Chip Backdoors: Assessing the Threat


In 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek made an explosive claim: Chinese spies had implanted backdoors in motherboards used by some high-profile customers, including the U.S. Department of Defense. All of those customers issued strongly worded denials. Most reports of hardware backdoors have ended up in exchanges like these. There are allegations and counter-allegations about specifics. But as hardw... » read more

Week in Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive The European Union plans to approve sales of fully autonomous vehicles by the end of September, according to Politico. The legislative package will allow for the registration and sale of up to 1,500 vehicles per model per year in member countries. Level 4 autonomous vehicles are still in the development stage, but reducing human error in autos is a crucial part of the EU’s goal to... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility Cadence is now an official technology partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team. The team will use Cadence’s Fidelity CFD Software to look at the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of the airflow around the race cars and predict how a car design will affect the airflow. Infineon uncorked its XENSIV 60 GHz automotive radar sensor for in-cabin monitoring systems. One use ca... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility Qualcomm completed its acquisition of Arriver Business from SSW Partners. Arriver’s Driver Assistance, Computer Vision, and Drive Policy assets will become part of the Snapdragon Ride Platform. SSW Partners, a New York-based investment partnership, has acquired all shares in Veoneer, retaining its Tier-1 supplier and integrator businesses. Hyundai Motor Group gave Inf... » read more

Chiplets Enter The Supercomputer Race


Several entities from various nations are racing each other to deliver and deploy chiplet-based exascale supercomputers, a new class of systems that are 1,000x faster than today’s supercomputers. The latest exascale supercomputer CPU and GPU designs mix and match complex dies in advanced packages, adding a new level of flexibility and customization for supercomputers. For years, various na... » 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

Expanding Advanced Packaging Production In The U.S.


The United States is taking the first steps toward bringing larger-scale IC packaging production capabilities back to the U.S. as supply chain concerns and trade tensions grow. The U.S. is among the leaders in developing packages, especially new and advanced forms of the technology that promise to shake up the semiconductor landscape. And while the U.S. has several packaging vendors, North A... » read more

Building A More Secure U.S. Microelectronic Design Infrastructure


The security of the U.S. microelectronic designs and their supply chain is becoming a significantly growing concern for both commercial semiconductor companies and the Department of Defense (DoD). The industry has seen significant impact from both silicon shortages and vulnerabilities that have caused disruption in the assurance of microelectronics that power our autonomous vehicles, 5G, and co... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers, OEMs Reports have surfaced that TSMC has delayed its 3nm process. But TSMC says the technology remains on track. Volume production for TSMC’s 3nm is still scheduled for the second half of 2022. On the flip side, there is speculation that TSMC may increase its wafer prices by up to 20%, according to a report from the Taipei Times. Here's another report. This is due to chip shortag... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive The chip shortage continues to affect automotive OEMs around the world. Ford is cutting production of its F-150 pickup truck. It is not just passenger car production that is affected. The transportation industry will see chip shortages with 5+ month lead times through the end of 2021, according to ABI Research. Some of the shortages will be in telematics chips, due to high demand wh... » read more

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