3-Channel Package-Scale Galvanic Isolation Interface for SiC and GaN Power Switching Converters


A new technical paper titled "A Three-Channel Package-Scale Galvanic Isolation Interface for Wide Bandgap Gate Drivers" was published by STMicroelectronics and DIEEI, Università di Catania. Abstract "This article presents the design of a three-channel package-scale galvanic isolation interface for SiC and GaN power switching converters. The isolation interface consists of two side-by-sid... » read more

Robust Variation-Aware Smart Power Designs For Silicon Success


Power management ICs (PMICs) is a rapidly growing segment in the semiconductor industry. The growth has been fueled by the demand for Smart Power applications that include wearable electronics, mobile computing platforms, printers, hard disk drives (HDD), IoT devices, and the full array of automotive applications. According to a report from market research firm Coherent Market Insights, the gl... » read more

Chip Shortages Grow For Mature Nodes


The current wave of chip shortages is expected to last for the foreseeable future, particularly for a growing list of critical devices produced in mature process nodes. Chips manufactured at mature nodes typically fall under the radar, but they are used in nearly every electronic device, including appliances, cars, computers, displays, industrial equipment, smartphones, and TVs. Many of thes... » read more

130 BCDLite And BCD


BCDLite and BCD process technologies offer a modular platform architecture based on the Globalfoundries’s low-power logic process with integrated low- and high-voltage bipolar transistors, high-voltage EDMOS/LDMOS transistors, precision analog passives and non-volatile memory. • New Gen2 release with significant performance improvements • BCDLite is tailored for cost-effective mobil... » read more

200mm Fab Crunch


Growing demand for analog, MEMS and RF chips continues to cause acute shortages for both 200mm fab capacity and equipment, and it shows no sign of letting up. Today, 200mm fab capacity is tight with a similar situation projected for the second half of 2018 and perhaps well into 2019. In fact, 2018 will likely represent the third consecutive year that 200mm fab capacity will be tight. The sam... » read more

Chip Aging Accelerates


Reliability is becoming an increasingly important proof point for new chips as they are rolled out in new markets such as automotive, cloud computing and industrial IoT, but actually proving that a chip will function as expected over time is becoming much more difficult. In the past, reliability generally was considered a foundry issue. Chips developed for computers and phones were designed ... » read more

New Thermal Issues Emerge


Thermal monitoring is becoming more critical as gate density continues to increase at each new node and as chips are developed for safety critical markets such as automotive. This may sound counterintuitive because the whole point of device scaling is to increase gate density. But at 10/7 and 7/5nm, static current leakage is becoming a bigger issue, raising questions about how long [getkc id... » read more

Foundry Challenges in 2018


The silicon foundry business is expected to see steady growth in 2018, but that growth will come with several challenges. On the leading edge, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung and TSMC are migrating from the 16nm/14nm to the 10nm/7nm logic nodes. Intel already has encountered some difficulties, as the chip giant recently pushed out the volume ramp of its new 10nm process from the second half ... » read more

Tech Talk: Substrate Noise Coupling


Roland Jancke, head of the department for design methodology for the Fraunhofer's Engineering of Adaptive Systems Division, talks with Semiconductor Engineering about the impact of substrate noise coupling on reliability of chips and how to deal with this issue. https://youtu.be/7E2rCwYr6-o » read more

Foundries See Mixed Future


Amid a tumultuous business environment, the silicon foundry industry is projected to see steady growth in a number of process segments in 2017. As in past years, the foundry market is expected to grow faster than the overall IC industry in 2017. But at the same time, the IC industry—the foundry customer base—continues to witness a frenetic wave of merger and acquisition activity. Basical... » read more

← Older posts