Chip Industry Talent Shortage Drives Academic Partnerships

By Liz Allan - 16 Oct, 2023 - Comments: 0

Universities around the world are forming partnerships with semiconductor companies and governments to help fill open and future positions, to keep curricula current and relevant, and to update and expand skills for working engineers. Talent shortages repeatedly have been cited as the number one challenge for the chip industry. Behind those concerns are several key drivers, and many more dom... » read more

Research Bits: May 16

By Jesse Allen - 16 May, 2023 - Comments: 0

Germanium-tin transistor Scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich, CEA-Leti, University of Leeds, Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics, and RWTH Aachen University fabricated a new type of transistor from a germanium-tin alloy. Charge carriers can move faster in the material than in silicon or germanium, which enables lower voltages in operation. “The germanium–tin syst... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power

By Jesse Allen - 28 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) outlined its plan for a National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) to be created using a share of the $11 billion in funds from the CHIPS Act marked for research and development. While a large portion of the CHIPS Act investment is set to boost U.S. fabs and manufacturing capabilities, the NSTC aims to also support the design side, ... » read more

Research Bits: April 4

By Jesse Allen - 04 Apr, 2023 - Comments: 0

Wet-like plasma etching Researchers from Nagoya University and Hitachi developed a new etch method called wet-like plasma etching that combines the selectivity of wet etching with the controllability of dry etching. The researchers say the technique will make it possible to etch complex structures such as metal carbides consisting of titanium (Ti) and aluminum (Al), such as TiC or TiAlC, wh... » read more

Chip Industry’s Technical Paper Roundup: Mar. 28

By Linda Christensen - 28 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 0

New technical papers recently added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library: [table id=89 /] If you have research papers you are trying to promote, we will review them to see if they are a good fit for our global audience. At a minimum, papers need to be well researched and documented, relevant to the semiconductor ecosystem, and free of marketing bias. There is no cost involved for us p... » read more

Integrating MEMS with Standardized Silicon Photonics Technology

By Technical Paper Link - 23 Mar, 2023 - Comments: 0

A new technical paper titled "Integrated silicon photonic MEMS" was published by researchers at EPFL, University of Sydney, CSEM, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Ghent University, Imec, and Tyndall National Institute. Abstract Excerpt "Here, we introduce a silicon photonic MEMS platform consisting of high-performance nano-opto-electromechanical devices fully integrated alongside standar... » read more

Research Bits: Jan. 17

By Jesse Allen - 17 Jan, 2023 - Comments: 0

Ionic circuit for neural nets Researchers at Harvard University and DNA Script developed an ionic circuit comprising hundreds of ionic transistors for neural net computing. While ions in water move slower than electrons in semiconductors, the team noted that the diversity of ionic species with different physical and chemical properties could be harnessed for more diverse information process... » read more

Research Bits: Oct. 10

By Jesse Allen - 10 Oct, 2022 - Comments: 0

Disposable water-activated battery Researchers at Empa developed a water-activated disposable paper battery that could be used in low-power, single-use disposable electronics such as smart labels for tracking objects, environmental sensors, and medical diagnostic devices. The battery is made of at least one cell measuring one centimeter squared and consisting of three inks printed onto a re... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 18

By Jesse Allen - 18 May, 2021 - Comments: 0

Efficient high-voltage power conversion Researchers from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Enkris Semiconductor are working to design new power transistors with the aim of improving power converter efficiency. "We see examples of electric power losses every day, such as when the charger of your laptop heats up," said Elison Matioli, head of EPFL's POWERlab, noting that ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: April 27

By Jesse Allen - 27 Apr, 2021 - Comments: 0

Energy-harvesting shirt Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a 'wearable microgrid' that harvests and stores energy from the human body to power small electronics. The microgrid consists of three main parts: sweat-powered biofuel cells, motion-powered triboelectric generators, and energy-storing supercapacitors. All parts are flexible, washable and can be screen pri... » read more

Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

NAND Flash Targets 1,000 Layers

New techniques go beyond improved deposition and etching, but challenges stack up, too.

by Bryon Moyer

3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

by Ed Sperling

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

by Brian Bailey

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.