Silicon Catalyst is the world’s only incubator focused exclusively on semiconductor solutions. This unique position puts the organization in the center of many new technology innovations. Recently, a Semiconductor Startups Contest was announced in collaboration with Arm. You can learn more about the details of the… Read More




ASML Update SEMICON West 2023
At SEMICON West I had a chance to catch up with Mike Lercel of ASML. In this article I am going to combine ASML presentation material from the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, Mike’s SEMICON presentation, my discussions with Mike at SEMICON and a few items from ASML’s recent earnings call.
DUV
ASML continues to improve DUV systems.… Read More
Xcelium Safety Certification Rounds Out Cadence Safety Solution
While fully autonomous driving may now be a distant dream, ADAS continues to be a very active industry driver as much for its safety advantages as for other features. Today in the hierarchy of SAE levels, SAE 2+ may represent the most active area of development rather than levels 3 through 5. This range of options still requires a human… Read More
Wally Rhines Predicts the Future of AI at #60DAC
Dr. Walden Rhines has appeared many times on SemiWiki. His discussions touch on a variety of topics, most recently on the health of EDA and IP. His knowledge of our industry is substantial, and he always seems to have a new take on the trends and technologies that are unfolding around us. So, when Wally took the stage for a keynote address… Read More
Signal Integrity 101: Fundamentals for Professional Engineers
I have been watching Youtube since it began and have been amazed by it’s evolution. Literally everything is on Youtube now from sailing to home and auto repair, sewing and embroidery (wife), semiconductors, and now there is Youtube TV.
Signal Integrity has been a hot topic on SemiWiki since Samtec arrived in 2020. Samtec… Read More
Breker’s Maheen Hamid Believes Shared Vision Unifying Factor for Business Success
Maheen Hamid, a member of the ESD Alliance (a SEMI Technology Community) Governing Council and a member of SEMI’s North America Advisory Board, is an astute business executive. Together with her husband Adnan Hamid, they founded Breker Verification Systems, a company developing test synthesis solutions. She serves today … Read More
Altair’s Jim Cantele Predicts the Future of Chip Design
We all know chip design is changing in substantial ways and at a fast pace. The demands being placed on semiconductor systems are growing dramatically, and the innovation being delivered to address those demands is just as dramatic. Everyone seems to have an opinion on these trends, and a set of predications to make sense out of it… Read More
Convergence Between EDA and MCAD and Industrial Software
Cadence hosted a panel at DAC on how EDA, MCAD and industrial software have come together, a topic I always find interesting. Many years ago, I worked on a NAVAIR contract bid team, an eye-opener for a young engineer who thought that innovation started and ended with electronic design. I remember CATIA (3D modeling) being a component… Read More
Keysight EDA visit at #60DAC
The opening day at DAC was Monday and I had an appointment with Simon Rance (Cliosoft) and Stephen Slater, Product Manager of Keysight EDA in their suite. Back in February Daniel Nenni wrote about Keysight EDA acquiring Cliosoft, adding design data and IP management to their software offerings. I really wanted to hear how that … Read More
NILS Enhancement with Higher Transmission Phase-Shift Masks
In the assessment of wafer lithography processes, normalized image log-slope (NILS) gives the % change in width for a given % change in dose [1,2]. A nominal NILS value of 2 indicates 10% change in linewidth for 10% change in dose; the % change in linewidth is inversely proportional to the NILS. In a previous article [2], it was shown… Read More
Should the US Government Invest in Intel?