Overcoming Next-Generation AESA Radar Design Challenges


Phased array antennas were first used in military radar systems to scan the radar beam quickly across the sky to detect planes and missiles. These systems are becoming popular for a variety of applications and new active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) are being used for radar systems in satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. As these systems are deployed in new and novel ways, size and... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 8


Non-toxic, printable piezoelectric Researchers at RMIT University and University of New South Wales developed a flexible and printable piezoelectric material that could be used in self-powered electronics including wearables and implantables. "Until now, the best performing nano-thin piezoelectrics have been based on lead, a toxic material that is not suitable for biomedical use," said Dr N... » read more

Increasing The Conductive Density Of Packaging


Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies have created new challenges and opportunities for power packages. Developments such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), have a higher figure of merit (FOM) compared to silicon MOSFETs and have extended the efficiency, output power and/or switching frequency range and operating temperature range for power electronics. With lower lo... » read more

Power Converter Chip Research Booms


Power electronics are booming, fueled by demand ranging from induction chargers for wearable and portable electronics, to charging stagings for electric vehicles. An estimated 80% of all U.S. electricity will pass through some form of power converter by 2030, said Yogesh Ramadass, director of power management at Texas Instruments' Kilby Labs. Transportation applications, in particular, deman... » read more

48V Applications Drive Power IC Package Options


The manufacturing process and die get most of the attention, but the packaging plays an important part in enabling and limiting performance, manufacturability, particularly when it comes to reliability of power devices. Given the wide range of underlying semiconductor power-device technologies — “basic” silicon, wide-bandgap silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), power levels... » read more

Mobility And 5G Drive Adoption Of New Materials For Power Devices


Electric mobility, renewable energy, and other technology innovations like IoT, 5G, smart manufacturing, and robotics all require reliability, efficiency, and compact power systems, fueling the adoption of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) to support lower voltages in significantly smaller devices. But chip designers must overcome the technological and economical challenges of int... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 5


Gallium oxide chips The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Colorado School of Mines, and Saint-Gobain Crystals have teamed up to develop manufacturing technologies and devices based on an emerging material called gallium oxide. This work is part of a three-year program, dubbed the Oxide Electronic Devices for Extreme Operating Environments project, which is funded by the U.S. ... » read more

Emerging Apps And Challenges For Packaging


Advanced packaging is playing a bigger role and becoming a more viable option to develop new system-level chip designs, but it also presents chipmakers with a confusing array of options and sometimes a hefty price tag. Automotive, servers, smartphones and other systems have embraced advanced packaging in one form or another. For other applications, it's overkill, and a simpler commodity pack... » read more

AI Design In Korea


Like many in the semiconductor design businesses, Arteris IP is actively working with the Korean chip companies. This shouldn’t be a surprise. If a company is building an SoC of any reasonable size, it needs network-on-chip (NoC) interconnect for optimal QoS (bandwidth and latency regulation and system-level arbitration) and low routing congestion, even in application-centric designs such as ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs NXP has announced the grand opening of its 150mm (6-inch) RF gallium nitride (GaN) fab in Chandler, Ariz. This is said to be the most advanced fab dedicated to 5G RF power amplifiers in the United States. NXP’s new Chandler-based GaN fab is qualified now, with initial products ramping in the market and expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2020. GaN, a III-V techn... » read more

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