Fan-Out Packaging Gets Competitive


Fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) is a key enabler in the industry shift from transistor scaling to system scaling and integration. The design fans out the chip interconnects through a redistribution layer instead of a substrate. Compared to flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA) or wire bonds, it creates lower thermal resistance, a slimmer package, and potentially lower costs. Yet, if the h... » read more

Blog Review: Aug. 17


Synopsys' Steve Pateras explains the basics of silicon lifecycle management and how it can help monitor, analyze, and optimize both semiconductor and end-user systems throughout the product value chain, from design and manufacturing to testing and maintenance. Siemens' Heather George considers the current state of 3D chiplet-based designs and efforts to standardize chiplet models and deliver... » read more

Challenges Grow For Modeling Auto Performance, Power


Rising complexity in automobiles is creating huge challenges about how to add more safety and comfort features and electronics into vehicles without reducing the overall range they can travel or pricing them so high that only the rich can afford them. While the current focus is on modeling hardware and software to understand interactions between systems, this remains a huge challenge. It req... » read more

AI Power Consumption Exploding


Machine learning is on track to consume all the energy being supplied, a model that is costly, inefficient, and unsustainable. To a large extent, this is because the field is new, exciting, and rapidly growing. It is being designed to break new ground in terms of accuracy or capability. Today, that means bigger models and larger training sets, which require exponential increases in processin... » read more

Cloud-Ready Circuit Simulation Accelerates SoC Verification


By Nebabie Kebebew and Nigel Bleasdale Driven by the explosion of big data and expanding applications, chip design complexity is increasing. Applications such as high-performance computing (HPC), the Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, and 5G mobile and communications coupled with advanced process technology nodes require running a large number of circuit simulations to ensure the circuits... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Government funding President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law on Tuesday, saying “America is back and leading the way.” That same day Micron touted a $40 billion investment through to 2030, which it expects will create 40,000 American jobs. “This legislation will enable Micron to grow domestic production of memory from less than 2% to up to 10% of the global market in t... » read more

Week in Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive and Mobility Search engine giant Baidu said Monday it is the first company to secure permits to operate robotaxis in China without a human safety driver. Baidu’s Apollo and Toyota-backed Pony.ai already operate robotaxis with backup drivers in Beijing. Also this week, smartphone maker Xiaomi said it is running autonomous driving tests on 140 vehicles in China. Xiaomi announced it ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Infineon acquired Industrial Analytics, a provider of AI-enabled industrial equipment monitoring. Its solution can monitor plants for early detection of critical developments, based on analysis and evaluation of vibrations, and evaluate data for both predictive and prescriptive maintenance. "Industrial Analytics has outstanding expertise in the area of predictive analysis for industrial machine... » read more

New Uses For AI In Chips


Artificial intelligence is being deployed across a number of new applications, from improving performance and reducing power in a wide range of end devices to spotting irregularities in data movement for security reasons. While most people are familiar with using machine learning and deep learning to distinguish between cats and dogs, emerging applications show how this capability can be use... » read more

Tradeoffs In Archiving Data


If you’ve ever had to sort through old technical documents, wondering what still has value and what can be safely tossed, you can identify with the quandary of Thomas Levy, UCSD professor of anthropology and co-founder of the field of cyber-archaeology. Staring at thousands of pieces of pottery in a Jordanian dessert, he erred on the side of keeping it all. “My personal perspective when ... » read more

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