Shrink Or Package?

By Ed Sperling - 19 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

Advanced packaging is rapidly becoming a mainstream option for chipmakers as the cost of integrating heterogeneous components on a single die continues to rise. Despite several years of buzz around this shift, the reality is that it has taken more than a half-century to materialize. Advanced [getkc id="27" kc_name="packaging"] began with IBM flip chips in the 1960s, and it got another boost ... » read more

Architecture First, Node Second

By Ed Sperling - 15 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

What a difference a node makes. A couple of rather important changes have occurred in the move from 16/14 to 10/7nm (aside from more confusing naming conventions). First, companies that require more transistors—processor companies such as [getentity id="22846" e_name="Intel"], AMD, [getentity id="22306" comment="IBM"] and [getentity id="22676" e_name="Qualcomm"]—have come to grips with t... » read more

New BEOL/MOL Breakthroughs?

By Mark LaPedus - 15 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are moving ahead with transistor scaling at advanced nodes, but it's becoming more difficult. The industry is struggling to maintain the same timeline for contacts and interconnects, which represent a larger portion of the cost and unwanted resistance in chips at the most advanced nodes. A leading-edge chip consists of three parts—the transistor, contacts and interconnects. The ... » read more

Modeling On-Chip Variation At 10/7nm

By Ann Steffora Mutschler - 14 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 1

Simulation, a workhorse tool for semiconductor design, is running out of steam at 10/7nm. It is falling behind on chips with huge gate counts and an enormous number of possible interactions between all the different functions that are being crammed onto a die. At simulation's root is some form of SPICE, which has served as its underpinnings ever since SPICE was first published 44 years ago. ... » read more

2.5D, ASICs Extend to 7nm

By Mark LaPedus - 13 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 2

The leading-edge foundry market is heating up. For example, GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung and TSMC have recently announced their new and respective processes. The new processes from vendors range anywhere from 10nm to 4nm, although the current battle is taking place at 10nm and/or 7nm. In fact, one vendor, GlobalFoundries, this week will describe more details about its previously-announced... » read more

System Bits: June 6

By Ann Steffora Mutschler - 06 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

Silicon nanosheet-based builds 5nm transistor To enable the manufacturing of 5nm chips, IBM, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Samsung, and equipment suppliers have developed what they say is an industry-first process to build 5nm silicon nanosheet transistors. This development comes less than two years since developing a 7nm test node chip with 20 billion transistors. Now, they’ve paved the way for 30 billi... » read more

Leasing and Rental in T&M

By Jeff Dorsch - 05 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 0

Buying a high-end oscilloscope or a brand-new logic analyzer may be a tall order financially for small companies. In such cases, leasing or renting an expensive test instrument can be an affordable alternative. Having reliable test and measurement equipment is vital to product development in electronics. National Instruments has built a billion-dollar business on offering instrument hardware... » read more

IIoT Grows, But So Do Risks

By Jeff Dorsch - 04 May, 2017 - Comments: 1

By Jeff Dorsch & Ed Sperling After years of fitful progress, [getkc id="78" kc_name="Industrial Internet of Things"] technology is gaining adoption on the factory floor, in the electrical power grid, and other areas that could do with greater amounts of data analysis and insights from a connected ecosystem. AT&T, General Electric, IBM, Verizon Communications, and other large ... » read more

Can Formal Replace Simulation?

By Brian Bailey - 01 May, 2017 - Comments: 1

A year ago, [getentity id="22147" comment="Oski Technology"] achieved something that had never happened before. It brought together 15 of the top minds in [getkc id="33" kc_name="formal verification"] deployment and sat them down in a room to discuss the problems and issues they face and the ways in which they are attempting to solve those problems. Semiconductor Engineering was there to record... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT

By Jeff Dorsch - 28 Apr, 2017 - Comments: 0

Finance SENSORO reports receiving $18 million in Series B funding from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Sumitomo, and Tsing Capital. Nokia Growth Partners provided $10 million in first-round financing two years ago. SENSORO, which provides Internet of Things sensor devices and network technology, was established in 2013 as part of the Microsoft Accelerator program. Daylight Investors of Los An... » read more

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