Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Tariffs The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to tariffs. These actions are on top of another set of tariffs, which were put in place. The additional tariffs will be effective starting Sept. 24, and initially will be in the amount of 10%. Starting Jan. 1, 2019, the level of the additional tariffs wi... » read more

System-Level Test: Where Does It Fit?


Our second C-Brief discusses where system-level test (SLT) best fits into your semiconductor test workflow. With automated testing equipment (ATE), a traditional workflow may consist of: Wafer sort (WS) Burn-in after packaging (BI) Combination of structural testing (ST) and functional testing (FT). As demands on high-volume manufacturing shift in response to wider industry and com... » read more

The Race To Zero Defects


By Jeff Dorsch and Ed Sperling Testing chips is becoming more difficult, more time-consuming, and much more critical—particularly as these chips end up in cars, industrial automation, and a variety of edge devices. Now the question is how to provide enough test coverage to ensure that chips will work as expected without slowing down the manufacturing process or driving up costs. Balanci... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Trade wars After opposing $34 billion in U.S. trade tariffs on behalf of the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry, Jonathan Davis, global vice president of industry advocacy at SEMI, recently spoke out against an additional $16 billion in duties on Chinese goods. The tariffs do little to address U.S. concerns over IP loss, according to SEMI. Over the past month, SEMI has also submitte... » read more

The Financial Justification For System-Level Test


Three unique trends are currently transforming high-volume manufacturing in the semiconductor industry: The increasing complexity of chip architectures (e.g., FinFET, heterogeneous integration); The explosion in the breadth and ubiquity of consumer electronics (e.g. IoT, mobile, and automotive), and Consumer expectations of a constant stream of newer, cheaper, more advanced nodes. ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers GlobalFoundries said that the company’s 22nm FD-SOI technology has delivered more than $2 billion worth of client design win revenue. With more than 50 total client designs, the technology is designed for automotive, 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT). Helic has announced that its electromagnetic (EM) modeling engine has been certified for GlobalFoundries’ 22nm ... » read more

Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation, Testing


Embedded electronics are showing up nearly everywhere these days, in cars, smart appliances, medical devices—even fighter jets. Making sure those real-time embedded systems will work correctly is the aim of hardware-in-the-loop simulation and testing, which puts the systems through their paces in a virtual environment. In effect, HIL simulation adds a mathematical representation of all fun... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Test and packaging In a major surprise, Cohu has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Xcerra for approximately $796 million. With the deal, Cohu will enter the ATE market. Last year, a group from China entered into a definitive agreement under which it would acquire Xcerra. But the U.S. blocked Xcerra’s sale to the Chinese group. Ironically, at one time, Cohu was reportedly lobbyin... » read more

How Power, Lighting, And EVS Improve Rotorcraft Safety And Performance


With rotorcraft serving rugged duty across a wide spectrum of mission-critical industries including firefighting, police work, emergency medical services (EMS), oil and gas transport, and search and rescue (SAR), integrating new technologies optimizes the safety and operational performance of the vehicle. Whether line-fit or retrofit, rotorcraft that operate in rugged, degraded environments dep... » read more

Wireless Test Faces New Challenges


Your mobile phone is far more complex than it was even five years ago, and it’s about to become even more complex with new wireless technologies. That has set off a scramble among test equipment vendors to come up with solutions, methodologies and equipment that is affordable, effective and reliable enough to make sure all of this technology works as planned—and that it continues to work th... » read more

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