Chip Industry Week In Review


The 2024 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) was held this week, prompting a number of announcements from: imec: Proposed a new CFET-based standard cell architecture for the A7 node containing two rows of CFETs with a shared signal routing wall in between, allowing standard cell heights to be reduced from 4 to 3.5T, compared to single-row CFETs. Integrated indium pho... » 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

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

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

Chip Industry Week In Review


Global chips sales hit a record $56.9 billion in October, a 22% increase versus October 2023, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Also, global semiconductor equipment billings reached $30.38 billion in Q3 2024, a 19% YoY increase and 13% growth QoQ, SEMI reported. TSMC commenced equipment installation for its 2nm fab in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, six months ahead of schedule. The 2n... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


SK hynix started mass production of 1-terabit  321-high NAND, with availability scheduled for the first half of next year. Rapidus will receive an additional ¥200 billion yen ($1.28B) from the Japanese government beginning in fiscal year 2025, reports Nikkei. This is on top of ¥920 billion yen ($5.98B) Rapidus has already received from the government in support of its goal to reach commer... » read more

Advanced Packaging Drives Test And Metrology Innovations


Advanced packaging has become a focal point for innovation as the semiconductor industry continues to push for increased transistor density and better performance. But the pace of change is accelerating, making it harder for the entire ecosystem to keep up with those changes. In the past, major developments were roughly on an 18-month to 2-year cadence. Today, this is happening every few mon... » read more

Yield Management Embraces Expanding Role


Competitive pressures, shrinking time-to-market windows, and increased customization are collectively changing the dynamics and demands for yield management systems, shifting left from the fab to the design flow and right to assembly, packaging, and in-field analysis. The basic role of yield management systems is still expediting new product introductions, reducing scrap, and delivering grea... » read more

Balancing Parallel Test Productivity With Yield & Cost


Parallel test is used for nearly every device produced by fabs and OSATs, but it can reduce yield and increase the cost of test boards and operations. This is a well-understood tradeoff for ensuring consistent test accuracy across multiple sites and reducing test time. Collectively, ATEs and multi-site test boards — DUT interface boards (DIBs), probe cards, and load boards — significantl... » read more

A Renaissance Of Innovation


Innovation in semiconductor testing plays a critical role in the advancement of the semiconductor industry, ensuring that the chips and components that power modern technology are reliable, efficient, and capable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of various applications. As semiconductors become more complex, the methods and technologies used to test them must also evolve to maintain quali... » read more

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