The Week In Review: Oct. 18


By Mark LaPedus & Ed Sperling The problems continue with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. ASML promised to deliver an 80 Watt power source by year’s end. Now, the company said it only will have a 70 Watt source by mid-2014. “We are focusing on reaching the 70 Watts by the middle of next year,” said Peter Wennink, ASML’s CEO, in a conference call to discuss the company’s res... » read more

EDA Shows Continued Growth


EDA and IP revenue jumped 3.8% in Q2 to $1.65 billion, up from $1.59 billion in the same period in 2013, spurred by the need for new tools to design, create and verify SoCs using 16/14nm finFETs. Sequentially, the numbers reported by the EDA Consortium were down slightly from Q1, but the four-quarter moving average—considered a more reliable number because tools sales are long-term investm... » read more

Blog Review: Oct. 16


Cadence’s Richard Goering follows Si2’s move into SPICE modeling following the acquisition of the Compact Model Council. Combining standards groups is a growing trend these days. Mentor’s Colin Walls points to the demise of reset buttons. You can always trip a circuit breaker, and usually turn off a device by pulling out the battery, but a reset button is simpler. Where did they go? ... » read more

System Bits: Oct. 15


Improving safety with talking vehicles Researchers at USC Viterbi have spent nearly a decade working on algorithms and software to make it possible for cars to “talk” to one another by sending messages through an ad hoc wireless network to alert drivers of impending dangers such as potholes and icy roads to prevent accidents, injuries and the accompanying traffic jams. It’s all about hav... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 15


Better Beer Rice University has devised a polymer material that could boost the properties of natural gas, beer and soda. By adding modified, single-atom-thick graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), Rice’s polymer material could make it more practical for vehicles to run on compressed natural gas. The material is far more impermeable to pressurized gas and lighte... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 15


Perfect ICs Are integrated circuits "too good" for current technological applications? Christian Enz, the new director of the Institute of Microengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) believes perfection is overrated. Enz said the reason why we should build our future devices with unreliable circuits, and adopt the "good enough engineering" trend is that non-fully r... » read more

Bluetooth Smart Becomes Centerpiece Of Internet Of Things


There was a consistent theme at the CEATEC 2013, which was held in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture—Bluteooth Smart as an essential component of the Internet of Things. Photo 1 CEATEC hall Major parts makers such as Rohm and Murata, Mitsumi, and Alps, which are developing entire modules as well as discrete parts, proposed a number of solutions that will be used over the next two or three ... » read more

Inside Japan: The Applied Materials-Tokyo Electron Merger


The merger of Tokyo Electron and Applied Materials has turned heads around the globe, but behind the scenes in Japan there was a recognition that this deal had to be done now or it would never be possible. Releases from both companies describe it as a merger of equals, and the Japanese press has reported it that way. But international media outside of Japan take the view that Tokyo Electron ... » read more

The Week In Review: Oct. 11


By Mark LaPedus & Ed Sperling Demand is running high for DRAMs, thanks to last month’s fab fire at Hynix’ China plant. “The impact from Hynix' fab fire seems to be far more extensive than we had originally thought. We now think the factory is most likely up at the earliest by May/June 2014, which certainly provides robust pricing support for DRAM. Hynix is in the process of convertin... » read more

Blog Review: Oct. 9


By Ed Sperling Mentor’s Simon Favre raises an interesting question: Why are 450mm wafers and EUV lithography related? The answer may surprise you. In his second broadcast, Cadence’s Brian Fuller interviews Gary Smith about where EDA will grow, why industry consolidation is a myth and why there is a dearth of reliable information about the electronics industry. Synopsys’ Mick Posner... » read more

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