Simulation Closes Gap Between Chip Design Optimization And Manufacturability


Simulation is playing an increasingly critical and central role throughout the design-through-manufacturing flow, fusing together everything from design to manufacturing and test in order to reduce the number and cost of silicon respins. The sheer density of modern chips, combined with advanced packaging techniques like 3D stacking and heterogeneous integration, has made iterative physical p... » read more

IC Equipment Communication Standards Struggle As Data Volumes Grow


The tsunami of data produced during wafer fabrication cannot be effectively leveraged without standards. They determine how data is accessed from equipment, which users need data access and when, and how fast it can be delivered. On top of that, best practices in data governance and data quality are needed to effectively interpret collected data and transfer results. When fab automation and ... » read more

Automotive Outlook 2025: Ecosystem Pivots Around SDV


The automotive industry is deep in the throes of a massive shift to software-defined vehicle architectures, a multi-year effort that will change the way automotive chips are designed, where they are used, and how they are sourced. Creating a new vehicle architecture is no small feat. OEMs need to figure out who to partner with and which aspects of their current architecture to include. This ... » read more

Med Tech Morphs Into Consumer Wearables


Doctors have been using advanced technology for years, but the growing trend is for consumers to use devices at home and have direct access to their data. Watches and rings that were once primarily used for counting steps or registering sleep patterns can now read blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen, body temperature, and other early signs of illness. Meanwhile, various patches are under d... » read more

Automotive Security Shifts To The System Level


Cars are getting smarter, more complicated, and more vulnerable to cyberattacks. As the amount of semiconductor and software content continues to increase, so does the number of over-the-air updates and connections to edge-based servers and services, adding a variety of new vectors for attacks. Properly securing vehicles requires engineers to first identify all the possible connection points... » read more

Universities Augment Engineering Curricula To Boost Employability


Increasing numbers of universities are offering semiconductor courses in their engineering programs, and also in math, physics, and business degrees. Most universities now offer a broad foundation so students can pivot to other industries during cyclical downturns, or when technology and science create entirely new and potentially lucrative opportunities, such as generative AI, advanced pack... » read more

AI In Data Management Has Limits


AI algorithms are being integrated into a growing number of EDA tools to automate different aspects of data management, but they also are forcing discussions about just how much decision-making should be turned over to machines and when that should happen. The ability of AI to sort through enormous amounts of design data to find patterns, both good and bad, is well recognized at this point. ... » read more

Chip Architectures Becoming Much More Complex With Chiplets


The migration from monolithic SoCs to chiplet-based designs is creating a confusing array of options and tradeoffs for design teams working at the leading edge, and the number of choices is only going to increase as third-party chiplets begin pouring into the market. That hasn't dampened the appetite for chiplets, however, which are deemed essential for future generations of semiconductors f... » read more

Design Customization Puts Heavy Burden On Verification


Experts At The Table: The pressure on verification engineers to ensure a device will function correctly has increased exponentially as chips become more complex and heterogeneous. Semiconductor Engineering sat down with a panel of experts, including Josh Rensch, director of application engineering at Arteris; Matt Graham, senior group director for verification software product management at Cad... » read more

Advanced Packaging Moving At Breakneck Pace


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss advances in packaging with Michael Kelly, vice president of Chiplets and FCBGA Integration at Amkor; William Chen, fellow at ASE; Dick Otte, CEO of Promex Industries; and Sander Roosendaal, R&D director at Synopsys Photonics Solutions. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. L-R: Synopsys' Roosendaal; ASE's Che... » read more

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