Why Analog And Mixed-Signal Chips Resist Adaptive Test


Key Takeaways Analog and mixed-signal test remains heavily specification-based because the measurements do not always produce a single expected result. The absence of objective coverage metrics has historically encouraged conservative test flows, which IEEE 2427-2025 begins to address. Separating device behavior from test-path variation is a prerequisite for any adaptive flow—and h... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Computex in Taiwan: Arm and Nvidia introduced an AI PC platform, RTX Spark, with an Arm-based Grace CPU, Blackwell RTX GPU, and unified memory. Cadence announced a fully autonomous virtual agentic AI design engineer, enabling customers to run dynamic simulations in automated workflows. Intel launched Xeon 6+, its first data-center CPU built on Intel Foundry's 18A process. The company... » read more

Study of EUV Nanostructures Using AFM With High-Aspect Ratio Tip (Purdue, Intel, Bruker)


A new technical paper, "Characterizing tip-sample interaction dynamics on extreme ultraviolet nanostructures using atomic force microscopy with a high-aspect ratio tip," was released by researchers at Purdue University, Intel Corporation and Bruker Corporation. Abstract "Accurate measurements of the nanometer scale geometry of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography photoresist patterns are... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Deals, Funding Intel will join Elon Musk’s Terafab chip manufacturing project alongside Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. Intel described its role as helping refactor silicon fab technology for a project targeting production of 1 TW/year of compute for AI and robotics applications. Intel and Google are expanding a multi-year collaboration on AI and cloud infrastructure, with Intel Xeon processo... » read more

What’s Failing At The Interface


Key Takeaways The interface is where failures in advanced packaging become visible, but it's increasingly not where they originate. Weak interfaces often don't fail at time zero, but they do degrade due to parametric drift and margin erosion that binary test screens miss entirely. The temporary test interconnect is the largest variable in the measurement chain and must be controlled ... » read more

Detecting Chemical Variability At Advanced Nodes


Key Takeaways Yield loss is increasingly driven by molecular variability in thin films, interfaces, and contamination rather than visible defects. Reliability issues often appear first as parametric drift or margin erosion under workload and thermal stress. Detection requires correlating molecular metrology, embedded electrical telemetry, and AI-driven wafer inspection. As s... » read more

Tool Matching Getting Tougher Across Test & Metrology


Key Takeaways Engineers leverage both device-specific and tool-level data to identify a process "sweet spot." Tight, frequent tool-to-tool matching enables greater yield and fab flexibility. Machine learning helps capture the nuances of a tool's signature. Many people outside of the semiconductor industry wonder how humans can fabricate transistors with tens of nanometer sca... » read more

Automated Measurement Recipes for Photothermal AFM‑IR


Recipe‑based automation for atomic force microscopy (AFM) workflows ensures consistent, repeatable data acquisition, reduces operator dependency, and streamlines complex measurement routines. Bruker’s AutoMET automation software, widely adopted for conventional AFM characterization, now also brings automation to nanoscale IR (nanoIR) spectroscopy and imaging. AutoMET provides except... » read more

Catching Critical Defects In TSVs And Stacked Chips


Key Takeaways Variation is becoming a bigger problem in multi-die assemblies with TSVs and hybrid bonding. Multi-modal approaches are required to test these devices. AI plays a role in improving defect capture rate and distinguishing between yield-killing and false positives. New methods for interconnecting devices using through-silicon vias (TSVs) and hybrid bonding in stac... » read more

The Surface Metrology Decision Guide


The Surface Metrology Decision Guide empowers readers to choose techniques and confidently engage with equipment providers. What’s inside: A side-by-side comparison of the resolution, strengths, and limitations of common surface metrology techniques An in-depth look at advances in and practical considerations for white-light interferometry (WLI) Summary chart of WLI objectives, ma... » read more

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