Hidden Impacts Of Software Updates


Over-the-air updates can reduce obsolescence over longer chip and system lifetimes, but those updates also can impact reliability, performance, and affect how various resources such as memory and various processing elements are used. The connected world is very familiar with over-the-air (OTA) updates in smart phones and computers, where the software stack — firmware, operating systems, dr... » read more

How AI/ML Improves Fab Operations


Chip shortages are forcing fabs and OSATs to maximize capacity and assess how much benefit AI and machine learning can provide. This is particularly important in light of the growth projections by market analysts. The chip manufacturing industry is expected to double in size over the next five years, and collective improvements in factories, AI databases, and tools will be essential for doub... » read more

Semiconductor Test In The Gate All Around Era


The past two years have witnessed unprecedented growth in the semiconductor industry, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, automated vehicles, and augmented and virtual reality. All of these applications depend heavily on advancements in semiconductors to meet their needs for enormous computational processing and communication bandwidth to makes sense of t... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


It's earnings season, and despite widespread reports of capacity issues and shortages, the chip industry turned in relatively solid results across the board. Intel exceeded January guidance for Q1, reporting first-quarter GAAP revenue of $18.4 billion, a 7% year-over-year decrease, and a 1% decrease year-over-year on non-GAAP basis. Record revenue was achieved in the Network and Edge Group, ... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test


Onshoring and the supply chain Efforts to patch up supply chain weaknesses by moving more manufacturing onshore in the United States and Europe are generating a lot of buzz. Morris Chang, TMSC's founder, described those moves as "a very expensive exercise in futility," during an interview with the Brookings Institution and Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that it is like... » read more

Finding And Applying Domain Expertise In IC Analytics


Behind PowerPoint slides depicting the data inputs and outputs of a data analytics platform belies the complexity, effort, and expertise that improve fab yield. With the tsunami of data collected for semiconductor devices, fabs need engineers with domain expertise to effectively manage the data and to correctly learn from the data. Naively analyzing a data set can lead to an uninteresting an... » read more

Detecting Spatial Blotches In Image Sensor Devices


One of the most common defects in image sensor devices is spatial blotches. The appearance of blotches in image sensors is a regular occurrence and may be generated by internal moving parts or may be moved by air currents within the camera. Composed of two main statistical methods, the first module employs an inferential method, applying a spatial segmentation of the current frame to obtain ... » read more

Site-To-Site Variation In Parallel Test


From wafer to system level test, parallel test execution delivers significant benefits, including reduced costs, yet it’s never as simple as that PowerPoint slide you present to management. An engineering effort is required to balance the thermo-electrical challenges that occur as you increase the number of sites to be tested, or the number of slots in a burn-in oven or system level te... » read more

Fundamental Shifts In IC Manufacturing Processes


High chip value and 3D packaging are changing where and how tests are performed, tightening design-for-reliability and accelerating the shift of tools from lab to fab. Heterogeneous integration and more domain-specific designs are causing a string of disruptions for chip manufacturers, up-ending proven fab processes and methodologies, extending the time it takes to manufacture a chip, and ul... » read more

Software-Driven and System-Level Tests Drive Chip Quality


Traditional semiconductor testing typically involves tests executed by automatic test equipment (ATE). But engineers are beginning to favor an additional late-test pass that tests systems-on-chip (SoCs) in a system context in order to catch design issues prior to end-product assembly. “System-level test (SLT) gives a high-volume environment where you can test the hardware and software toge... » read more

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