Using Better Data To Shorten Test Time


The combination of machine learning plus more sensors embedded into IC manufacturing equipment is creating new possibilities for more targeted testing and faster throughput for fabs and OSATs. The goal is to improve quality and reduce the cost of manufacturing complex chips, where time spent in manufacturing is ballooning at the most advanced nodes. As the number of transistors on a die incr... » read more

System Bits: Aug. 5


Algorithm could advance quantum computing Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory report the development of a quantum computing algorithm that promises to provide a better understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition, enabling model systems for biological proteins and other advanced applications. “The quantum-to-classical transition occurs when you add more and more parti... » read more

PurpleAir: IoT Sensor Soars To 13,000 feet


Startup PurpleAir makes a living counting dust. Its consumer-level sensors measure particles of dust in air—airborne particulate matter (PM)—using laser particle counters that can count particle sizes 0.3µm up to 10µm. Add power, WiFi, the Internet, and PurpleAir pulls all the data from the devices into an online map showing extremely local air quality around the world, wherever devices a... » read more

Node Within A Node


Enough margin exists in manufacturing processes to carve out the equivalent of a full node of scaling, but shrinking that margin will require a collective push across the entire semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. Margin is built into manufacturing at various stages to ensure that chips are manufacturable and yield sufficiently. It can include everything from variation in how lines are... » read more

Using Technology To Improve Beer And Wine


For those people who enjoy a glass of Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pilsner, you know that the temperature of that beverage is key to its enjoyment. Serve a red wine too chilled, and it ruins the flavor. And let’s not even get into the flavor of a warm lager. If you’re curious about how temperature affects the flavor of wine, check out this short and entertaining video from Wine Folly. Ask... » read more

System Bits: June 25


Supercomputers around the world At last week’s International Supercomputing Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, the 53rd biannual list of the Top500 of the most powerful computing systems in the world was released. Broken out by countries of installation, China has 219 of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers, compared with 116 in the United States. Ranking by percent of list flops, the ... » read more

Advanced Process Control


David Fried, vice president of computational products at Lam Research, looks at shrinking tolerances at advanced processes, how that affects variation in semiconductor manufacturing, and what can be done to achieve the benefits of scaling without moving to new transistor architectures. » read more

Unlocking Accurate Chemical Sensing on the Go


Air pollution is one of the grand challenges facing the entire planet — from the wealthiest nations to the least developed. The World Health Organization reports that nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants, and that polluted air takes over seven million lives annually through stroke, heart disease and respiratory ailments. As a result, the world is thirsty... » read more

System Bits: June 10


SlothBot swings through the trees, slowly A robot that doesn’t often move, spending its days, weeks, months, in the forest canopy, monitoring the local environment – that’s SlothBot, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The robot has two photovoltaic solar panels for its power source. It is designed to stay in the trees for months at a time. It’s gone through trials on the Geor... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 4


Flexible high-temp dielectric Researchers at Rice University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Cornell University developed a new high-temperature dielectric nanocomposite for flexible electronics, energy storage, and electric devices that combines one-dimensional polymer nanofibers and two-dimensional boron nitride nanosheets. The polymer nanofibers act as a structural reinforcement, w... » read more

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