The Reliability Of Analog Integrated Circuits And Their Simulation-Aided Verification


Different challenges have to be overcome when designing integrated circuits. Besides schematic and layout design work, verification in view of the non-ideal behavior of circuits and semiconductor technologies in particular is also relevant. The designed circuits have to work at specific operating voltages and within ambient temperature ranges and be robust in terms of process fluctuations ... » read more

Thermal Cycling Failure In Electronics


Each time a device is turned off and on, its temperature changes. (Just think about how often your phone lights up all day.) Energy flowing through several layers of tightly stacked materials causes devices to heat up, then rapidly cool down. This repeated oscillation between temperatures over the lifetime of a device is called thermal cycling. Why thermal management is important Thermal cycl... » read more

Verify Perception Systems Virtually Via Accurate Fog Models


Under every lighting level and weather condition, cameras must reliably “see” pedestrians and other physical objects ― and trigger an appropriate reaction from critical systems such as braking. This is especially challenging in foggy conditions, which can confuse visual cameras, radar, lidar and other conventional sensor technologies. Thermal imaging represents a potential solution, helpi... » read more

DRAM Chips That Employ On-Die Error Correction & Related Reliability Techniques


This new PhD thesis paper titled "Enabling Effective Error Mitigation in Memory Chips That Use On-Die Error-Correcting Codes" from ETH Zurich researcher Minesh Patel won the IEEE  William C. Carter Award in June 2022. Abstract "Improvements in main memory storage density are primarily driven by process technology scaling, which negatively impacts reliability by exacerbating various circu... » read more

IC Reliability Burden Shifts Left


Chip reliability is coming under much tighter scrutiny as IC-driven systems take on increasingly critical and complex roles. So whether it's a stray alpha particle that flips a memory bit, or some long-dormant software bugs or latent hardware defects that suddenly cause problems, it's now up to the chip industry to prevent these problems in the first place, and solve them when they do arise. ... » read more

Cu/SiO₂ Hybrid Bond Interconnects


Technical paper titled "Microstructure Development of Cu/SiO₂ Hybrid Bond Interconnects After Reliability Tests" from researchers at TU Dresden and others. Abstract: "The focus of this study is a detailed characterization of hybrid Cu/SiO 2 wafer-to-wafer bonding interconnects after reliability testing. Hybrid bonding (or direct bond interconnect) is a technology of choice for fine pitch... » read more

DRAM Thermal Issues Reach Crisis Point


Within the DRAM world, thermal issues are at a crisis point. At 14nm and below, and in the most advanced packaging schemes, an entirely new metric may be needed to address the multiplier effect of how thermal density increasingly turns minor issues into major problems. A few overheated transistors may not greatly affect reliability, but the heat generated from a few billion transistors does.... » read more

The Race To Zero Defects In Auto ICs


Assembly houses are fine-tuning their methodologies and processes for automotive ICs, optimizing everything from inspection and metrology to data management in order to prevent escapes and reduce the number of costly returns. Today, assembly defects account for between 12% and 15% of semiconductor customer returns in the automotive chip market. As component counts in vehicles climb from the ... » read more

Automotive Bandwidth Issues Grow As Data Skyrockets


Bandwidth requirements for future vehicles are set to explode as the amount of data moving within vehicles, between vehicles, and between vehicles and infrastructure, continues to grow rapidly. That data will be necessary for a variety of functions, some of which are here today and many of which are still in development. On the safety side, that includes everything from early warning systems... » read more

Who Benefits From Chiplets, And When


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss new packaging approaches and integration issues with Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence; Joseph Sawicki, executive vice president of Siemens EDA; Niels Faché, vice president and general manager at Keysight; Simon Segars, advisor at Arm; and Aki Fujimura, chairman and CEO of D2S. This discussion was held in front of a... » read more

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