tag: TSMC

Embedded FPGA Design Considerations
By Ed Sperling - 09 Jul, 2018 - Comments: 0

Geoff Tate, CEO of Flex Logix, talks about interconnects, memory, different design approaches, and why foundry processes are critical to eFPGA design. https://youtu.be/FngrgDnJn9c » read more

The Darker Side Of Consolidation
By Ed Sperling - 02 Jul, 2018 - Comments: 1

Another wave of consolidation is underway in the semiconductor industry, setting the stage for some high-stakes competitive battles over market turf and sowing confusion across the supply chain about continued support throughout a product's projected lifetime. The consolidation comes as chipmakers already are grappling with rising complexity, the loss of a roadmap for future designs as Moore... » read more

Where Is Selective Deposition?
By Mark LaPedus - 25 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 4

For years, the industry has been working on an advanced technology called area-selective deposition for chip production at 5nm and beyond. Area-selective deposition, an advanced self-aligned patterning technique, is still in R&D amid a slew of challenges with the technology. But the more advanced forms of technology are beginning to make some progress, possibly inching closer from the la... » read more

Materials, Magnetism & Quantum Physics
By Ed Sperling - 21 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 0

For the past half-century, chipmakers have been following the same roadmap for improving performance in chips and reducing the cost of chips. That has proven tremendously effective in reducing costs and packing computing into a smaller space, allowing people to carry around what used to be a multi-million-dollar mainframe in their pocket. That approach is beginning to lose momentum. It's ge... » read more

Big Trouble At 3nm
By Mark LaPedus - 21 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 0

As chipmakers begin to ramp up 10nm/7nm technologies in the market, vendors are also gearing up for the development of a next-generation transistor type at 3nm. Some have announced specific plans at 3nm, but the transition to this node is expected to be a long and bumpy one, filled with a slew of technical and cost challenges. For example, the design cost for a 3nm chip could exceed an eye-p... » read more

Chip Dis-Integration
By Brian Bailey - 14 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 2

Just because something can be done does not always mean that it should be done. One segment of the semiconductor industry is learning the hard way that continued chip integration has a significant downside. At the same time, another another group has just started to see the benefits of consolidating functionality onto a single substrate. Companies that have been following Moore's Law and hav... » read more

Advanced Packaging Confusion
By Ed Sperling - 13 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 2

Advanced packaging is exploding in all directions. There are more chipmakers utilizing different packaging options, more options for the packages themselves, and a confusing array of descriptions and names being used for all of these. Several years ago, there were basically two options on the table, 3D-ICs and 2.5D. But as chipmakers began understanding the difficulty, cost and reduced benef... » read more

New Transistor Types Vs. Packaging
By Ed Sperling - 11 Jun, 2018 - Comments: 0

Plans are being formulated for the rollout of multiple types of gate-all-around FETs and literally dozens of advanced packaging options. The question now is which ones will achieve critical mass, because there aren't enough chips in the world to support all of them profitably. FinFETs, which were first introduced by Intel at 22nm, are running out of steam. While they will survive 10/7nm, and... » read more

200mm Fab Crunch
By Mark LaPedus - 21 May, 2018 - Comments: 2

Growing demand for analog, MEMS and RF chips continues to cause acute shortages for both 200mm fab capacity and equipment, and it shows no sign of letting up. Today, 200mm fab capacity is tight with a similar situation projected for the second half of 2018 and perhaps well into 2019. In fact, 2018 will likely represent the third consecutive year that 200mm fab capacity will be tight. The sam... » read more

The Power Of De-Integration
By Ed Sperling - 17 May, 2018 - Comments: 0

The idea that more functionality can be added into a single chip, or even into a single system, is falling out of vogue. For an increasing number of applications, it's no longer considered the best option for boosting performance or lowering power, and it costs too much. Hooman Moshar, vice president of engineering at Broadcom, said in a keynote speech at Mentor's User2User conference this w... » read more

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