How Quickly Can SiC Ramp?


Device makers across the globe are ramping silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing, with growth set to really take off starting in 2024. It’s been almost five years since Tesla and STMicroelectronics threw down the gauntlet with SiC in the Model 3. Now, no one doubts the market pull for electric vehicles, but consumers are still clamoring for better range and faster charging. SiC devices are a... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility The head of Tesla’s Autopilot division — Andrej Karpathy — resigned from the company after Tesla laid off 200 people in its Autopilot division and the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration broadened its safety investigation of Tesla’s Autopilot. The NHTSA last month broadened its August 2021 investigation, which was looking at why Tesla cars on... » read more

Blog Review: July 6


Synopsys' Mike Gianfagna looks at how the data center paradigm has shifted in the last ten years with an exponential increase in the amount of data demanding new approaches to storage that rely on distributed networks. Cadence's Frank Schirrmeister explains multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization, or MDAO, and how it is being combined with machine learning models to enhance classi... » read more

Embedded World 2022: Structural Changes In Ecosystems


As my train approaches Nuremberg for the Embedded World conference—which this year is in June versus its usual timing in February—I am reviewing my past related blogs back to 2012. My complaints about the cold weather have been a common thread in past blogs, but with a weather forecast of 28°C/80°F, I will probably ask for cooler weather at the end of the day. Past key themes included tec... » read more

Startup Funding: May 2022


May was another strong month for China as it continues its push to build a native semiconductor ecosystem. Over half the month's total funding went to startups in the country. Over half the companies funded were from China as well, including two FPGA companies, three making CPUs, a GPU startup, and numerous networking and wireless chip companies. Two of those, in FPGAs and CPUs, raised rounds s... » read more

Technical Paper Round-Up: April 19


New technical papers include selective etching, ISO 26262 test bench, hardware accelerators, RISC-V, lidar, EUV mask inspection, fault attacks, edge computing, gallium oxide, and machine learning for VLSI CAD-on-chip power grid design. Cutting-edge research is now a global effort. It extends from the U.S. Air Force, to schools such as MIT, and universities in Italy, Spain, Portugal, India, K... » 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

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers, OEMs UMC plans to build a new fab next to its existing 300mm fab in Singapore. The new fab, called Fab12i P3, will manufacture wafers based on UMC’s 22nm/28nm processes. The planned investment for this project will be $5 billion. The first phase of this greenfield fab will have a monthly capacity of 30,000 wafers with production expected to commence in late 2024. To account fo... » read more

Startup Funding: November 2021


There's nothing virtual about the level of interest in AR/VR startups. As the concept of the 'metaverse' becomes more widespread with Nvidia's recent GTC announcements and Facebook's rebranding, investors poured money into startups with enabling technology for augmented, virtual, and extended reality. Most of those are developing waveguides and other display technology that is light enough to b... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 24


Panel packaging consortium Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM has provided an update on a consortium that is developing panel-level IC packaging technologies. Fraunhofer IZM is leading the consortium. The R&D organization and its partners, including Intel and others, have made progress in terms of equipment, processes and other technologies in the so-called Pa... » read more

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