Manufacturing Bits: Jan. 21


Redefining The Kilogram In 2011, the General Conference on Weights and Measures approved a plan to redefine the kilogram and other measurement units. The new definition for the kilogram will be based on the fixed numerical values of Planck’s constant (h), according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST has taken steps t... » read more

Blog Review: Dec. 11


Synopsys’ Brent Gregory has developed a career growth checklist for computer science majors. They should hang this in the hallway at universities. Cadence’s Brian Fuller interviews Saar Drimer, a UK hardware engineer who has been experimenting with odd-shaped PCBs. According to Drimer, 45-degree angles aren’t always optimal. But what happens to all the expensive tools everyone has bee... » read more

3D-IC Requires Expanded Power Grid Analysis


At advanced nodes, effective power grid analysis is critical to ensure that the small dimension interconnects can handle current demands without introducing potential failure modes or signal integrity issues. Existing software tools for power analysis need to be extended and enhanced for 2.5D and 3D designs to fulfill new requirements and use models. This article describes some of the needed im... » read more

How Reliable Are Interconnects In 16nm FinFET Designs?


The 16nm FinFET process node is rapidly becoming the preferred choice for advanced Integrated Circuit (IC) designs. The 16nm node’s lower standby leakage characteristics and increased drive strength capability enable IC designers to push the boundaries of low power – high performance designs. However, the choice of the node is also accompanied by reduced reliability margins, requiring desig... » read more

The Upside Of Through-Silicon Vias


Through-silicon vias (TSVs) for 3D integration are superficially similar to damascene copper interconnects for integrated circuits. Both etch the via, into either silicon or a dielectric, line it with a barrier against copper diffusion, then deposit a seed layer prior to filling the via with copper using some form of aqueous deposition. In both processes, the integrity of the diffusion barrier ... » read more

Tackling Verification Challenges With Interconnect Validation Tool


An interconnect, also referred to as a bus matrix or fabric, serves as the communication hub of multiple intellectual property (IP) cores inside a system on chip (SoC). As the capacity of today’s SoCs continues to increase dramatically, interconnect verification complexity also grows, considering the master/slave numbers, various protocols, different kinds of transactions, and multi-layered t... » read more

ATE Market Changes With The Times


By Jeff Chappell A declining PC market in recent years coupled with the continuing growth of mobile phones and tablets has meant changes throughout the semiconductor supply chain, and automated test equipment is no exception. For example, a decade ago memory test—namely DRAM—was a large market compared with that of nascent system-on-a-chip (SoC) testing. In fact, at the time some test e... » read more

Experts At The Table: Performance Analysis


By Ed Sperling Low-Power/High-Performance Engineering sat down with Ravi Kalyanaraman, senior verification manager for the digital entertainment business unit at Marvell; William Orme, strategic marketing manager for ARM’s System IP and Processor Division; Steve Brown, product marketing and business development director for the systems and software group at Cadence; Johannes Stahl director o... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 16


Photon Chips Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Vienna University of Technology have devised an all-optical transistor controlled by a single photon. The optical transistor could enable the development of photonic quantum gates and deterministic multi-photon entanglement. For years, researchers have been looking to develop an optical transistor, whe... » read more

Extending Copper Interconnect Beyond The 14nm Node


Fabricating interconnects is one of the most process-intensive and cost-sensitive parts of manufacturing. To find out more about what's changing in this area and why it's so important, click here. » read more

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