Success Stories For Packetized Scan Data


Some new design-for-test (DFT) technologies are difficult, expensive, or risky to implement but offer significant benefits. Other technologies are easy to implement but offer minor improvements. The calculation of whether (or when) to adopt new technology includes consideration of the pressures of DFT today—design complexity, the lack of flexibility in hardwiring scan channels, the proliferat... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy Semiconductor companies as well hardware and software vendors have announced the formation of the Semiconductors in America Coalition (SIAC). The group called on congressional leaders to appropriate $50 billion for U.S. manufacturing incentives and research initiatives. SIAC’s mission is to advance federal policies that promote semiconductor manufacturing and research in th... » read more

Chasing Test Escapes In IC Manufacturing


The number of bad chips that slip through testing and end up in the field can be significantly reduced before those devices ever leave the fab, but the cost of developing the necessary tests and analyzing the data has sharply limited adoption. Determining an acceptable test escape metric for an IC is essential to improving the yield-to-quality ratio in chip manufacturing, but what exactly is... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy At one point, there was a school of thought that the Biden administration would relax the current tariffs and export controls in regards to China. So far, the Biden administration hasn’t changed any of the previous policies and is doubling down on those efforts. The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) this week added seven Chinese supercomput... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive/Mobility With the chip supply so tight it is shutting down automotive production lines, U.S. chip company CEOs signed a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) letter asking the U.S. president to include funding incentives for the chip manufacturing in U.S. economic recovery plans. The letter references the CHIPS for America Act and asks the president to work with Congress to suppo... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government and trade The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has expanded its export control regulations for U.S.-based hi-tech companies. The BIS has added more companies to its “Military End User” (MEU) list. The list involves 103 entities, which includes 58 Chinese and 45 Russian companies. The U.S. government has determined that these companies are “military end users” or th... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Packaging and EMS ASE is expanding its efforts in the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) business. Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), a subsidiary of ASE, has completed the acquisition of Asteelflash Group through the acquisition of its parent company, Financière. USI provides electronic design and manufacturing services. It also provides system-in-package (SiP) modules. Asteelfla... » read more

Adaptive Test Gains Ground


Not all devices get tested the same way anymore, and that’s a good thing. Quality, test costs, and yield have motivated product engineers to adopt test processes that fall under the umbrella of adaptive test, which uses test data to modify a subsequent test process. But to execute such techniques requires logistics that support analysis of data, as well as enabling changes to a test based ... » read more

Regaining The Edge In U.S. Chip Manufacturing


The United States is developing new strategies to prevent it from falling further behind Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps even China in semiconductor manufacturing, as trade tensions and national security concerns continue to grow. For years, the U.S. has been a leader in the development of new chip products like GPUs and microprocessors. But from a chip manufacturing standpoint, the U.S. is losin... » read more

Deals That Change The Chip Industry


Nvidia's pending $40 billion acquisition of Arm is expected to have a big impact on the chip world, but it will take years before the effects of this deal are fully understood. More such deals are expected over the next couple of years due to several factors — there is a fresh supply of startups with innovative technology, interest rates are low, and market caps and stock prices of buyers ... » read more

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