Engineering Talent Shortage Now Top Risk Factor


Demand is increasing for engineers and related technical fields in the IC industry, but companies are struggling to find enough talent. The problem is even worse in hot new markets such as AI and 5G, where competition is fierce for experienced workers. The talent shortfall starts with college graduates and professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers IC Insights has released the process technology roadmaps for chipmakers and foundries. GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung, SMIC, TSMC and UMC are highlighted. GlobalFoundries has announced that the company’s 8SW RF SOI technology has delivered more than a $1 billion of client design win revenue since its launch in 2017. RF SOI is designed for RF switches and other devices in 4G/... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Tools OneSpin unveiled a set of formal apps for development and assessment of RISC-V cores. The RISC-V Integrity Verification Solution formalizes the RISC-V ISA in a set of SystemVerilog Assertions to verify compliance for the ISA is met. It provides a formal bug absence core assessment environment for unbounded proofs and systematic discovery of all hidden instructions or unintended side effe... » read more

Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto


Internet of Things Cattle ranchers in Australia are using solar-powered ear tags to keep track of their herds, connecting through LoRa technology to locate their bulls, cows, heifers, and steers. SODAQ of the Netherlands and Lacuna Space of the U.K. are providing the Internet of Things technology and satellite-based LoRa connectivity to make this possible. “The main differentiator for LoRa o... » read more

FD-SOI: How Body Bias Creates Unique Differentiation


Fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) relies on a very unique substrate whose layer thicknesses are controlled at the atomic scale. FD-SOI offers remarkable transistor performance in terms of power, performance, area and cost tradeoffs (PPAC), making it possible to cover from low-power to high-performance digital applications with a single technology platform. FD-SOI delivers numerous un... » read more

In-Memory Vs. Near-Memory Computing


New memory-centric chip technologies are emerging that promise to solve the bandwidth bottleneck issues in today’s systems. The idea behind these technologies is to bring the memory closer to the processing tasks to speed up the system. This concept isn’t new and the previous versions of the technology fell short. Moreover, it’s unclear if the new approaches will live up to their billi... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Tools & IP Engineering simulation company ANSYS says thanks to new features in its ANSYS Twin Builder, product developers may be able save money in warranty and operational costs. The Twin Builder creates a digital twin of a systems in the field, enabling a convenient way to monitor and maintain systems remotely. The latest release adds predictive maintenance features for digital-twin runt... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 13


UltraSoc’s Rupert Baines notes that awareness is rapidly increasing for the value of embedded insights and system data. Cadence’s Paul McLellan reviews the highlights of the upcoming SPIE conference in San Jose. Synopsys’ Taylor Armerding discusses the key findings of a report on cybersecurity practices for the automotive industry, including what components of vehicles pose the hi... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers and OEMs Taiwan specialty foundry vendor Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) will acquire GlobalFoundries’ Fab 3E facility in Singapore for $236 million. Fab 3E manages a monthly capacity of approximately 35,000 200mm wafers. The transaction includes buildings, facilities, and equipment, as well as IP associated with GF’s MEMS business. VIS currently has three 200mm fa... » read more

China’s Foundry Biz Takes Big Leap Forward


China continues to advance its foundry industry with huge investments in new fabs and technology, despite trade tensions and a slowdown in the IC market. China has the most fab projects in the world, with 30 new facilities or lines in construction or on the drawing board, according to data from SEMI’s World Fab Forecast Report. Of those, 13 fabs are targeted for the foundry market, accordi... » read more

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