2.5D Creeps Into SoC Designs


A decade ago top chipmakers predicted that the next frontier for SoC architectures would be the z axis, adding a third dimension to improve throughput and performance, reduce congestion around memories, and reduce the amount of energy needed to drive signals. The obvious market for this was applications processors for mobile devices, and the first companies to jump on the stacked die bandwag... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


According to Strategy Analytics, global mobile phone shipments grew a lackluster 2% annually to reach 435 million units in the second quarter of 2015. China’s Huawei was the star performer, as it captured a 7% share and overtook Microsoft to become the world’s third largest mobile phone vendor for the first time ever. Samsung remains in first place, while Apple is second. Remember when t... » read more

Blog Review: July 22


It's been a hot summer for high-level synthesis, says Cadence's Dave Pursley in a collection of the season's HLS highlights spanning DAC to SystemC Japan. Mentor's Harry Foster continues his survey of functional verification with a look at the adoption trends of various verification technologies, and the reasons one-third of projects use emulation or FPGA prototyping. Synopsys' Navraj Nan... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


GlobalFoundries completed its acquisition of IBM’s Microelectronics Group, creating a behemoth that is expected to extend well beyond the combined footprint of the existing companies. As part of the deal, GlobalFoundries will get two additional fabs, one of which makes RF SOI chips. But while IBM was hesitant to expand that business by adding new fab capacity, GlobalFoundries already has t... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Huawei, Imec and Qualcomm have announced the formation of the SMIC Advanced Technology Research & Development (Shanghai) Corp., an equity joint venture company. Located in China, the joint venture company will focus on R&D towards next-generation CMOS logic technology. The current focus will be on developing 14nm logic technology, ... » read more

Week 49: Are We There Yet?


When I was a little kid my parents would pack me and my sister into the car and drive to the Mediterranean for our summer camping vacation. It was quite a haul from our home on the west side of Germany near the border with Belgium to the south of France, and as is true of any long car trip, the last stretch was the hardest. After hours in the backseat, my sister and I would be craning our necks... » read more

Stacked Die, Phase Two


The initial hype phase of [getkc id="82" kc_name="2.5D"] appears to be over. There are multiple offerings in development or on the market already from Xilinx, Altera, Cisco, Huawei, IBM, AMD, all focused on better throughput over shorter distances with better yield and lower power. Even Intel has jumped on the bandwagon, saying that 2.5D will be essential for extending [getkc id="74" comment="M... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Mergers & Acquisitions Silvaco acquired Invarian, anticipating integration of Invarian's methodology will accelerate adoption of concurrent power-voltage-thermal analysis. Legal A U.S. District Court judge ordered Kilopass to pay $5.5 million to Sidense for legal fees incurred in Kilopass' patent infringement suit against Sidense. That lawsuit was  dismissed in 2012. Sidense filed... » read more

Worldwide Semiconductor Market Booms


Worldwide sales of semiconductors have been growing steadily. In September, shipments passed 30 billion units—the highest monthly amount ever for that month, and 2014 is predicted to be a record-breaker when the numbers are finally tallied. Figure 1. Transition of worldwide semiconductor shipment prices peak in March, June, September, and December. Source: WSTS data edited by Semicon po... » read more

IoT Standards Needed


The promise of the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"] is effortless communication between devices, all of which are smart enough to transmit data to the Internet directly, or through connecting hubs, and to ad hoc devices that are authorized to be added to a personal or industrial network. What's not yet clear is how that promise will be realized. Even though many devices are desig... » read more

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