How To Compare Chips


Traditional metrics for semiconductors are becoming much less meaningful in the most advanced designs. The number of transistors packed into a square centimeter only matters if they can be utilized, and performance per watt is irrelevant if sufficient power cannot be delivered to all of the transistors. The consensus across the chip industry is that the cost per transistor is rising at each ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Pervasive computing, connectivity Semtech Corporation announced that it will acquire Sierra Wireless, an IoT services company. The acquisition will combine Semtech’s LoRa end nodes and cloud service with Sierra Wireless’ cellular capabilities. Telit will incorporate Thales’s cellular IoT products business under a new name Telit Cinterion, led by Telit. Telit Cinterion will be Californ... » read more

Startup Funding: March 2022


Semiconductor manufacturing, test, and inspection equipment startups did well in March. Investors funded a wide variety of equipment companies, including test equipment, materials handling, and those that make parts and components. In the manufacturing space, several companies developing manufacturing execution systems received funding, as well as a startup trying to prevent counterfeit parts f... » read more

Startup Funding: February 2022


Mega-rounds dominated venture funding in February, with ten companies seeing investment of $100 million or more, five of which exceeded $200 million. Automotive was the big winner, with seven of the ten companies involved in either developing ADAS and autonomous driving, building electric vehicles, or making components to go in cars. The largest round of the month falls into that last category,... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Semicon West news The Semicon West trade show opened this week with a hybrid in-person and virtual event. Several companies introduced new products or made announcements at Semicon. Some announcements coincided with the show. At Semicon, Lam Research introduced the Syndion GP, a new product that provides deep silicon etch capabilities to chipmakers developing next-generation power devices a... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers China’s Tsinghua Unigroup is in trouble. The group is the parent company of China’s YMTC, a 3D NAND supplier, and other chip ventures. It is close to moving into bankruptcy proceedings. Now, a consortium led by Alibaba has emerged as the frontrunner to take over Tsinghua Unigroup, according to a report from Bloomberg. That deal would keep the company afloat, the report said. ... » read more

Security Risks Grow With 5G


5G mobile phones can download a movie in seconds rather than minutes, but whether that can be done securely remains to be seen. What is clear from technology providers, though, is they are taking security very seriously with this new wireless technology. More data is in motion, and the value of that data is growing as users rely on mobile devices for everything from banking to automotive saf... » read more

Always On, Always At Risk


Always-on devices are everywhere, and each of them is a potential target for hackers. While many people associate always-on devices with smart speakers such as an Amazon Alexa or Google Home, or a connected security camera, that's only one component in a system. There's a broader infrastructure behind those devices. So even if you power down a digital assistant/smart speaker, everything it's... » read more

Designing Chips In A ‘Lawless’ Industry


The guideposts for designing chips are disappearing or becoming less relevant. While engineers today have many more options for customizing a design, they have little direction about what works best for specific applications or what the return on investment will be for those efforts. For chip architects, this is proving to be an embarrassment of riches. However, that design freedom comes wit... » read more

Shifting Toward Data-Driven Chip Architectures


An explosion in data is forcing chipmakers to rethink where to process data, which are the best types of processors and memories for different types of data, and how to structure, partition and prioritize the movement of raw and processed data. New chips from systems companies such as Google, Facebook, Alibaba, and IBM all incorporate this approach. So do those developed by vendors like Appl... » read more

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