Blog Review: Sept. 19

By Jesse Allen - 19 Sep, 2018 - Comments: 0

Applied Materials' David Thompson shares the new DARPA program that is focused on using correlated electrons to develop a new type of switch with quantum effects, potentially leading to unprecedented switching speeds. Mentor's Joe Hupcey III argues that for the most effective formal analysis, assertions should be as simple as possible and shares some tips on decomposing big assertions. Ca... » read more

Hybrid Memory

By Ed Sperling - 13 Sep, 2018 - Comments: 0

Gary Bronner, senior vice president of Rambus Labs, talks about the future of DRAM scaling, why one type of memory won’t solve all needs, and what the pros and cons are of different memories. https://youtu.be/R0hhDx2Fb7Q » read more

Cracking The Auto IC Market

By Ann Mutschler - 06 Sep, 2018 - Comments: 0

The market for automotive electronics is booming, and it has set off a global scramble among established chipmakers and startups. What's becoming clear, though, is that not everyone understands just how different automotive is from the mobile market. Mobile is still the highest-volume market for semiconductors, but the growth has flattened. In contrast, the value of the automotive electronic... » read more

Processing In Memory

By Ed Sperling - 05 Sep, 2018 - Comments: 1

Adding processing directly into memory is getting a serious look, particularly for applications where the volume of data is so large that moving it back and forth between various memories and processors requires too much energy and time. The idea of inserting processors into memory has cropped up intermittently over the past decade as a possible future direction, but it was dismissed as an e... » read more

Baum: Finding SoC Power Flaws

By Kevin Fogarty - 28 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 0

A South Korean startup founded by a Samsung engineer-turned-researcher has created a tool that finds power design flaws early in the SoC design process. The startup, Baum, Inc., launched the second version of its power-modeling solution in June at DAC. The product is a power design-verification tool that uses high-level models to create analyses designed to spot design flaws that could creat... » read more

GF Puts 7nm On Hold

By Mark LaPedus - 27 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 6

GlobalFoundries is putting its 7nm finFET program on hold indefinitely and has dropped plans to pursue technology nodes beyond 7nm. The moves, which mark a major shift in direction for the foundry, involve a headcount reduction of about 5% of its worldwide workforce. At the same time, the company is also moving its ASIC business into a new subsidiary. As a result of GlobalFoundries’ ann... » read more

Is Software Necessary?

By Brian Bailey - 27 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 0

Hardware must be capable of running any software. While that might have been a good mantra when chips were relatively simple, it becomes an impossible verification task when dealing with SoCs that contain dozens of deeply embedded processors. When does it become necessary to use production software and what problems can that get you into? When verification targets such as power are added, it... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test

By Mark LaPedus - 24 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 0

Trade wars The United States and China have escalated the ongoing trade war. Both sides have implemented 25% tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods, according to a report from Reuters. The U.S. and China have slapped a combined $100 billion in tariffs on products since early July, according to the report. In testimony before a U.S. government interagency panel on considering t... » read more

Big Changes For Mainstream Chip Architectures

By Ed Sperling - 23 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 3

Chipmakers are working on new architectures that significantly increase the amount of data that can be processed per watt and per clock cycle, setting the stage for one of the biggest shifts in chip architectures in decades. All of the major chipmakers and systems vendors are changing direction, setting off an architectural race that includes everything from how data is read and written in m... » read more

Bugs That Kill

By Brian Bailey - 23 Aug, 2018 - Comments: 3

Are simulation-resistant superbugs stifling innovation? That is a question Craig Shirley, president and CEO of Oski Technology, asked a collection of semiconductor executives over dinner. Semiconductor Engineering was invited to hear that discussion and to present the key points of the discussion. To promote free conversation, the participants, who are listed below, asked not to be quoted di... » read more

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