As I have mentioned before, there are very few secrets in Silicon Valley. Just last week I was minding my own business at a Starbucks when I overheard two engineers complaining about Samsung 14nm shuttles being delayed. They had badges on but I won’t out them because it could have easily been any of the fabless companies in Silicon … Read More
Look who is Leading the World Semiconductor Business
A couple of days ago I was reading a news article which said how long the world economy will be dependent on a single engine to drive it; obviously that single engine is USA. If we consider the overall economy, definitely USA is driving it, and semiconductor is a large part of it. The semiconductor is driving electronics and that is attracting… Read More
What does the Ford Mustang and Intel’s Gordon Moore Have in Common with Local Motors?
1964 Vision, Volume and Moore’s Law
The 1964 New York World’s Fair saw Lee Iacocca, then a young 40 year old General Manager, introduce a car that inspired “total performance” and was for a “young America out to have a good time.” This young America would become the baby boomer generation. The Mustang was revolutionary in its affordability,… Read More
MQTT not IoT “god protocol”, but getting closer
One protocol, and its descendants, drove the success of the World Wide Web. IP, or Internet Protocol, is the basis of every browser connection and the backbone of IT data centers. Some assumed that the Internet of Things would follow suit,… Read More
Samsung 14nm is the one delayed!
As you may have read, the CEO of Ultratech made some unfortunate statements on the recent quarterly conference call in regards to FinFET Yield. As a result there has been a lot of speculation about the who, what, and why. I blogged about it because it interested me personally plus I wanted to collect more data on the subject. Some of … Read More
FD-SOI, an Opportunity for China?
Last month in Shanghai was a meeting of the FD-SOI consortium. The focus of the meeting was largely on the suitability of using FD-SOI to serve the Chinese market. The fabs in China are not right on the bleeding edge and are very cost-sensitive so 28nm is probably as advanced as they will get for a long time if not indefinitely. China … Read More
In-Design DFM Signoff for 14nm FinFET Designs
While FinFET yield controversy is going on, I see a lot being done to improve that yield by various means. One prime trend today, it must be, it’s worthwhile, is to pull up various signoffs as early as possible during the design cycle. And DFM signoff is a must with respect to yield of fabrication. This reminds me about my patents filed… Read More
Let the FinFET Yield Controversy Begin!
It never ceases to amaze me how people point fingers and create controversy to cover their mistakes. It happened at 40nm, 28nm, and again at 20nm and now it is time for the regularly scheduled yield controversy. Of course any conversation about semiconductor yield generates clicks for SemiWiki so I’m happy to play along.
It generally… Read More
Semiconductor IP Forecast 2014 – 2020
Given that the majority of my 30+ years in Silicon Valley has revolved around semiconductor IP it should be of no surprise that IP is a big part of SemiWiki and our first book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry”. That is also why one of my first round blogger draft choices was IP expert Dr. Eric Esteve. Eric has… Read More
GNSS, dead reckoning, and MEMS IMUs
GNSS is a wonderful invention, and low cost receivers have crept into smartphones and other mobile devices. However, GNSS does not solve all problems, especially in urban environments. The canyon effect blocks signals at street level between tall buildings, and signals do not penetrate to the interior of parking garages, tunnels,… Read More
AI RTL Generation versus AI RTL Verification