Research Bits: July 12


Predicting crystal orientation Researchers from Nagoya University and RIKEN trained an AI on optical photographs of polycrystalline silicon and used it to predict crystal orientation during manufacturing. They found that the AI successfully predicted the grain orientation distribution. “The time required for this measurement was about 1.5 hours for taking optical photographs, training the... » read more

Chip Industry’s Technical Paper Roundup: May 8


New technical papers recently added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library: [table id=102 /] 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... » read more

Gate Drive Circuit Without A Speed-Up Capacitor for a GaN Gate Injection Transistor


A technical paper titled "Gate Drive Circuit Suitable for a GaN Gate Injection Transistor" was published by researchers at Nagoya University. Abstract "A GaN gate injection transistor (GIT) has great potential as a power semiconductor device. However, a GaN GIT has a diode characteristic at the gate-source, and a corresponding gate drive circuit is thus required. Several studies in the lite... » read more

Research Bits: April 4


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

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


The U.S. is aiming for the creation of two new advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities with “a robust supplier ecosystem” supported by the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act. Included is an $11 billion investment in semiconductor research and development, along with the creation of a new public-private partnership called the National Semiconductor Technology Center. This follows more than a do... » read more

Technical Paper Round-up: May 17


New technical papers added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library this week. [table id=27 /] Semiconductor Engineering is in the process of building this library of research papers. Please send suggestions (via comments section below) for what else you’d like us to incorporate. If you have research papers you are trying to promote, we will review them to see if they are a go... » read more

Thinning of GaN-on-GaN HEMTs With A Laser Slicing Technique


New technical paper "Laser slice thinning of GaN-on-GaN high electron mobility transistors" from researchers at Nagoya University, Hamamatsu Photonics, and National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba. Abstract "As a newly developed technique to slice GaN substrates, which are currently very expensive, with less loss, we previously reported a laser slicing technique in this journal. In... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 2


Fast-charging EV battery Electric vehicle adoption faces challenges from consumers' range anxiety and the extended lengths of time needed to charge a car's battery. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University are trying to address this by developing lithium iron phosphate EV batteries that have a range of 250 miles with the ability to charge in 10 minutes. It also is expected to have a lifeti... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: March 9


Healing perovskites Researchers at Brown University found that while perovskite solar cells can crack easily, they are also capable of healing those cracks. "The efficiency of perovskite solar cells has grown very quickly and now rivals silicon in laboratory cells," said Nitin Padture, a professor in Brown's School of Engineering and director of Brown's Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A Ansys acquired Computational Engineering International (CEI), the developer of a suite of products that helps analyze, visualize and communicate simulation data. Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Cray Research, the company's program covers a wide range of data formats. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. IP Efabless launched an open source framework that allows community members... » read more