Why Chips Fail, And What To Do About It


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss reliability of chips in the context of safety- and mission-critical systems, as well as increasing utilization due to an explosion in AI data, with Steve Pateras, vice president of marketing and business development at Synopsys; Noam Brousard, vice president of solutions engineering at proteanTecs; Harry Foster, chief verificat... » read more

Semiconductor Test Faces Technology Shifts In The AI Era


The surge in data-rich applications shows no signs of slowing down, fueling significant evolution within the global semiconductor industry. This insatiable demand for data necessitates a comprehensive ecosystem involving sensors and systems to capture data, networks to transmit it, and storage and processing power to analyze it. Successful deployment of these applications relies on the devel... » read more

Understanding Test Quality In Semiconductor Devices: An Overview


When it comes to semiconductor device testing, the primary goal is to ensure that each device meets functional and performance specifications. Testing also plays a crucial role in confirming that products will work as intended in real-world applications. However, defects in the manufacturing process can be a hindrance, making testing an essential step for quality assurance. Why test matters: F... » read more

Shift Left Strategy For Semiconductor Production Testing


In the fast-paced world of semiconductor manufacturing, achieving higher yields and reducing costs are constant challenges. Ideally, yield should only be impacted by unavoidable defects when everything else is performing as expected. However, when yield reduction occurs due to the process sensitivity of the design, these issues can be detected and, in many cases, corrected. proteanTecs has d... » read more

Aftermarket Sensors Boost Yield In Wafer Fabs


Third-party sensors are being added into fab equipment to help boost yield and to extend the life of expensive tools, supplementing the sensors that come with equipment used in fabs. The data gleaned from those sensors has broad uses within the fab. It can measure process module performance, identify defect sources, and alert fabs of impending equipment failure. And when coupled with machine... » read more

Silicon Lifecycle Management Gains Steam


Silicon lifecycle management (SLM) is gaining significant traction, driven increasingly by stringent reliability requirements for safety-critical devices in aerospace, medical, and automotive. Improving reliability has been a discussion point for years, but it has become especially important with the use of chips designed at leading-edge nodes in both mission- and safety-critical application... » read more

AI Predictive Modeling Tools Move Into Critical Role To Leverage AI, ML


The semiconductor industry, as always, is at the forefront of transformational technological innovation, driving escalating complexity of manufacturing processes that extend time-to-market delivery, inflate research and development costs, and lead to expensive delays when problems arise. As manufacturers navigate these challenges, the need for comprehensive prediction of manufacturing proble... » read more

Gas Analysis For A Greener Tomorrow


In our quest for a sustainable future, monitoring and managing air quality and greenhouse gases have become more critical than ever. Advanced technology plays a pivotal role in this endeavor. By providing the tools needed to understand and mitigate environmental impacts, we aim towards a greener tomorrow. The MGA Series from MIRO Analytical are laser-based gas analyzers designed for prec... » read more

Testing For Thermal Issues Becomes More Difficult


Increasingly complex and heterogeneous architectures, coupled with the adoption of high-performance materials, are making it much more difficult to identify and test for thermal issues in advanced packages. For a single SoC, compressing higher functionality into a smaller area concentrates the processing and makes thermal effects more predictable. But that processing can happen anywhere in a... » read more

Speeding Up Acoustic Wafer Inspection


Higher density and more vertical layers require higher-resolution inspection. In the past that generally resulted in longer scan times, which can slow throughput in the fab or assembly house. Bryan Schackmuth, senior product line manager at Nordson Test & Inspection, explains how rotational scanning using acoustic wafer inspection can speed up inspection time by a factor of eight, why it is... » read more

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