Ceva webinar AI Arch SEMI 800X100 250625

The First TSMC CEO James E. Dykes

The First TSMC CEO James E. Dykes
by Daniel Nenni on 08-25-2023 at 6:00 am

James Dykes TSMC CEO (1)

Most people ( including ChatGPT) think Morris Chang was the first TSMC CEO but it was in fact Jim Dykes, a very interesting character in the semiconductor industry.

According to his eulogy: Jim came from the humblest of beginnings, easily sharing that he grew up in a house without running water and never had a bed of his own. But because… Read More


Empyrean visit at #60DAC

Empyrean visit at #60DAC
by Daniel Payne on 08-24-2023 at 6:00 am

Patron EM IR flow min

I arrived for my #60DAC booth appointment at Empyrean and was able to watch a customer presentation from Jason Guo, of Diodes. Jason was talking about how his company used the Patron tool for EM/IR analysis on their automotive chips. Diodes was found back in 1959 at Plano, Texas, and has since grown into 32 locations around the globe,… Read More


Using Linting to Write Error-Free Testbench Code

Using Linting to Write Error-Free Testbench Code
by Daniel Nenni on 08-23-2023 at 10:00 am

AMIQ EDA Design and Verification

In my job, I have the privilege to talk to hundreds of interesting companies in many areas of semiconductor development. One of the most fun things for me is interviewing customers—hands-on users—of specific electronic design (EDA) tools and chip technologies. Cristian Amitroaie, CEO of AMIQ EDA, has been very helpful in introducing… Read More


Predictive Maintenance in the Context of Automotive Functional Safety

Predictive Maintenance in the Context of Automotive Functional Safety
by Kalar Rajendiran on 08-23-2023 at 6:00 am

Margin Agent to Measure Performance and Degradation

The automotive industry is undergoing a major transformation. The convergence of electrification, connectivity, driver-assistance technologies, and software-defined vehicles has led to the rise of use of advanced System-on-Chips (SoCs) that drive unprecedented levels of functionality and performance. However, this… Read More


Samtec Innovates a New Approach for High-Frequency Analog Signal Propagation

Samtec Innovates a New Approach for High-Frequency Analog Signal Propagation
by Mike Gianfagna on 08-22-2023 at 10:00 am

Samtec Innovates a New Approach for High Frequency Analog Signal Propagation

We are all familiar with the tradeoffs between copper and fiber for digital signal transmission. The short version is that fiber is flexible, like copper but supports higher data rates with less loss over longer distances. The bad news is that converting digital signals to light and back again isn’t a trivial process. These kinds… Read More


Bluetooth Based Positioning, More Accurate, More Reliable, Safer

Bluetooth Based Positioning, More Accurate, More Reliable, Safer
by Bernard Murphy on 08-22-2023 at 6:00 am

Using Bluetooth for positioning is a topic I have touched on before, for location services, keyless entry, and asset tracking among other applications. Earlier implementations depended on measures of received signal strength and angle-of-arrival / angle-of-departure, but these have limited accuracy in environments with… Read More


How Intel, Samsung and TSMC are Changing the World

How Intel, Samsung and TSMC are Changing the World
by Mike Gianfagna on 08-21-2023 at 10:00 am

How Intel, Samsung and TSMC are Changing the World

Given the changes in the music business, the term “Rock Star” doesn’t really have any relevance to music or its performers anymore.  Instead, we use the term to describe leaders, innovators and generally people or organizations of great significance. In the world of semiconductors, the designers of advanced chips were the rock… Read More


Enhanced Stochastic Imaging in High-NA EUV Lithography

Enhanced Stochastic Imaging in High-NA EUV Lithography
by Fred Chen on 08-21-2023 at 8:00 am

Enhanced Stochastic Imaging in High NA EUV Lithography

High-NA EUV lithography is the anticipated new lithography technology to be introduced for the 2nm node. Essentially, it replaces the 0.33 numerical aperture of current EUV systems with a higher 0.55 numerical aperture (NA). This allows the projection of smaller spot sizes and smaller pitches, roughly 60% smaller compared … Read More


How Philips Saved TSMC

How Philips Saved TSMC
by Daniel Nenni on 08-21-2023 at 6:00 am

TSMC Philips

TSMC and Philips have deep historical ties. In fact, TSMC may not have existed without Philips. In the 1980s TSMC was established as a joint venture with Philips Electronics, the government of Taiwan, and other private investors. Several semiconductor companies were approached by Morris Chang for funding including semiconductor… Read More


EP177: The Certus Approach to Meeting the Challenges of I/O and ESD with Stephen Fairbanks

EP177: The Certus Approach to Meeting the Challenges of I/O and ESD with Stephen Fairbanks
by Daniel Nenni on 08-18-2023 at 10:00 am

Dan is joined by Stephen Fairbanks, CEO of Certus Semiconductor. Stephen is an ESD pioneer with over 30 years of experience starting with his time at Intel, SRF Technologies, and now Certus Semiconductor.

Stephen describes the varied challenges of ESD andI/O library design presented by today’s technologies and design… Read More