Week In Review: Design, Low Power

Quantum computing

Baidu introduced a 10-qubit quantum computer called Qianshi and what it described as “the world’s first all-platform quantum hardware-software integration solution that provides access to various quantum chips via mobile app, PC, and cloud.” The company said it has also completed the design of a 36-qubit quantum chip.

Scientists said “levitating” nanoparticles could one day lead to important advances in quantum computing technology. A new study shows researchers are able to use lasers to float tiny glass spheres within a vacuum and make the spheres interact with one another at very close range. The next step will be seeing if the technique can be used to create a state of quantum entanglement among the spheres.

Also in the “gee whiz” category, a team of physicists at the Max Planck Institute managed to entangle more than a dozen photons, creating what they claim is the basis for a new type of quantum computer. Also of note, they say the process for generating those entangled photons can be produced in a deterministic way, adding consistency and predictability into the process.

Design

In light of the U.S. Commerce Department’s recent restrictions on certain chip architecture tools, some are calling EDA “the next battle front in the U.S.-China chip war.”

In a similar vein, the U.K. government blocked the sale of Pulsic, an EDA vendor, to China’s Super Orange HK Holding Ltd. Pulsic develops place-and-route tools for leading-edge process nodes.

Tech giants are increasingly designing their own chips. Here’s a look at why YouTube created Argos.

Keysight announced a new suite of device modeling software with automation across the design and development workflow. “Keysight’s device modeling 2023 software suite addresses the needs of customers who generate high-quality SPICE models in limited time,” said Ma Long, manager of device modeling and characterization at Keysight Technologies.

Collaborations

Two standards organizations joined forces to reduce overlap between their respective technologies. JEDEC and the CXL Consortium created a joint work group aimed at exchanging information and aligning future efforts. Leadership said the group will collaborate on form factors, management, security, DRAM, and other memory technologies.

Infineon signed a multi-year supply agreement with II-VI for silicon carbide wafers. Infineon said it expects its SiC chip sales to grow an average of 60% per year, reaching about $1 billion by the middle of the decade. “SiC compound semiconductors set new standards in power density and efficiency. We are leveraging them to deliver on our strategy of decarbonization and digitalization,” said Angelique van der Burg, Chief Procurement Officer at Infineon.

Ansys collaborated with AMD on the latter’s new data center GPUs. Ansys developed code to support scaling and performance on the AMD Instinct accelerators. “This work is well-aligned with our high-performance computing strategy to invest deeply in GPUs as an emerging, sustainable, powerful technology for Ansys simulations,” said Shane Emswiler, senior vice president of products at Ansys.

Cadence’s analog/mixed-signal IC design flow is now certified for UMC’s 22ULP/ULL process technologies. The companies said the design flow optimizes process efficiency and shortens design cycle time. “With the increasing design complexity of 5G, IoT and smart wearables, enhancements in analog and mixed-signal technology are critical for the success of advanced IC designs,” said Ashutosh Mauskar, vice president, product management in the Custom IC & PCB Group at Cadence.

Keysight and Flexium Interconnect partnered on millimeter wave modules and material test accuracy and efficiency. The companies said the collaboration will accelerate the innovation of 5G FR2, non-terrestrial network, autonomous vehicle, and E-band technologies. “We’re excited to collaborate with Flexium on millimeter wave material measurements for next generation communication technologies, as engineers characterize, understand, integrate and accelerate the market adoption of high-frequency LCP antenna modules,” said Joe Rickert, vice president of high frequency measurement R&D at Keysight Technologies.

Upcoming Events

Sep. 5-6, DVCon, Bangalore, India.

Sep. 8, ARC Processor Summit, Santa Clara, CA.

Sep. 8, 4th Panel Level Packaging Consortium Symposium, Berlin, Germany.

Sep. 11-16, International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ICSCRM), Davos, Switzerland.

Sep. 13, Women in Semiconductor Hardware (WISH) Conference, Santa Clara, CA.

Sep. 13-14, Edge AI Summit, Santa Clara, CA.

Sep. 13-15, AI Hardware Summit, Santa Clara, CA.

Find more chip industry events here.

In Case You Missed It

Check out the Systems & Design newsletter and the Low Power-High Performance newsletter for these highlights and more:

• The Next Incarnation of EDA
• How Climate Change Affects Data Centers
• Verification Scorecard: How Well Is the Industry Doing?
• AI Power Consumption Exploding
• Is There A Limit To The Number Of Layers In 3D-NAND
• Cryogenic CMOS Becomes Cool
• New Uses for AI in Chips
• Challenges Grow For Modeling Auto Performance, Power

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