What’s Next In Advanced Packaging

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Jun, 2019 - Comments: 3

Packaging houses are readying the next wave of advanced IC packages, hoping to gain a bigger foothold in the race to develop next-generation chip designs. At a recent event, ASE, Leti/STMicroelectronics, TSMC and others described some of their new and advanced IC packaging technologies, which involve various product categories, such as 2.5D, 3D and fan-out. Some new packaging technologies ar... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Mar. 19

By Jesse Allen - 19 Mar, 2019 - Comments: 0

Explainable AI Researchers from Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) propose a pair of algorithms to help determine how AI systems reach their conclusions. Explainable AI is an important step towards practical applications, argued Klaus-Robert Müller, Professor for Machine Learning at... » read more

Chasing Reliability In Automotive Electronics

By Susan Rambo And Ed Sperling - 15 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

Assuring reliability in automotive electronics has set off a scramble across the semiconductor supply chain and unearthed a list of issues for which there is insufficient data, a lack of well-defined standards, and inconsistent levels of expertise. Reliable functional safety that spans 18 to 20 years of service in harsh environments, or under constant use with autonomous taxis or trucks, is ... » read more

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer

By Kevin Fogarty - 10 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 2

While self-driving vehicles are beta-tested on some public roads in real traffic situations, the semiconductor and automotive industries are still getting a grip on how to test and verify that vehicle electronics systems work as expected. Testing can be high stakes, especially when done in public. Some of the predictions about how humans will interact with autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public... » read more

Taming NBTI To Improve Device Reliability

By Ann Mutschler - 08 Nov, 2018 - Comments: 2

Negative-bias temperature instability is a growing issue at the most advanced process nodes, but it also has proven extremely difficult to tame using conventional approaches. That finally may be starting to change. NBTI is an aging mechanism in field-effect transistors that leads to a change of the characteristic curves of a transistor during operation. The result can be a drift toward unint... » read more

Prediction of SRAM Reliability Under Mechanical Stress Induced by Harsh Environments

By Fraunhofer IIS/EAS - 07 Nov, 2018 - Comments: 0

On the example of a 28nm SRAM array, this work presents a novel reliability study which takes into account the effect of externally applied mechanical stress in circuit simulations. This method is able to predict the bit failures caused by the stress via the piezoresistive effect. The stability of each single SRAM cell is simulated using static noise margin. Finally, the whole array’s behavio... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 2

By Mark LaPedus - 02 Oct, 2018 - Comments: 0

Quantum satellites The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering has developed a critical technology to enable quantum satellites. Fraunhofer has developed a quantum source, which would be used in satellites. In theory, the source generates entangled photons and transmits them to Earth from a satellite. They would serve to distribute secure keys for encrypting data. ... » read more

Memory Startups To Watch

By Mark LaPedus - 16 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 0

The next-generation memories are finally ramping up after years’ of delays and promises. Intel, for one, is shipping 3D XPoint, a next-generation technology based on phase-change memory. In addition, the big foundries are readying embedded MRAM. And, of course, there are a number of other players in the next-generation memory arena. There are also a number of startups that are flying un... » read more

Predictive Maintenance In Tomorrow’s Industries

By Olaf Enge-Rosenblatt - 09 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 0

By Olaf Enge-Rosenblatt and Steven Brandt Tomorrow’s production plants must be efficient and adaptive, which is the key to survival in modern, highly competitive markets brought about by digitalization and automation. Future-oriented companies are increasingly focusing on a tight combination of automation and computer technology as promised by the Industry 4.0 paradigm. More and more globa... » read more

Leti’s Next Focus

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Jul, 2018 - Comments: 0

Emmanuel Sabonnadière, chief executive of Leti, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss R&D trends, a new deal with Soitec, and the latest developments at the France-based research organization. Leti is a research institute of CEA Tech. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: Leti recently formed an alliance with Soitec. Under the terms, Leti and Soitec are formin... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
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eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

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Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

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