New Architectures, Much Faster Chips


The chip industry is making progress in multiple physical dimensions and with multiple architectural approaches, setting the stage for huge performance increases based on more modular and heterogeneous designs, new advanced packaging options, and continued scaling of digital logic for at least a couple more process nodes. A number of these changes have been discussed in recent conferences. I... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Aug. 18


Flexible, hole-filled films Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) and Hongik University propose a simple way to make flexible electrodes and thin film transistors last longer: adding lots of tiny holes. A major problem with flexible electronics is the formation of microscopic cracks after repeated bending which can cause the device to lose its conducti... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 28


Programmable photonics Researchers from the University of Southampton developed a method for making programmable  integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. By using a generic optical circuit that can be fabricated in bulk then later programmed for specific applications, the team hopes to reduce production costs. "Silicon photonics is capable of integrating optical devices and... » read more

Simulation Of Semiconductor Edge-Emitting Lasers


By Peter Hallschmid and Dylan McGuire The demand for photonics technology continues to grow with popular laser applications including semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), Fabry-Perot (FP) devices and distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. The next episode of Ansys’ photonics webinar series outlines the latest Ansys Lumerical flows and products for simulating and generating compact mod... » read more

Startup Funding: June 2020


Two Chinese startups drew big investment as the country aims to become more semiconductor independent as trade restrictions continue. One company deals in wafers, packaging, and IC design, while the other is focused on AI chips. Quantum computing startups didn't see large investments this month, as most are still very young companies, but the number of them grew with a new university spin-out e... » read more

Test Setup Optimization And Automation For Accurate Silicon Photonics Wafer Acceptance Production Tests


Implementing energy-efficient optical transceiver modules with silicon photonics (SiPh) and 3DIC technologies will help alleviate the increasing energy consumption for hyperscale data centers. To facilitate effective 3DIC heterogenous integration of these photonics integrated circuits for optical transceivers, high precision, repeatable and reliable SiPh wafer acceptance tests are essential and... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 6


Configurable photonics Researchers from the University of Southampton developed a configurable/one-time programmable silicon photonic circuit that could reduce production costs by allowing a generic optical circuit to be fabricated in bulk and then later programmed for specific applications such as communications systems, LIDAR circuits or computing applications. Additionally, once programmed,... » read more

Startup Funding: April 2020


It was another strong month for automotive startups, with one autonomous trucking company in China drawing a massive $100M investment. Another hot area was optimization of machine learning deployments, including one new company launch. Quantum computing, etch equipment, and mmWave feature in this month's look at twenty-two startups that collectively raised $375M. Semiconductors & design ... » read more

Covid-19 Tech Bits: April 14


Modeling coronavirus spread Four teams of Finnish researchers have modeled the coughing spread of COVID-19 in tight indoor areas, such as grocery stores and public transportation systems, using a supercomputer and 3D visualization. “The aerosol cloud spreads outside the immediate vicinity of the coughing person and dilutes in the process," said Aalto University Assistant Professor Ville V... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Ansys will acquire Lumerical, a developer of photonic design and simulation tools. "The potential of photonics in applications like 5G, IIoT and autonomous vehicles can only be realized by solving immense multiphysics device and system challenges," said James Pond, co-CEO and CTO of Lumerical. "Together, Lumerical and Ansys are uniquely positioned to provide the necessary solutions, and custome... » read more

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