There are many unsung heroes in our industry – companies that provide unique services and expertise that enable the rapid advances in fabrication process development that we’ve come to rely upon. Some of these companies offer “back-end” services, assisting semiconductor fabs with yield diagnostic engineering and failure… Read More
Foundry Fantasy- Deja Vu or IDM 2?
– Intel announced 2 new fabs & New Foundry Services
– Not only do they want to catch TSMC they want to beat them
– It’s a very, very tall order for a company that hasn’t executed
– It will require more than a makeover to get to IDM 2.0
Intel not only wants to catch TSMC but beat them at their own … Read More
Micron- Optane runs out of Octane- Bye Bye Lehi- US chip effort takes a hit
– Micron shuts down once promising XPoint
– Lehi Utah fab to be sold off- Had been a $400M drain
– Unique memory couldn’t follow flash down cost/yield curve
– Savings helps Micron but its now just another memory maker
XPoint “Coulda been a contender”
XPoint should have amounted to more… Read More
Electronics Back Strongly in 2021
Electronics production has recovered strongly from slowdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most major Asian electronic producers reported double-digit increases in early 2021. The chart below shows three-month-average change versus a year ago for electronics production. The data is from each country’s official statistics… Read More
Executive Interview: Casper van Oosten of Intermolecular, Inc.
Casper van Oosten is the Business Field Head and Managing Director for Intermolecular, Inc., acquired by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2019. Prior to this role, Casper worked in various roles on Eyrise™ Dynamic Liquid Crystal Window in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, at an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Casper… Read More
Enabling Edge AI Vision with RISC-V and a Silicon Platform
AI vision processing moving to the edge is an undeniable industry trend. OpenFive, the custom silicon business unit of SiFive, discusses this trend with compelling facts in their recent paper titled “Enabling AI Vision at the Edge.” AI vision is being deployed in many applications, such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities, … Read More
Sondrel Explains One of the Secrets of Its Success – NoC Design
Sondrel is an interesting and unique company. They are a supplier of turnkey services from system to silicon supply. So far, not that unique as there are a lot of companies with this mission. What is unique is their focus on complex designs. The company takes on the design of chips that would need teams of engineers working for a year… Read More
Chip Channel Check- Semi Shortage Spreading- Beyond autos-Will impact earnings
– Semiconductor shortage is like toilet paper shortage in early Covid
– Panic buying, hoarding, double ordering will cause spike
– Could cause a year+ of dislocation in chip makers before ending
– Investors, Govt & Mgmt will get a wake up call from earnings hit
Auto industry is just a prominent tip … Read More
Digital Filters for Audio Equalizer Design
Equalizers were initially designed and developed for movie theaters and amphitheaters or outdoor areas but now they have become ubiquitous. Equalization is essential for creating professional sound and creating real life like sound effects. Equalizers are used for controlling the energy/loudness of a particular frequency… Read More
Webinar: Samtec Teams with Otava and Avnet to Tame mmWave Design
mmWave design has traditionally been a boutique technology used in satellite and defense applications. Lately that’s changing. It turns out the complex, high frequency capabilities of mmWave technology are a key enabler for the 5G wireless networks being deployed today. I discussed some of this backstory in a recent post about… Read More
Rapidus, IBM, and the Billion-Dollar Silicon Sovereignty Bet