The Risk Of Two Supply Chains

By Ed Sperling - 20 Feb, 2020 - Comments: 0

Ever since the Trump administration weaponized trade restrictions against individual companies — first ZTE, then Huawei — China has begun developing a second supply chain for electronics. Inside of China, this is viewed as a necessary step for survival. In April 2018, the U.S. government banned ZTE from sourcing U.S. components for seven years, nearly putting that company out of business... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power

By Ed Sperling - 14 Feb, 2020 - Comments: 0

Processors Arm rolled out a micro neural processing unit that, when combined with its newest microcontroller, can increase machine learning performance by up to 480 times. The company is aiming the MCU and co-processor across a wide swath of applications. Worth noting is that Arm calls its Cortex-M55 an AI-capable processor, rather than a microcontroller, as the lines between the various proce... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing

By Susan Rambo - 14 Feb, 2020 - Comments: 0

AI/Edge Arm putting AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning (ML) on the Cortex-M processor by offering IP for a microNPU for Cortex-M. The company says in a press release that it will deliver a 480x uplift in ML performance. The new Cortex-M IP is Arm Ethos-U55 NPU, which Arm says is the industry’s first microNPU (neural processing unit). Arm is hoping the new IP will start an expl... » read more

Moore’s Law, Supply Chains And Security

By Brian Bailey - 16 Jan, 2020 - Comments: 0

The debate about the future of Moore's Law continues, while other parts of the industry look for alternatives. In between, supply chains are being pulled in multiple directions, with safety and security often in the middle. All across the semiconductor industry, significant changes are underway. Some of these have been in the works for some time. Others are new or accelerating faster than an... » read more

EDA, IP Growth Surge

By Ed Sperling - 07 Jan, 2020 - Comments: 1

EDA and IP grew 8.9% in Q3 of 2019, according to a just-released report, indicating continued confidence in semiconductor growth. Total revenue was up 8.9% globally compared with the same period in 2018, but that number is deceptively low. Revenue in China, for example, increased 5.7% compared to the same quarter in 2018, despite trade restrictions on sales of any IP developed in the United ... » read more

What Worked, What Didn’t In 2019

By Brian Bailey - 19 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 1

2019 has been a tough year for semiconductor companies from a revenue standpoint, especially for memory companies. On the other hand, the EDA industry has seen another robust growth year. A significant portion of this disparity can be attributed to the number of emerging technology areas for semiconductors, none of which has reached volume production yet. Some markets continue to struggle, a... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Security, Auto

By Susan Rambo - 06 Dec, 2019 - Comments: 0

Internet of Things SiFive is bringing RISC-V to IoT makers and university developers through the RISC-V-based SiFive Learn Initiative, an open-source learning package that can be used to create a low-cost RISC-V hardware compatible with AWS IoT Core. The development platform SiFive Learn Inventor has a software package and education enablement course. It includes: The programmable SiFive Lear... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Security, Automotive

By Susan Rambo - 22 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Automotive Porsche’s electric race car, the 99X Electric, used ANSYS Technology’s system-level simulation solutions to create an advanced electric powertrain. The powertrain is also being adapted for use in Porsche’s consumer electric cars. "ANSYS system-level simulations are instrumental for optimizing the Porsche E-Performance Powertrain's motor, gearbox, power electronics and control ... » read more

Planning For Panel-Level Fan-out

By Mark LaPedus - 21 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Several companies are developing or ramping up panel-level fan-out packaging as a way to reduce the cost of advanced packaging. Wafer-level fan-out is one of several advanced packaging types where a package can incorporate dies, MEMS and passives in an IC package. This approach has been in production for years, and is produced in a round wafer format in 200mm or 300mm wafer sizes. Fan-out... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test

By Mark LaPedus - 15 Nov, 2019 - Comments: 0

Market research Smartphone shipments in China stood at 98.9 million units in the third quarter of 2019, down 3.6% year-on-year, according to IDC. Of that, 5G phone shipments in China have grown from virtually zero not long ago to 485,000 units in the third quarter of 2019, according to IDC. Vendors shipped devices amid the launch of commercial 5G services in October. The early smartphone le... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
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