The 32nd VLSI Design/CAD Symposium just occurred in a virtual setting. The theme of the event this year was “ICs Powering Smart Life Innovation”. There were many excellent presentations across analog & RF, EDA & testing, digital & system, and emerging technology. There were also some excellent keynotes, and this… Read More
Mobileye’s Uncut Gem
Last week, Mobileye released a 40-minute long unedited video of the company’s camera-only Supervision automated driving system in action on the chaotic streets of New York City. The video release was part of an announcement of an expansion of Mobileye’s testing of autonomous vehicle technology including New York City (as the… Read More
Highlights of the “Intel Accelerated” Roadmap Presentation
Introduction
Intel recently provided a detailed silicon process and advanced packaging technology roadmap presentation, entitled “Intel Accelerated”. The roadmap timeline extended out to 2024, with discussions of Intel client, data center, and GPU product releases, and especially, the underlying technologies to be … Read More
Intel Accelerated
Intel presented yesterday on their plans for process technology and packaging over the next several years. This was the most detailed roadmap Intel has ever laid out. In this write up I will analyze Intel’s process announcement and how they match up with their competitors.
10nm Super Fin (SF)
10nm is now in volume production in three… Read More
Magnetic Immunity for Embedded Magnetoresistive RAM (eMRAM)
Previous SemiWiki articles have discussed the introduction of embedded Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive RAM IP from GLOBALFOUNDRIES, as an evolution replacement for non-volatile embedded flash memory. (link, link)
Those articles described the key features of STT-MRAM technology, but didn’t delve into a key reliability… Read More
GloFo inside Intel? Foundry Foothold and Fixerupper- Good Synergies
Intel reportedly talking to Abu Dhabi to buy GloFo for $30B
Would jumpstart Intel Foundry but require investment & repair
Avoids IPO risk – Allows Abu Dhabi escape- NY benefits
Doesn’t impact near term shortage or market share
Reported by WSJ- Intel in talks to buy GloFo
The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel… Read More
TSMC Design Considerations for Gate-All-Around (GAA) Technology
The annual VLSI Symposium provides unique insights into R&D innovations in both circuits and technology. Indeed, the papers presented are divided into two main tracks – Circuits and Technology. In addition, the symposium offers workshops, forums, and short courses, providing a breadth of additional information.
At… Read More
Apple’s Orphan Silicon
Apple’s recent Spring Loaded Event brought us M1-based iMacs. After the MacBook Air and 13” MacBook Pro in the fall, iMacs are the third Mac to jettison Intel processors. With this transition Apple’s T2 chip enters End of Life status, so to speak. The T2 is a bit of an enigma and now it does not have much time left.
We know it performs… Read More
VLSI Symposium – TSMC and Imec on Advanced Process and Devices Technology Toward 2nm
At the 2021 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits in June a short course was held on “Advanced Process and Devices Technology Toward 2nm-CMOS and Emerging Memory”. In this article I will review the first two presentations covering leading edge logic devices. The two presentations are complementary and provide and excellent… Read More
Resist Development for High-NA EUV
The successful transition to a new fabrication process from development to high volume manufacturing requires a collective, collaborative effort among process engineers, equipment manufacturers, and especially, chemical suppliers. Of particular importance is the chemistry of the photoresist materials and their interaction… Read More
Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding is Here