My typical DACtrip is a blur of non-stop interviews with EDA, IP and Semiconductor vendors followed by a few dozen blogs to share what I’ve learned. I just became aware of something a bit different at DAC this year by talking with Jill Jacobs, an organizer for an event dubbed Heart of Technology (HoT) where they raise money for… Read More
Crossing the Chasm: From Technology to Valuable Enterprise
One of the advantages of being an independent consultant is that I get to choose who I work with and what type of projects I accept. In fact, that is why I originally started blogging, to get exposure to a wide range of topics and brand myself as a strategic semiconductor business development professional. Now rather than wasting time… Read More
Linley: Mobile Peaked in 2013?
Last week was the Linley Mobile Conference. Mobile is a huge semiconductor market and, outside of Intel, is the main driver for next generation process technologies. A new generation of mobile phones comes along, fills the leading edge fabs for a year or two and then moves on to the next generation. Nothing comes close to requiring… Read More
The 2015 DAC Designer and IP Track
What an exciting year for DAC with record submissions in nearly every category. Most impressive is the increase in Designer and IP Track submissions, content that is helping to continue to evolve and improve the show. If you haven’t already registered, why not do so now?
A brief bit of background about the conference: DAC’s roots… Read More
Imec Technology Forum
I like to quiz people on which country is the one where the most leading edge research on semiconductors is done. People reflexively answer USA or maybe Taiwan or Japan. Nobody who doesn’t already know the answer would pick Belgium. After all the EU headquarters is there not because Belgium is important but because Belgium… Read More
Silicon Catalyst’s Launch Party at Avaya Stadium
There is a new stadium in town. No, not Levi’s Stadium where the 49ers play, that one is already a year old. There is Avaya Stadium over near San Jose airport. 1123 Coleman Avenue if you want to be precise. This is a purpose-built soccer stadium where the San Jose Earthquakes play. Their season just started in February.
But on … Read More
Safety Dominates Agenda in DAC’s Automotive Track
The connected car movement is in full bloom, making headlines in the trade media on how the cutting-edge electronics will transform the twenty-first century driving experience. However, a closer look at the Internet of cars juggernaut shows that safety and security of the networked vehicle are still a major stumbling block.… Read More
Security All Around in SoCs at DAC
Last month I was on my way to write a detailed article on important aspects to look at while designing an SoC. This was important in the new context of modern SoCs that go much beyond the traditional power, performance and area (PPA) requirements. I had about 12-13 parameters in my list that I couldn’t cover in one go, so I put the write-up… Read More
DAC Keynotes: Mark Your Calendar
DAC starts in San Francisco on June 8th. The kickoff keynote at 9.20am that morning is by Brian Otis of Google. He is a director at Google[x]. According to Wikipedia:Google X, stylized as Google[x], is a semi-secret facility run by Google dedicated to making major technological advancements. It is located about a half mile from … Read More
Mapping Focus and Dose onto BEOL Fabrication Effects
With today’s ArF based lithography using 193nm wavelength light, we are hard up against the limitations imposed by the Raleigh equation. Numerous clever things have been devised to maximize yield and reduce feature size. These include 2 beam lithography, multiple patterning, immersion litho processes to improve NA, thinner… Read More
Should the US Government Invest in Intel?