Bigger Wafers, Bigger Risk

By Ed Sperling - 16 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

At 22/20/16/14nm the semiconductor industry is experiencing a rather new twist on Moore’s Law. Smaller, as in smaller feature sizes, is no longer assumed to be cheaper—or at least not for everyone. In fact, the cost per transistor for the first time in more than half a century could rise in some cases. Whether this outlook improves as the semiconductor industry gains more experience wit... » read more

A Poison Apple

By Ann Mutschler - 09 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

As I was researching ‘green’ as it relates to the world of semiconductors I recalled the big story from early 2011 about Apple’s alleged poisoning of workers in China manufacturing plants and wondered whether the situation has changed. At the same time, when I hold my iPhone in my hand, I am sadly aware that my desire for technology might have been at the cost of someone’s health. I ... » read more

Uncertainty Ahead

By Ed Sperling - 11 Apr, 2013 - Comments: 0

If finFETs work as planned, it’s likely they will show up in every complex SoC for decades to come. Adding another dimension to transistors has enormous potential at advanced nodes, and maybe even at older nodes. 3D transistors also could be part of stacked die, and they can be combined with fully depleted SOI—two other options for reducing power. Moreover, it’s likely that whatever G... » read more

Are You A Disrupter?

By Ann Mutschler - 14 Mar, 2013 - Comments: 0

I read a fascinating article recently about how to be a disrupter and how to avoid being disrupted. It goes through the characteristics of a disrupter such as: unencumbered development, unconstrained growth, new product cycles and undisciplined strategy. It also gives the example of how the standalone GPS unit market tanked in a matter of two weeks once smartphone mapping apps became availab... » read more

The Week In Review: Feb. 25

By Ed Sperling - 25 Feb, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus Is China set to bail out a U.S. government technology darling? Two Chinese automotive companies, Geely and Dongfeng Motor, are reported to have bid between $200 million and $350 million for a majority stake in Fisker, the maker of plug-in hybrid cars. If that happens Fisker—which has $192 million in U.S. federal government loan guarantees—could be headed to China, according... » read more

The Best Foundry Strategy

By Joanne Itow - 21 Feb, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Joanne Itow Today, foundries supply more than 20% of the silicon used to produce all the semiconductor products sold. The foundry impact has grown from only 10% in 1997 to 24% today. The significance of foundries is even more evident when focused on logic wafers alone. Figure 1. Foundry Wafers as a Percent of Total, IC’s, and IC’s Minus Memory [caption id="attachment_7339" align="... » read more

It’s Transition Time Again

By Ed Sperling - 17 Jan, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling After decades of shrinking features, developing new software on every level and engineering huge improvements in energy efficiency and performance, the semiconductor industry has reached a crossroads. To get to the next level will require massive improvements on all fronts, but not all consumers will be willing to pay for them. For example, if a battery lasts an entire day f... » read more

CES 2013: Signs Of Things To Come

By Synopsys - 17 Jan, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Cary Chin It’s always fun to see the latest gadgets introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, held last week in Las Vegas. This year, two in particular stuck in my mind. First, in what is clearly still a fledgling industry (not necessarily for technology reasons), Audi demonstrated its self-driving car, with the added twist that you could “call” your car. It remotely started up, ma... » read more

Apple’s Impact On Battery Power

By Ann Mutschler - 17 Jan, 2013 - Comments: 0

More than one person I’ve spoken with lately has pointed out the fact that battery life is no longer the most important thing when a consumer is choosing a smartphone. Wait! I thought power was the #1, be all end all in the mobile area. It was, until the Apple iPhone showed up on the scene and stole the show, dazzling consumers with the touch screen, unique features, and very Apple-like ex... » read more

Making Things Better

By Ed Sperling - 20 Dec, 2012 - Comments: 0

For the better part of the past decade the focus in semiconductor design has been on improving energy efficiency—making batteries last longer and lowering the energy bills for data centers—and continuing to boost performance. The benefits of future engineering efforts may be less obvious. In fact, progress in the future may be measured more against improving what’s already there today ... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
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Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

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