TSMC Leads Again with 3-D Packaging!

TSMC Leads Again with 3-D Packaging!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-24-2016 at 4:00 pm

Continuing to find new ways to extend Moore’s Law, the foundry and technology leader is ready to show off its wafer level system integration prowess with two scalable platforms targeting key growth markets.

CoWoS® (Chip-On-Wafer-On-Substrate) goes after high-performance applications, providing the highest bandwidth and… Read More


What Does an MPW and a Pizza Have in Common?

What Does an MPW and a Pizza Have in Common?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-23-2016 at 12:00 pm

Design starts are critical to the growth of the semiconductor industry so enabling them is a common theme on SemiWiki. One thing we have not covered in detail is multi-project wafer services (MPW) which is the equivalent of ride sharing through the initial mask and wafer process. Larger semiconductor companies already do this … Read More


Stop FinFET Design Variation @ #53DAC and get a free book!

Stop FinFET Design Variation @ #53DAC and get a free book!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-20-2016 at 7:00 am

If you plan on visiting Solido (the world leader in EDA software for variation-aware design of integrated circuits) at the Design Automation Conference next month for a demonstration of Variation Designer, register online now and get an autographed copy of “Mobile Unleashed”. Such a deal!

Solido Variation Designer is used by… Read More


The ASIC Business Model is Critical for the DIY and Maker Movements!

The ASIC Business Model is Critical for the DIY and Maker Movements!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-17-2016 at 12:00 pm

If you look back at the beginning of the ASIC business you will see that it was really a critical time in the semiconductor industry. It all began in the 1980s which coincidentally is when I started my career in Silicon Valley. General purpose integrated circuits ruled the market, forcing system designers to cobble together off-the-shelf… Read More


TSMC and Solido on Variation-Aware Design of Memory and Standard Cell at Advanced Process Nodes

TSMC and Solido on Variation-Aware Design of Memory and Standard Cell at Advanced Process Nodes
by Daniel Nenni on 05-10-2016 at 12:00 pm

Being that TSMC and Solido are founding members of SemiWiki, you should be able find out everything you ever wanted to know on their respective landing pages. If not, just ask a question in the SemiWiki forum and I can assure you it will be answered in great detail. And here are some other interesting 2015 factoids from Solido:… Read More


Is Tesla Making Their Own CPUs?

Is Tesla Making Their Own CPUs?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-03-2016 at 4:00 pm

One of the benefits of administering a leading semiconductor design enablement portal is that I get to see the traffic patterns then try and figure out what’s behind them. For example, a Cupertino domain has been reading all of our automotive content very thoroughly. We also get hits by Google.com, Amazon.com, and dozens of other… Read More


Are Layoffs Good for the Semiconductor Industry?

Are Layoffs Good for the Semiconductor Industry?
by Daniel Nenni on 04-30-2016 at 7:00 am

As I have mentioned before, semiconductor professionals are very smart people, pound for pound the smartest in the workforce in my opinion. So what happens when thousands of engineers from Qualcomm, Broadcom, Altera, and Intel get shown the door? They don’t go to work for Starbucks, they don’t go to the unemployment line, they … Read More


Samsung 10nm and 7nm Strategy Explained!

Samsung 10nm and 7nm Strategy Explained!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-23-2016 at 7:00 am

Samsung Foundry had an intimate gathering recently for 200 customers and partners that I missed, but I know several people who attended. This event was a precursor to #53DAC where Samsung has the largest foundry presence. I was able to clarify what I had heard via a phone call with Kelvin Low so here is my version of what is important:… Read More


Webinar: How to Implement an ARM Cortex-A17 Processor in 22FDX 22nm FD-SOI Technology

Webinar: How to Implement an ARM Cortex-A17 Processor in 22FDX 22nm FD-SOI Technology
by Daniel Nenni on 04-22-2016 at 7:00 am

Who’s doesn’t like a good webinar? I certainly do as it is one of the most time efficient ways to interact with the fabless semiconductor ecosystem, absolutely. Especially when it addresses two of the top trending topics on SemiWiki and they are ARM and FD-SOI. Here is a quick summary of what you will learn:

GLOBALFOUNDRIESRead More


ARM and FD-SOI are like Peanut Butter and Jelly!

ARM and FD-SOI are like Peanut Butter and Jelly!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-19-2016 at 4:00 pm

When I first heard about a foundry possibly licensing FD-SOI I would have bet it was SMIC in China. What better market for a low cost, low power, easy to manufacture alternative to FinFETs? The foundry of course was Samsung which also made complete sense since they have 28nm gate-first capacity that matches up nicely to 28nm FD-SOI.… Read More