Look Who’s Making Chips

By Ed Sperling - 27 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 1

The entry into the chip business by companies such as Apple, and possibly Google, Amazon and a handful of others, may seem like a land grab in the semiconductor world, but the reality is that system companies have always done their own semiconductor design. Only the names have changed. IBM made its own PC processors, and it still makes them for its high-end servers. HP made chips for its PCs... » read more

Better Software. Faster!

By Tom De Schutter - 27 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 0

As virtual prototyping has seen a wide adoption over the last couple of years, it felt like the right time to work with industry leaders across multiple applications and publish a book that captures the best practices in virtual prototyping. As editor of the book: Better Software. Faster!, I had the privilege to work with some incredibly knowledgeable people who have been deploying virtual prot... » read more

The Next Big Threat: Power And Performance

By Ed Sperling - 17 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 3

In the shiny world of consumer electronics and powerful computers, taking a grinder to the outside of a package may sound more like safecracking than sophisticated electronic code hacking. The reality is there is more in common than most semiconductor companies would like to admit, and the starting point often is just as crude. To no small extent, systems on chip have become miniature safes.... » read more

Chip Startup Shuts Its Doors

By Mark LaPedus - 19 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 0

Calxeda, a high-profile developer of ARM-based chips for servers and other products, has shut its doors and effectively ceased operations. As part of the move, the startup has laid off nearly all of its 130 employees amid what it calls a restructuring period. Founded in 2008, Calxeda has raised around $103 million in funding, and has been selling ARM-based server chips in an emerging but inc... » read more

Executive Viewpoint: Atoptech’s Jue-Hsien Chern

By Brian Bailey - 13 Nov, 2013 - Comments: 0

What is the difference between skyscrapers and chips? Dr Chern has worked on both and he says it’s all about how you apply margins. Jue-Hsien Chern started his technology career earning a M.S. and B.S. in Engineering from National Taiwan University and majored in structural engineering — bridges, dams, tunnels and high-rise buildings, all of which had to withstand earthquakes. That is a ... » read more

Under One Roof

By Ed Sperling - 12 Sep, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Microsoft’s decision to buy Nokia’s phone business, Apple’s move to build its own chips to more effectively run its software, and Google’s effort to develop its own hardware for next-generation platforms such as Google Glass mark an interesting reversal in the electronics industry. Disaggregation was the answer to slow-moving giants such as big-iron companies. Startin... » read more

China Foundries Seek Niches

By Mark LaPedus - 15 Aug, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus For decades, China has launched several initiatives to modernize its semiconductor industry with hopes of becoming the next IC powerhouse in Asia. In 2001, for example, China unveiled its so-called "Tenth Five-Year Plan," which called for the nation to build 25 new fabs from 2001 to 2005. At the time, the Chinese government hoped to start and fund a new crop of domestic fou... » read more

Power Shifts In Digital Chip Space

By Bhanu Kapoor - 08 Aug, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Bhanu Kapoor The power issue has been quite disrupting in the digital semiconductor space. The processor architecture shifted to parallel processing with the “power wall” stopping the frequency scaling that the industry had conveniently used in the last few decades. The power issue also is causing semiconductor process technology to change in ways other than simply scaling from one ... » read more

Foundries Eye 300mm Analog Fabs

By Mark LaPedus - 18 Jul, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Mark LaPedus In 2009, Texas Instruments changed the semiconductor landscape when it opened the industry’s first 300mm fab for analog chips. Until then, analog chip production was conducted in fabs at 200mm wafer sizes and below. With a 300mm fab, TI potentially could gain a die-size and cost advantage over its analog rivals. On paper, a 300mm wafer provides 2.5 times more chips than a... » read more

Cost vs. Value

By Ann Mutschler - 10 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ann Steffora Mutschler The increasing amount of mixed-signal content being included in SoCs for automotive, networking and all manner of mobile devices is reinvigorating the mixed-signal industry. While this is great news for companies playing in anything related to mixed-signal technology, it also means increasing complexity for the engineering teams pulling all the pieces together. “... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

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

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3.5D: The Great Compromise

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

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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

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

by Bryon Moyer

New AI Processors Architectures Balance Speed With Efficiency

Hot Chips 24: Large language models ratchet up pressure for sustainable computing and heterogeneous integration; data management becomes key differentiator.