Smartphones Dial Up New RF Processes


By Mark LaPedus The rapid shift towards smartphones and tablets is driving the need for new and low-power chips at finer geometries. Today, the latest application processors, integrated basebands and other digital cell-phone chips are 28nm planar devices. And it won’t be long before OEMs incorporate 20nm planar and finFET devices in their systems as a means to reduce power and extend batt... » read more

MEMS Goes Mainstream


By Cheryl Coupé Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are well known for enabling innovative capabilities for devices that range from vehicles and gaming to smartphones and tablets—and increasingly in personal health and fitness, security, and environmental applications. As stacked die become more popular, they also will become part of the integration challenge that chipmakers will wrestle... » read more

How To Make A Brain-On-A-Chip


By Mark LaPedus In October, Draper Laboratory and the University of South Florida (USF) disclosed an ambitious plan to develop a brain-on-a-chip. The idea is to devise a “micro-environment’’ that mimics the human brain. Researchers hope to study neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and concussions. The eventual goal is to study the effects of drugs and v... » read more

MEMS Innovation: A Tipping Point


By Joanne Itow Two years ago I attended my first MEMS Executive Congress and was impressed with the high level of enthusiasm in new applications and growth prospects for MEMS. This year’s event was just as impressive and the new MEMS products continue to amaze me. The market has been flooded with new gadgets, new suppliers and now, new challenges. All MEMS are not created equal. One of th... » read more

Wafer Leaders Extend Basis for Global SOI Supply


Posted by Adele Hars, Editor-in-Chief, Advanced Substrate News ~  ~ It’s a bright green light from the world leaders in SOI wafer capacity. Soitec, the world leader in SOI wafer production, and long-time partner Shin-Etsu Handatai (SEH), the world’s biggest producer of silicon wafers, have extended their licensing agreement and expanded their technology cooperation. SEH is a $12... » read more

SPOTLIGHT ON FD-SOI, FINFETS AT IEEE SOI CONFERENCE
;1-4 OCT, NAPA


The 38th annual SOI Conference is coming right up. Sponsored by IEEE Electron Devices Society, this is the only dedicated SOI conference covering the full technology chain from materials to devices, circuits and system applications. Chaired this year by Gosia Jurczak (manager of the Memories Program at imec), this excellent conference is well worth attending. It’s where the giants of the ... » read more

3D-IC Impact On Computational Lithography?


While 3D devices and technology such as through-silicon vias (TSVs) definitely complicate matters in the design, verification and manufacturing space, one might assume there would also be an impact on the computational lithography tools that are used to ensure printability. Have no fear. Industry experts assure us that this is not the case. Lithography expert Chris Mack acknowledged that ... » read more

Manufacturing & MEMS


By Joanne Itow There’s been a lot of attention focused on MEMS in the past couple of years, and rightfully so. In 2011 when total semiconductor revenues grew by only 1.3%, MEMS revenues grew by more than 34%. MEMS have been activating air bags in our cars and projecting images on DLP screens for years, but it wasn’t until the accelerometer in smartphones when mainstream semiconductor manuf... » read more

New Processes Define New Power Plans


By Pallab Chatterjee FinFETs, stacked die, heterogeneous interposers, TSVs, 450mm wafers, new interconnects and everything with MEMs and sensors is what the last few weeks have brought. A number of major announcements, technology releases, conference updates have identified these technologies as the future of IC design. At ISQED, Robert Geer, chief academic officer at the College of Nanosca... » read more

Mechanical Meets Electrical


By Ed Sperling For the first part of the 20th century mechanical engineering dominated almost everything in technology. For the second half, once the transistor and the integrated circuit became well entrenched, those two disciplines largely divided up the tech market. More recently, however, they are being forced to collaborate in teams that historically had nothing in common. While the co... » read more

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