Manufacturing Bits: April 10


Higher power GaN Imec and Qromis have announced the development of a new gallium nitride (GaN) substrate technology that enables power devices at 650 volts and above. GaN is an emerging technology for power semiconductor applications. Based on a GaN-on-silicon technology, GaN-based power semis operate at 650 volts and above. In simple terms, the buffer layers between the GaN device and the ... » read more

Historic FinFET/2.5D Firsts


Recently, I had an opportunity to watch the Academy Award nominated movie “Hidden Figures.” If you’re a geek at heart, you need to see this movie. It chronicles the strong contributions of three black women to the NASA space program during the 1960s. The civil rights backstory of the movie is powerful, but there is another aspect of the movie that stayed with me as well: all of the “fir... » read more

IoT Security Risks Grow


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss security issues with Asaf Shen, vice president of marketing for security IP in [getentity id="22186" e_name="ARM's"] Systems & Software Group; Timothy Dry, principal staff marketing manager for the Industrial IoT segment at [getentity id="22819" comment="GlobalFoundries"]; Chowdary Yanamadala, senior vice president of business development at Cha... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Products NASA this week deployed its latest Technology Educational Satellite, TechEdSat-5, from the International Space Station. The satellite, said to be about the size of a fire extinguisher, will provide wireless data communications for ISS payloads and other satellites. TechEdSat-5 has Digi XBee 802.15.4 modules from Digi International to use in the test program. Flexpoint Sensor System... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 14


Electronics for Venus A team of scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland demonstrated the first prolonged operation of electronics in the harsh conditions found on Venus. Current Venus landers can only operate on the planet's surface for a few hours due to the extreme atmospheric conditions. The surface temperature on Venus is nearly 860 degrees Fahrenheit, and the planet h... » read more

Advancing SoC Technology


As chip designers, we take logic synthesis for granted. It’s hard to imagine the days when engineers had to design digital logic by hand. But then, it’s no less mind-boggling to believe that NASA engineers used slide rules to calculate and plan the Apollo 11 mission that first landed on the moon. Were engineers just a whole lot smarter in the old days? Maybe. But it’s also true that c... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 23


World’s smallest inkjet image ETH Zurich and Scrona have set the official world’s record for the smallest inkjet-printed color image. The feat, which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records, is based on Scrona’s so-called NanoDrip printing technology and quantum dots. ETH and Scrona printed an image of clown fishes and sea anemones. The printed image measures 0.0092mm² in a... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 25


Asteroid mining and metrology The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a new space bill. The bill, entitled H.R. 2262— U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness, includes a provision that discusses the rights for companies that mine any materials on asteroids. In simple terms, the bill recognizes the right of U.S. companies to own asteroid resources that they mine in space, accordin... » read more

Blog Review: May 20


FinFETs change the equation for power optimization, says Mentor's Vincent Lebars – and while companies are attacking some power gains, there is much more to be had doing datapath optimization within the place and route flow. Cadence's Richard Goering talks with Oz Levia about the future direction of formal and its integration into other product lines now that the merger between Cadence and... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 16


Space DSA NASA's Physical Science Research Program is taking directed self-assembly (DSA) technology to new heights. On the International Space Station, astronauts are exploring the development of nanoparticles suspended in magnetorheolocial (MR) fluids. MR fluids, which are a new class of smart materials, self-assemble into shapes in the presence of a magnetic field. With the technology, r... » read more

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