SONOS Non-Volatile Memory Technology


The demand for embedded flash memory has grown steeply over the years as many new applications emerged in consumer electronics (touchscreens, smart cards, bank cards, mobile payment, e-passport, etc.) in addition to the industrial system-on-chip (SOC) designs. The memory content of these applications has been increasing steadily due to greater requirements on system performance and code/data st... » read more

An Automated Method For Adding Resiliency To Mission-Critical SoC Designs


Adding safety measures to system-on-chip (SoC) designs in the form of radiation-hardened elements or redundancy is essential in making mission-critical applications in the Aerospace and Defense (A&D), cloud, automotive, robotics, medical, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) industries more resilient against random hardware failures that occur. Designing for reliable and resilient functionality doe... » read more

Radiation-Hardened Non-Volatile Magnetic Latch That Tolerates SNUs and DNUs


A research paper titled "A Radiation-Hardened Non-Volatile Magnetic Latch with High Reliability and Persistent Storage" was published by researchers at Anhui University, Hefei University of Technology, LIRMM, and Kyutech. According to the abstract: "Based on an advanced triple-path dual-interlocked-storage-cell (TPDICE) and MTJs, this paper proposes a radiation-hardened non-volatile magneti... » read more

Effects of Size Scaling and Device Architecture on the Radiation Response of Nanoscale MOS Transistors


A new technical paper titled "Perspective on radiation effects in nanoscale metal–oxide–semiconductor devices" was published by a researcher at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. The work was partially supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Air Force Research Laboratory. According to the paper, "this Perspect... » read more

TCAD-Based Radiation Modeling Technique For Reliable Aerospace Chips


By Ian Land and Ricardo Borges We demand a lot from the electronic components that bring our devices and systems to life. This is particularly true when it comes to semiconductors for space applications. From satellites to spacecraft, aerospace and defense equipment must tolerate the most extreme of operating conditions in order to perform their jobs safely and reliably. How do you ensure... » read more

Technical Paper Round-up: June 14


New technical papers added to Semiconductor Engineering’s library this week. [table id=33 /] 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 good fit f... » read more

ORNL: Advantages of Using Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials For Extreme Temp & Radiation


Research paper from ORNL (Oak Ridge National Lab) titled "Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Extreme Temperature and Radiation Environments." Abstract "With their greater voltage breakdowns, higher current limitations, and faster switching speeds, wide bandgap semiconductors are increasing in market application over the traditionally dominant silicon devices. Silicon carbide semiconductors hav... » read more

Low Earth Orbit Satellites For More Reliable Internet


Working from home may have reduced the stress of commuting, but it put a heavy strain on the power grid and ate into energy reserves. Still, with utilities such as electricity and water, it's possible to buy or borrow from adjacent grids or territories. The same cannot be said for internet service providers. They cannot just borrow from another service provider. Instead, their customers woul... » read more

Far Out AI In Remote Locations


There really isn’t anything that you can do on Earth with electronics that you can’t do in space, but it certainly can be a lot harder and take longer to fix is something goes wrong. And as more intelligent electronics are launched into space, the concern over potential failures is growing. AI inferencing has been pushing out further for some time, and it is starting to redefine what con... » read more