Cutting the Key to 14nm Lithography

Cutting the Key to 14nm Lithography
by Beth Martin on 04-08-2013 at 2:30 pm

It appears that immersion lithography is now the plan of record for manufacturing ICs at 14nm. How is it possible to use 193nm wavelength light at 14nm? How can we provide the process window to pattern the such tight pitches? The secret lies in computational lithography. For 20nm, the two key innovations in computational lithography… Read More


For power and performance, Fins or BOXes?

For power and performance, Fins or BOXes?
by Beth Martin on 04-05-2013 at 12:50 pm

I recently spoke to Arvind Narayanan, Product Marketing Manager for Mentor’s place and route division about emerging technology. This of course led to FinFETS, FDSOI, performance, power, and cost-benefit. The battle between FDSOI and FinFETs, said Narayanan, is going to be something to watch.

Both FDSOI and FinFET technologies… Read More


IJTAG for IP Test: a free seminar

IJTAG for IP Test: a free seminar
by Beth Martin on 03-14-2013 at 1:53 pm

What: Better IP Test with IJTAG
When: 26 March, 2013, 10:30am-1:30pm
Where: Mentor Graphics, 46871 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538


If you are involved in IC test*, you’ve probably heard about the IEEE P1687 standard, called IJTAG for ‘internal’ JTAG. IJTAG defines a standard for embedded IP that includes simple… Read More


Mentor Shines at DVCon

Mentor Shines at DVCon
by Beth Martin on 02-18-2013 at 12:30 am

Mentor Graphics will be all over DVCon next week (February 25-28) at the DoubleTree hotel in San Jose.

In addition to attending all the panels, tutorials, posters, and the keynote, you can visit Mentor in booth 901 on the exhibit floor.
Here’s the lineup of Mentor-related events:… Read More


Magic? No! It’s Computational Lithography

Magic? No! It’s Computational Lithography
by Beth Martin on 02-11-2013 at 7:00 am

The industry plans to use 193nm light at the 20nm, 14nm, and 10nm nodes. Amazing, no? There is no magic wand; scientists have been hard at work developing computational lithography techniques that can pull one more rabbit out of the optical lithography hat.

Tortured metaphors aside, the goal for the post-tapeout flow is the same… Read More


Navigating the new patent landscape

Navigating the new patent landscape
by Beth Martin on 02-08-2013 at 12:00 am

If you are considering filing a patent, you should know about the new patent rules effectinve on March 16, 2013. Most importantly, patent rights will switch from “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file.” Before we continue, I am not a lawyer; I’m just a dumb blogger. Seek actual legal advice about the new patent laws if you think… Read More


Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die

Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die
by Beth Martin on 02-07-2013 at 2:16 pm

FinFETs are hot, carbon nanotubes are cool, and collaboration is the key to continued semiconductor scaling. These were the main messages at the 2013 Common Platform Technology Forum in Santa Clara.

The collaboration message ran through most presenations, like the afternoon talk by Subi Kengeri of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Joe Sawicki… Read More


Mentor Snags Two Awards at DesignCon

Mentor Snags Two Awards at DesignCon
by Beth Martin on 01-29-2013 at 8:44 pm

Oh, awards season! The glitz! The glamour! The most important and innovative new design products!

That last part is a key feature of the annual DesignVision awards and the Best in Test awards presented at DesignCon 2013. Mentor Graphics’ test products scored two wins: a DesignVision award for their new Tessent IJTAG product, and… Read More


Yield Analysis and Diagnosis Webinar

Yield Analysis and Diagnosis Webinar
by Beth Martin on 12-06-2012 at 10:02 pm

Sign up for a free webinar on December 11 on Accelerating Yield and Failure Analysis with Diagnosis.

The one hour presentation will be delivered via webcast by Geir Eide, Mentor’s foremost expert in yield learning. He will cover scan diagnosis, a software-based technique, that effectively identifies defects in digital logic… Read More


Test and Diagnosis at ISTFA

Test and Diagnosis at ISTFA
by Beth Martin on 11-15-2012 at 7:10 pm

Finding and debugging failures on integrated circuits has become increasingly difficult. Two sessions at ISTFA (International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis) on Thursday address the current best practices and research directions of diagnosis.

The first was a tutorial this morning by Mentor Graphics luminary… Read More