across heterogeneous sensor arrays. The MIPI CSI-2 protocol has emerged as the de facto s... » read more

Next Generation AI: Transitioning Inference From The Cloud To The Edge


AI inference deployments are increasingly focused on the edge as manufacturers seek the consistent latency, enhanced privacy, and reduced operational costs they can’t achieve in cloud-based deployments. While cloud-based platforms provide incredible computational power and enable widely adopted services, the dependence on network connectivity inherently creates variability, cost and security ... » read more

Thermal Management In 3D-IC: Modeling Hotspots, Materials, & Cooling Strategies


As three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) technology becomes the architectural backbone of AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and advanced edge systems, thermal management has shifted from a downstream constraint to a fundamental design driver. The dense vertical integration that enables unprecedented performance also concentrates heat at levels that traditional two-dimensional design ... » read more

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