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Self-Aligned Via Process Development for Beyond the 3nm Node

Self-Aligned Via Process Development for Beyond the 3nm Node
by Tom Dillinger on 01-05-2022 at 6:00 am

TEM DoD

The further scaling of interconnect and via lithography for advanced nodes is challenged by the requirement to provide a process window that supports post-patterning critical dimension variations and mask overlay tolerances.  At the recent international Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, TSMC presented … Read More


A User View of Efabless Platform: Interview with Matt Venn

A User View of Efabless Platform: Interview with Matt Venn
by Kalar Rajendiran on 01-04-2022 at 10:00 am

Matt Venn Photo from LinkedIn

A few months ago, SemiWiki published an interview of Mike Wishart, CEO of Efabless. That interview provided insights into Efabless vision and its platform strategy. If you haven’t already read that post, please refer to it for background details. In essence, Efabless is about democratization of chip design and manufacturing.… Read More


Technology Design Co-Optimization for STT-MRAM

Technology Design Co-Optimization for STT-MRAM
by Tom Dillinger on 01-04-2022 at 6:00 am

sense amplifier

Previous SemiWiki articles have described the evolution of embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) IP from (charge-based) eFlash technology to alternative (resistive) bitcell devices.  (link, link)

The applications for eNVM are vast, and growing.  For example, microcontrollers (MCUs) integrate non-volatile memory for … Read More


Demand for High Speed Drives 200G Modulation Standards

Demand for High Speed Drives 200G Modulation Standards
by Tom Simon on 01-03-2022 at 10:00 am

200G Modulation

Right now, the most prevalent generation of Ethernet for data centers is 400 Gbps, with the shift to 800 Gbps coming rapidly. It is expected that by 2025 there will be 25 million units of 800 Gbps shipped. Line speeds of 100G are used predominantly for 400 Gbps Ethernet – requiring 4 lanes each. Initially 800 Gbps will simply … Read More


Advanced 2.5D/3D Packaging Roadmap

Advanced 2.5D/3D Packaging Roadmap
by Tom Dillinger on 01-03-2022 at 6:00 am

SoIC futures

Frequent SemiWiki readers are no doubt familiar with the advances in packaging technology introduced over the past decade.  At the recent International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, TSMC gave an insightful presentation sharing their vision for packaging roadmap goals and challenges, to address the growing… Read More


Webinar: AMS, RF and Digital Full Custom IC Designs need Circuit Sizing

Webinar: AMS, RF and Digital Full Custom IC Designs need Circuit Sizing
by Daniel Payne on 01-02-2022 at 10:00 am

circuit sizing min

My career started out by designing DRAM circuits at Intel, and we manually sized every transistor in the entire design to get the optimum performance, power and area. Yes, it was time consuming, required lots of SPICE iterations and was a bit error prone. Thank goodness times have changed, and circuit designers can work smarter … Read More


White Paper: A Closer Look at Aging on Clock Networks

White Paper: A Closer Look at Aging on Clock Networks
by Tom Simon on 01-02-2022 at 6:00 am

Transistor Aging

We all know that designers work hard to reach design closure on SOC designs. However, what gets less attention from consumers is the effort that goes into ensuring that these chips will be fully operational and meeting timing specs over their projected lifetime. Of course, this is less important for chips used in devices with projected… Read More


Podcast EP55: A New Year’s Perspective with Dan and Mike

Podcast EP55: A New Year’s Perspective with Dan and Mike
by Daniel Nenni on 12-31-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan and Mike take some time to review 2021 – the events that led to growth, opportunities and challenges and a discussion of what lies ahead.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these podcasts belong solely to the speaker, and not to the speaker’s employer, organization, committee or any other group or individual.… Read More


DAC 2021 – Cliosoft Overview

DAC 2021 – Cliosoft Overview
by Daniel Payne on 12-30-2021 at 6:00 am

Simon and Karim min

It’s been awhile since I really looked at what Cliosoft has to offer in the EDA tool space, so at the 58th DAC I stopped by their exhibit booth on Tuesday to visit with Karim Khalfan, VP of Application Engineering, and Simon Rance, VP of Marketing. Their booth had all of the hot market segments listed: Automotive, 5G, IoT, AI, … Read More


Heterogeneous Integration – A Cost Analysis

Heterogeneous Integration – A Cost Analysis
by Tom Dillinger on 12-29-2021 at 10:00 am

cost comparison

Heterogeneous integration (HI) is a general term used to represent the diverse possibilities for die technology incorporated into advanced 2.5D/3D packaging.  At the recent International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, a team from Synopsys and IC Knowledge presented data from analyses of future potential… Read More