VCSEL Technology Takes Off

By Kevin Fogarty and Ed Sperling - 07 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 1

By Kevin Fogarty and Ed Sperling Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) technology, a proven but mostly niche technology until recently, is suddenly a very hot commodity thanks to the introduction of facial recognition in phones and other mobile devices. VCELS primarily have been used as a low-cost way of tracking movement and transfering data in computer mice, laser printers and ... » read more

Issues In Designing 5G Beamforming Antennas

By Kevin Fogarty - 07 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 3

As 5G networking inches closer to reality, one of the more stubborn problems also will be one of the smallest. Several issues have yet to be cracked with beamforming and massive MIMO antennas, which will make millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum—a key ingredient in 5G networks—work on multiple devices and base-station locations. Millimeter wave is problematic yet promising. Between bands 30... » read more

Testing AI Systems

By Ed Sperling - 15 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

AI is booming. It's coming to a device near you—maybe even inside of you. And AI will be used to design, manufacture and even ship those devices, regardless of what they are, where they are used, or how they are transported. The big questions now are whether these systems work, for how long—and what do those metrics even mean? An AI system, or AI-enhanced system, is supposed to adapt ove... » read more

Using a Fault Insertion and Current Sensing Unit

By NI - 15 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

When testing embedded software on mission critical electronic control units, like those used in automobiles or aircraft, it is important to validate the behavior with external faults for example if the integrity of the signals to the controller are compromised. The SLSC-12251/2 products from NI are designed for this purpose, these modules can be inserted into the signal path between the data ac... » read more

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer

By Kevin Fogarty - 10 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 2

While self-driving vehicles are beta-tested on some public roads in real traffic situations, the semiconductor and automotive industries are still getting a grip on how to test and verify that vehicle electronics systems work as expected. Testing can be high stakes, especially when done in public. Some of the predictions about how humans will interact with autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public... » read more

AI In Chip Manufacturing

By Ed Sperling - 10 Jan, 2019 - Comments: 0

Ira Leventhal, New Concept Product Initiative vice president at Advantest, talks with Semiconductor Engineering about using analysis and deep learning to make test more efficient and more effective. https://youtu.be/3VVG4JVnjHo » read more

4 Issues In Test

By Ed Sperling - 10 Dec, 2018 - Comments: 0

When most design engineers think about test, they envision a large piece of equipment in the fab they probably will never actually see or interact with. But as chips become more complex—driven by an explosion in both quantity and different types of data—test is emerging as one of the big challenges in design and manufacturing. There are four primary segments for test, each with its own s... » read more

Making Sure A Heterogeneous Design Will Work

By Ed Sperling - 03 Dec, 2018 - Comments: 0

An explosion of various types of processors and localized memories on a chip or in a package is making it much more difficult to verify and test these devices, and to sign off with confidence. In addition to timing and clock domain crossing issues, which are becoming much more difficult to deal with in complex chips, some of the new devices are including AI, machine learning or deep learning... » read more

System-Level Testing – The New Paradigm for Semiconductor Quality Control

By Astronics - 05 Nov, 2018 - Comments: 0

Covering the history and trends of system-level test for semiconductors, this solution brief discusses: The increasing complexities of testing advanced semiconductor integrated devices across a span of applications: automotive, mobile computing, wearables, and more; Semiconductor trends driving necessary shifts in testing methodologies including SiP, SoC, 3D finFETs, heterogeneous compo... » read more

Speedier, More Accurate Testing of Automotive Sensors Is Here

By Advantest - 12 Oct, 2018 - Comments: 0

The amount of electronic content in automobiles continues to grow at a brisk pace, and sensors represent a significant percentage of cars’ electronics. MarketsandMarkets estimates that the automotive sensors market alone will reach US$36.42 billion in value by 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7 percent between 2017 and 2023. Sensors in cars are used to monitor and control... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

by Ed Sperling

Legacy Process Nodes Going Strong

The critical, and growing, significance of mature node chips and processes.

by Bryon Moyer

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

Alongside high-NA EUV will be better-performing photoresists, reduced roughness using passivation and etch, and lateral etching to reduce tip-to-tip dimensions.

by Laura Peters

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?