category: Top Stories

category: IoT, Security & Automotive

New Methodologies Create New Opportunities
By Brian Bailey - 27 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss what open source verification means today and what it should evolve into, with Jean-Marie Brunet, senior director for the Emulation Division at Siemens EDA; Ashish Darbari, CEO of Axiomise; Simon Davidmann, CEO of Imperas Software; Serge Leef, program manager in the Microsystems Technology Office at DARPA; Tao Liu, staff hardwa... » read more

The Verification Mindset
By Ann Mutschler - 26 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 2

The practice of semiconductor verification has changed substantially over the years, and will continue to do so. The skillset needed for functional verification 20 years ago is hardly recognizable as a verification skillset today, and the same should be expected moving forward as design and verification becomes more abstract, the boundary of what is implemented in hardware versus firmware and s... » read more

Putting Limits On What AI Systems Can Do
By Ed Sperling - 22 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

New techniques and approaches are starting to be applied to AI and machine learning to ensure they function within acceptable parameters, only doing what they're supposed to do. Getting AI/ML/DL systems to work has been one of the biggest leaps in technology in recent years, but understanding how to control and optimize them as they adapt isn't nearly as far along. These systems are generall... » read more

Merging Verification And Test
By Brian Bailey - 22 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

While the disciplines of functional verification and test serve different purposes, their histories were once closely intertwined. Recent safety and security monitoring requirements coupled with capabilities being embedded into devices is bringing them closer together again, but can they successfully cooperate to bring about improvements in both? Getting there may be difficult. Three phases ... » read more

RISC-V Targets Data Centers
By Ann Mutschler - 22 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

RISC-V vendors are beginning to aim much higher in the compute hierarchy, targeting data centers and supercomputers rather than just simple embedded applications on the edge. In the past, this would have been nearly impossible for a new instruction set architecture. But a growing focus on heterogeneous chip integration, combined with the reduced benefits of scaling and increasing demand for ... » read more

Tapping Into Non-Volatile Logic
By Bryon Moyer - 21 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

Research is underway to develop a new type of logic device, called non-volatile logic (NVL), based on ferroelectric FETs. FeFETs have been a topic of high interest at recent industry conferences, but the overwhelming focus has been using them in memory arrays. The memory bit cell, however, is simply a transistor that can store a state. That can be leveraged in other applications. “Non-v... » read more

Foundry Wars Begin
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 3

Leading-edge foundry vendors are gearing up for a new, high-stakes spending and technology race, setting the stage for a possible shakeup across the semiconductor manufacturing landscape. In March, Intel re-entered the foundry business, positioning itself against Samsung and TSMC at the leading edge, and against a multitude of foundries working at older nodes. Intel announced plans to build ... » read more

The Quest For Curvilinear Photomasks
By Mark LaPedus - 15 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 1

The semiconductor industry is making noticeable progress on the development of advanced curvilinear photomasks, a technology that has broad implications for chip designs at the most advanced nodes and the ability to manufacture those chips faster and cheaper. The question now is when will this technology move beyond its niche-oriented status and ramp up into high-volume manufacturing. For ye... » read more

Making Chip Packaging More Reliable
By Mark LaPedus - 15 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

Packaging houses are readying the next wave of IC packages, but these products must prove to be reliable before they are incorporated into systems. These packages involve several advanced technologies, such as 2.5D/3D, chiplets and fan-out, but vendors also are working on new versions of more mature package types, like wirebond and leadframe technologies. As with previous products, packaging... » read more

Going Vertical With GaN Devices
By Katherine Derbyshire - 15 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 1

Gallium nitride has long been on the horizon for a variety of uses in semiconductors, but implementing this on a commercial scale has been relatively slow due to a variety of technical hurdles. That may be about to change. The wide bandgap of GaN makes it particularly attractive material for power conversion applications. Still, actually realizing its benefits in commercial devices has been ... » read more

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