tag: memory

The Mightier Microcontroller
By Ed Sperling - 26 May, 2016 - Comments: 1

Microcontrollers are becoming more complex, more powerful, and significantly more useful, but those improvements come with strings attached. While it's relatively straightforward to develop multi-core microcontroller (MCU) hardware with advanced power management features, it's much more difficult to write software for these chips because memory is limited. CPUs can use on-chip memory such as... » read more

RC Delay: Bottleneck To Scaling
By Rajkumar Jakkaraju - 24 May, 2016 - Comments: 1

R = resistance — the difficulty an electrical current has in passing through a conducting material. C = capacitance — the degree to which an insulating material holds a charge. RC delay = the delay in signal speed through the circuit wiring as a result of these two effects. RC delay is important because it can become a significant obstacle to continued downward scaling of logic and... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 24
By Jesse Allen - 24 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Reducing MRAM chip area Researchers from Tohoku University developed a technology to stack magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) directly on the via without causing deterioration to its electric/magnetic characteristics. The team focused on reducing the memory cell area of spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) in order to lower manufacturing costs, making them more compe... » read more

One-On-One: Dave Hemker
By Ed Sperling - 19 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Dave Hemker, CTO at [getentity id="22820" comment="Lam Research"], sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to look at some of the key issues on the process and manufacturing side, and some of the key developments that will reshape the semiconductor industry in the future. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: One of the big discussion topics these days is [getkc id="208" commen... » read more

Bridging the IP Divide
By Brian Bailey - 18 May, 2016 - Comments: 1

IP reuse enabled greater efficiency in the creation of large, complex SoCs, but even after 20 years there are few tools to bridge the divide between the IP provider and the IP user. The problem is that there is an implicit fuzzy contract describing how the IP should be used, what capabilities it provides, and the extent of the verification that has been performed. IP vendors have been trying to... » read more

No More Straight Lines
By Ed Sperling - 12 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Shrinking features on a chip is no longer the only way forward, and in an increasing number of designs and markets, it is no longer the best way forward. Power and performance are generally better dealt with using different architectures and microarchitectures, and all of those provide the potential to reduce silicon area (cost). Cramming more transistors on a die and working around leakage... » read more

Rethinking Main Memory
By Hunglin Hsu - 10 May, 2016 - Comments: 3

With newer, bigger programs and more apps multitasking simultaneously, the answer to making any system run faster, from handheld to super computer, was always just to add more DRAM. . . and more, and more and more. From data centers to wearables, that model no longer works. By offloading the storage of programs to less expensive solid-state drives (SSDs) and only using a small amount of exp... » read more

Why This Roadmap Matters
By Ed Sperling - 05 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

The semiconductor industry is now officially looking beyond PCs and servers, establishing metrics and guidance for existing and developing market segments rather than just focusing on how to get to the next process nodes. The IEEE's International Roadmap for Devices and Systems marks a fundamental shift in the industry. The uncertainty that has ensued ever since the introduction of 3D transi... » read more

Embedded Non-Volatile Memory: A Newsworthy Topic
By David S. Hsu - 05 May, 2016 - Comments: 0

Hacking and security concerns for consumer electronics must be among the most newsworthy topics in the Top 10 tech stories these days. A hacking headline seems to regularly make it as the lead piece on every tech blog or news online. No doubt, then, hacking is a Top 10 concern that consumers have when purchasing their electronics devices. While no one would recommend using embedded non-vo... » read more

High-Bandwidth Memory
By eSilicon - 27 Apr, 2016 - Comments: 0

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is a JEDEC-defined standard, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) technology that uses through-silicon vias (TSVs) to interconnect stacked DRAM die. In its first implementation, it is being integrated with a system-on-chip (SoC) logic die using 2.5D silicon interposer technology. This white paper explains HBM’s value proposition, and how these five companies make... » read more

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