DRAM Thermal Issues Reach Crisis Point


Within the DRAM world, thermal issues are at a crisis point. At 14nm and below, and in the most advanced packaging schemes, an entirely new metric may be needed to address the multiplier effect of how thermal density increasingly turns minor issues into major problems. A few overheated transistors may not greatly affect reliability, but the heat generated from a few billion transistors does.... » read more

Effect of Different Frequency Scaling Levels on Memory in Regard to Total Power Consumption in Mobile MPSoC


New technical paper titled "CPU-GPU-Memory DVFS for Power-Efficient MPSoC in Mobile Cyber Physical Systems" from researchers at University of Essex, Nosh Technologies, and University of Southampton. Abstract "Most modern mobile cyber-physical systems such as smartphones come equipped with multi-processor systems-on-chip (MPSoCs) with variant computing capacity both to cater to performance r... » read more

Key Applications For In-Chip Monitoring IP


The latest SoCs on advanced semiconductor nodes especially FinFET, typically include a fabric of sensors spread across the die and for good reason. But why and what are the benefits? This article explores some of the key applications for In Chip monitoring and why embedding In Chip monitoring IP is an essential step to maximize performance and reliability and minimize power, or a combination of... » read more

Optimize Designs And Mitigate Thermal Threats In High-Current Automotive Applications


By Melika Roshandell, Cadence Design overview Current density increases at the PCB/package level result in local temperature increases known as hotspots. In addition to highlighting the heat generated locally around and underneath certain components at the PCB or IC package level due to component power consumption, the Celsius Thermal Solver can calculate the heat generated by the Joule ef... » read more

Advancing Electric Vehicle Battery Characterization By Integrating Drive Cycle On Cooling Impacts


Battery powered electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have been gaining market share as the public’s environmental concerns drive the demand for better fuel efficiency. Apart from the need to improve the mileage one can drive before recharging, battery reliability is another major concern. Effective cooling in intense charge/discharge conditions is crucial to minimizi... » read more

Thermal Management Implications For Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging


As the semiconductor industry reaches lower process nodes, silicon designers struggle to have Moore's Law produce the results achieved in earlier generations. Increasing the die size in a monolithic system on chip (SoC) designs is no longer economically viable. The breakdown of monolithic SoCs into specialized chips, referred to as chiplets, presents significant benefits in terms of cost, yield... » read more

Preparing For 3D-ICs


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the changes in design tools and methodologies needed for 3D-ICs, with Sooyong Kim, director and product specialist for 3D-IC at Ansys; Kenneth Larsen, product marketing director at Synopsys; Tony Mastroianni, advanced packaging solutions director at Siemens EDA; and Vinay Patwardhan, product management group director at Cadence... » read more

Innovative Top-Side Cooled Package Solution For High-Voltage Applications


This application note shows the benefits of using top-side cooled (TSC) power devices in high-voltage (HV) applications. In addition, it should help designers of such applications to understand how the device can be used and how an efficient and easy-to-assemble approach can be chosen to integrate TSC devices into the system. This application note describes Infineon’s new heat-spreader dual s... » read more

TAP-2.5D: A Thermally-Aware Chiplet Placement Methodology for 2.5D Systems


Abstract "Heterogeneous systems are commonly used today to sustain the historic benefits we have achieved through technology scaling. 2.5D integration technology provides a cost-effective solution for designing heterogeneous systems. The traditional physical design of a 2.5D heterogeneous system closely packs the chiplets to minimize wirelength, but this leads to a thermally-inefficient design... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 21


Compact optical amplifier Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology propose a new optical amplifier design that is compact, high-performance, and doesn't generate excess noise. “We have developed the world's first optical amplifier that significantly enhances the range, sensitivity and performance of optical communication, that does not generate any excess noise – and is also com... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →