At the 2024 TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum, one of the technical talks by TSMC focused on maximizing 3DIC design productivity and rightfully so. With rapid advancements in semiconductor technology, 3DICs have become the next frontier in improving chip performance, energy efficiency, and density. TSMC’s focus on streamlining the… Read More
Synopsys and TSMC Pave the Path for Trillion-Transistor AI and Multi-Die Chip Design
Synopsys made significant announcements during the recent TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum, showcasing a range of cutting-edge solutions designed to address the growing complexities in semiconductor design. With a strong emphasis on enabling next-generation chip architectures, Synopsys introduced both new technologies and … Read More
TSMC 16th OIP Ecosystem Forum First Thoughts
Even though this is the 16th OIP event please remember that TSMC has been working closely with EDA and IP companies for 20+ years with reference flows and other design enablement and silicon verification activities. The father of OIP officially is Dr. Morris Chang who named it the Grand Alliance. However, Dr. Cliff Hou is the one … Read More
TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum Preview 2024
The 2024 live conferences have been well attended thus far and there are many more to come. The next big event in Silicon Valley is the TSMC Global OIP Ecosystem Forum on September 25th at the Santa Clara Convention Center. I expect a big crowd filled with both customers and partners.
This is the 16th year of OIP and it has been an honor… Read More
Application-Specific Lithography: Patterning 5nm 5.5-Track Metal by DUV
At IEDM 2019, TSMC revealed two versions of 5nm standard cell layouts: a 5.5-track DUV-patterned version and a 6-track EUV-patterned version [1]. Although the metal pitches were not explicitly stated, later analyses of a 5nm product, namely, Apple’s A15 Bionic chip, revealed a cell height of 210 nm [2]. For the 6-track … Read More
TSMC’s Business Update and Launch of a New Strategy
What looks like a modest market expansion strategy is all but modest.
Insights into the Semiconductor Industry and the Semiconductor Supply Chain.
As usual, when TSMC reports, the Semiconductor industry gets a spray of insights that help understand what goes on in other areas of the industry. This time, TSMC gave more insight … Read More
TSMC Foundry 2.0 and Intel IDM 2.0
When Intel entered the foundry business with IDM 2.0 I was impressed. Yes, Intel had tried the foundry business before but this time they changed the face of the company with IDM 2.0 and went “all-in” so to speak. The progress has been impressive and today I think Intel is well positioned to capture the NOT TSMC business by providing… Read More
What if China doesn’t want TSMC’s factories but wants to take them out?
Insights into the Semiconductor Industry and the Semiconductor Supply Chain
I am not an expert in geopolitical issues, but lately, my research has begun to worry me. As I was preparing to be interviewed for Chinese media, I was in my “Chinese Zone”, adapting to what is palatable to a Chinese audience. Maybe my mode provoked the thought:… Read More
VLSI Technology Symposium – Intel describes i3 process, how does it measure up?
At the VLSI Technology Symposium this week Intel released details on their i3 process. Over the last four nodes Intel has had an interesting process progression. In 2019, 10nm finally entered production with both high performance and high-density standard cells. 10nm went through several iterations eventually resulting in… Read More
TSMC Advanced Packaging Overcomes the Complexities of Multi-Die Design
The TSMC Technology Symposium provides a worldwide stage for TSMC to showcase its advanced technology impact and the extensive ecosystem that is part of the company’s vast reach. These events occur around the world and the schedule is winding down. TSMC covers many topics at its Technology Symposium, including industry-leading… Read More