category: Top Stories

category: Auto, Security & Edge AI

PCIe Benefits From AI, Despite Scaling Protocols
By Bryon Moyer - 10 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key takeaways: PCIe remains a critical technology for non-AI processing. For AI, PCIe will be strengthened by scale-out, agentic AI, and even some scale-up. CXL is seeing uptake, and some even think it could participate in AI processing. PCIe has been the go-to network for most data traffic moving from a processor to devices located elsewhere, which is also what the new data... » read more

AI Models Transform Defect Inspection And Review, But Can Fail To Scale
By Laura Peters - 09 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: AI plays a role in improving defect capture rate and distinguishing between yield-killing and nuisance defects. New developments in wafer edge inspection are proving essential to bonded wafer yields. 70% of AI initiatives stall after pilot implementation, but some pitfalls can be avoided. One of the brightest spots in AI use today is the industry’s ability t... » read more

Why Analog And Mixed-Signal Chips Resist Adaptive Test
By Gregory Haley - 09 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways Analog and mixed-signal test remains heavily specification-based because the measurements do not always produce a single expected result. The absence of objective coverage metrics has historically encouraged conservative test flows, which IEEE 2427-2025 begins to address. Separating device behavior from test-path variation is a prerequisite for any adaptive flow—and h... » read more

Co-Packaged Optics Testing Faces Steep Data Center Ramp
By Anne Meixner - 09 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: Device interface board must balance flexibility in handling with customization for different optical connectors. Test fixtures should account for DUT socketing challenges, such as warpage, coupling, and interference. Advanced data management practices will help speed yield learning. Integrating photonic and electrical ICs into co-packaged optics (CPO) requires... » read more

Orbital Data Centers Are Souped-Up Satellites – For Now
By Liz Allan - 04 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: Today’s orbital data centers are better described as compute centers in space, as they resemble satellite constellations more than terrestrial data centers. The most common power solution is sun-synchronous solar at the poles, but this requires a multi-hop data relay from power-hungry compute to standard satellite constellations in the low-orbit mesh, then to Earth. ... » read more

Keeping Security Algorithms Current Is Getting Harder
By Ann Mutschler - 04 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: Keeping security algorithms current is now a lifecycle challenge that spans chip design, manufacturing, deployment, and long-term maintenance across the supply chain. To stay ahead of emerging threats — especially post-quantum risks — hardware must be built with cryptographic agility, secure roots of trust, and reliable update mechanisms from the start. The bigge... » read more

AI-Defined Vehicles Increase Pressure On Auto Ethernet Reliability
By Liz Allan - 04 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: For AI-defined vehicles and onboard agentic AI, Automotive Ethernet provides high bandwidth for sensor data fusion, TSN ensures low latency and synchronization for real-time decisions, and MACsec secures the data link. Time-sensitive networking (TSN) is an essential protocol for ensuring 10BASE-T1S delivers data to where it needs to go on time. Still, it becomes less esse... » read more

GaN Power Devices Power Up
By Katherine Derbyshire - 03 Jun, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: GaN devices are gaining traction due to their ability to tolerate higher voltages. New approaches such as chiplets offer faster switching with less loss. The first applications to benefit from GaN will be low-voltage consumer devices; industrial applications require more work. As electrical power displaces fossil fuels in more applications, system designers ne... » read more

Swapping Out Chiplets: I/Os Vs. Compute
By Liz Allan - 28 May, 2026 - Comments: 0

Key Takeaways: Companies can save time and money by swapping out a compute, memory, or I/O chiplet to gain technology improvements, while keeping the other dies stable. Chip architects may choose to keep their I/Os stable and swap out compute to move from a 5nm process node to 3nm to achieve performance and power improvements, or swap out memory from LPDDR5X to LPDDR6. Swapping out... » read more

Observability Is Essential For Modern Silicon
By Ann Mutschler - 28 May, 2026 - Comments: 0

Experts At The Table: In-silicon observability — also known as on-die or on-chip visibility — is becoming increasingly important for managing the performance, reliability, and security of today’s high-performance systems. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss this with Andy Nightingale, vice president of product management and marketing at Arteris; Nandan Nayampally, chief commerc... » read more

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