Don’t Forget the I/O When Allocating Your Last-Level Cache


Source/Authors: Yifan Yuan (UIUC); Mohammad Alian (Kansas); Yipeng Wang, Ren Wang (Intel Labs); Ilia Kurakin (Intel); Charlie Tai (Intel Labs); Nam Sung Kim (UIUC) Find technical paper here. 2021 ACM/IEEE 48th Annual International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA.) "Abstract—In modern server CPUs, last-level cache (LLC) is a critical hardware resource that exerts significant... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Chipmakers SiFive has received a takeover offer from Intel, according to a report from Bloomberg. The asking price is more than $2 billion. ------------------------------------------------------------------ IBM has filed suit against GlobalFoundries (GF), alleging fraud and breach of contract committed by GF. IBM’s suit, filed in the Supreme Court of the state of New York, seeks relief... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy The Malaysian government has extended its lockdown due to the pandemic until June 14, a move that may impact the global electronics supply chain, according to TrendForce. Malaysia recently implemented MCO 3.0 (Movement Control Order), the nation’s pandemic control measure. Malaysia is home to many fab equipment, packaging and testing facilities, as well as passive compon... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Pervasive computing — IoT, edge, cloud, data center, and back To simplify IoT workflows, Arm announced that it is putting parts of its Common Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) into an open project called Open-CMSIS-Pack. The CMSIS is a vendor-independent abstraction layer for MCUs, especially Arm Cortex-M processors, that makes it possible for developers to deal with softwa... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy The U.S. government hopes to build more fabs and expand its R&D efforts in the United States. To help enable those efforts, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has introduced the new bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. This combines Schumer’s Endless Frontier Act and other bipartisan competitiveness bills. It includes $52 billion in emergency supplem... » read more

The Increasingly Uneven Race To 3nm/2nm


Several chipmakers and fabless design houses are racing against each other to develop processes and chips at the next logic nodes in 3nm and 2nm, but putting these technologies into mass production is proving both expensive and difficult. It's also beginning to raise questions about just how quickly those new nodes will be needed and why. Migrating to the next nodes does boost performance an... » read more

Demand, Lead Times Soar For 300mm Equipment


A surge in demand for various chips is causing select shortages and extended lead times for many types of 300mm semiconductor equipment, photomask tools, wafers, and other products. For the last several years, 200mm equipment has been in short supply in the market, but issues are now cropping up throughout the 300mm supply chain, as well. Traditionally, lead times have been three to six mont... » read more

Automotive IC Shortage Drags On


The current automotive semiconductor shortages won’t end anytime soon. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, it wreaked havoc on the worldwide supply chain, but it especially caught automakers flat-footed. When the auto OEMs canceled chip orders during a roughly eight-week period of plant shutdowns, they later found their supplies of critical ICs had evaporated. To make it an ev... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government policy Semiconductor companies as well hardware and software vendors have announced the formation of the Semiconductors in America Coalition (SIAC). The group called on congressional leaders to appropriate $50 billion for U.S. manufacturing incentives and research initiatives. SIAC’s mission is to advance federal policies that promote semiconductor manufacturing and research in th... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Siemens Digital Industries Software acquired Fractal Technologies, a provider of tools for IP validation and comparison checks of standard cell libraries, IO, and hard IP that reports mismatches or modeling errors, as well as comparing new IP releases close to tape-out. Siemens plans to add Fractal’s technology to the Xcelerator portfolio, joining the Solido software product family, which inc... » read more

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