Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


Global semiconductor sales reached $574 billion in 2022, and U.S. semiconductor companies accounted for sales totaling $275 billion, or 48% of the global market, according to the 2023 Factbook released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). DRAM and NAND prices likely will continue to fall further this quarter because production cuts have not kept pace with weakening demand, accord... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Synopsys acquired Silicon Frontline Technology, a provider of an electrical layout verification solution for mixed-signal and analog designs, large-scale power semiconductor devices, and electrostatic discharge protection networks. "This acquisition enables Synopsys to extend the capabilities of our design analysis portfolio and help build out a system-level electrical analysis platform. We als... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility Qualcomm signed a definitive agreement to acquire fabless semiconductor company Autotalks, maker of automotive-qualified vehicle-to-everything (V2X) SoCs, processors, sensors, V2X RF transceivers, and other products for use in automatic braking and cooperative perception systems (where a vehicle can see what another vehicle is seeing). Autotalks’ V2X products are dual-m... » read more

From Known Good Die To Known Good System With UCIe IP


Multi-die systems are made up of several specialized functional dies (or chiplets) that are assembled in the same package to create the complete system. Multi-die systems have recently emerged as a solution to overcome the slowing down of Moore’s law by providing a path to scaling functionality in the packaged chip in a way that is manufacturable with good yield. Additionally, multi-die sy... » read more

Making Tradeoffs With AI/ML/DL


Machine learning, deep learning, and AI increasingly are being used in chip design, and they are being used to design chips that are optimized for ML/DL/AI. The challenge is understanding the tradeoffs on both sides, both of which are becoming increasingly complex and intertwined. On the design side, machine learning has been viewed as just another tool in the design team's toolbox. That's s... » read more

Rethinking Engineering Education In The U.S.


The CHIPS Act, as well as the ongoing need for talent, is causing both industry and academia in America to rethink engineering education, resulting in new approaches and stronger partnerships. As an example, Arizona State University (ASU) now has a Secure, Trusted, and Assured Microelectronics Center (STAM). The center offers an interdisciplinary approach to learning secure and trusted semic... » read more

Blog Review: May 10


Synopsys' Alessandra Nardi and Uyen Tran explain how to meet quality, reliability, functional safety, and security requirements of automotive chips through thorough test programs, path-margin monitoring, and design failure mode and effect analysis (DFMEA). Cadence's Veena Parthan explores how computational fluid dynamics can help predict and model the generation, propagation, and mitigation ... » read more

Achieving Your Low Power Goals With Synopsys Ultra Low Leakage IO


The demand for low power design has intensified with shrinking geometries. At the same time, innovation in battery operated, handheld devices has increased the design complexity by adding more and more functionality. The focus is on power-optimized designs while maintaining low cost and reduced risk. Designers face these complex and contradictory challenges: developing products with the lowest ... » read more

Designing Crash-Proof Autonomous Vehicles


Autonomous vehicles keep crashing into things, even though ADAS technology promises to make driving safer because machines can think and react faster than human drivers. Humans rely on seeing and hearing to assess driving conditions. When drivers detect objects in front of the vehicle, the automatic reaction is to slam on the brakes or swerve to avoid them. Quite often drivers cannot react q... » read more

Pinpointing Timing Delays Can Improve Chip Reliability


Growing pressure to improve IC reliability in safety- and mission-critical applications is fueling demand for custom automated test pattern generation (ATPG) to detect small timing delays, and for chip telemetry circuits that can assess timing margin over a chip's lifetime. Knowing the timing margin in signal paths has become an essential component in that reliability. Timing relationships a... » read more

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