Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


GlobalFoundries launched GF Labs, an “open framework of internal and external research and development initiatives that deliver a differentiated pipeline of market-driven process technology solutions for future data-centric, connected, intelligent and secure applications.” Greg Bartlett, GF's senior vice president of technology, engineering at quality, said the goal is to develop and exp... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility The number new energy vehicles (NEVs) sold went up 80% from year over year, says TrendForce in its review of market for Q1 2022. NEVs are battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and fuel cell vehicles. Over 2.004 million units sold in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22), with BEVs making the strongest showing at 1.508 million units, a 271% ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility Fraunhofer IIS has opened a five-kilometer (3.11-mile) 5G test bed for automotive 5G applications near the city of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany. A closed 5G network with multiple base stations covers the test track, where connected cars can be tested under real conditions. “The automotive test bed is designed specially for developers and users that want to test new conn... » read more

Hidden Impacts Of Software Updates


Over-the-air updates can reduce obsolescence over longer chip and system lifetimes, but those updates also can impact reliability, performance, and affect how various resources such as memory and various processing elements are used. The connected world is very familiar with over-the-air (OTA) updates in smart phones and computers, where the software stack — firmware, operating systems, dr... » read more

How AI/ML Improves Fab Operations


Chip shortages are forcing fabs and OSATs to maximize capacity and assess how much benefit AI and machine learning can provide. This is particularly important in light of the growth projections by market analysts. The chip manufacturing industry is expected to double in size over the next five years, and collective improvements in factories, AI databases, and tools will be essential for doub... » read more

Harnessing The Power Of Data In Semiconductor Test


Every day, new methods are being developed to harvest, cleanse, integrate, and analyze data sources and extract from them useful, actionable intelligence to aid decision-making and other processes. This is true for a variety of industries, including semiconductor design, manufacturing, and test. Moore’s Law (figure 1) may be slowing with respect to traditional scaling of transistor critica... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


It's earnings season, and despite widespread reports of capacity issues and shortages, the chip industry turned in relatively solid results across the board. Intel exceeded January guidance for Q1, reporting first-quarter GAAP revenue of $18.4 billion, a 7% year-over-year decrease, and a 1% decrease year-over-year on non-GAAP basis. Record revenue was achieved in the Network and Edge Group, ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Photonic Chips Go Big In Europe PhotonDelta, a collaborative end-to-end supply chain for the application of photonics chips, secured €1.1 billion in conditional funding for a six-year initiative. Investments from the Netherlands government and other organizations “will be used to build 200 startups, scale up production, create new applications for photonic chips, and develop infrastructure... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility An engine-sensor malfunction in three popular Japanese-versions of the Subaru models has forced the company to suspend production temporarily in Japan, according to Reuters. The sensor in the CB18 engine, found in Japan’s Forester, Outback, and Levor cars, stops the engine from starting and flashes a warning light. In North America, Subaru is adding a wide-angle mono cam... » read more

Finding And Applying Domain Expertise In IC Analytics


Behind PowerPoint slides depicting the data inputs and outputs of a data analytics platform belies the complexity, effort, and expertise that improve fab yield. With the tsunami of data collected for semiconductor devices, fabs need engineers with domain expertise to effectively manage the data and to correctly learn from the data. Naively analyzing a data set can lead to an uninteresting an... » read more

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