The term von Neumann bottleneck is used to denote the issue with the efficiency of the architecture that separates computational resources from data memory. The transfer of data from memory to the CPU contributes substantially to the latency, and dissipates a significant percentage of the overall energy associated with … Read More





SPIE 2021 – ASML DUV and EUV Updates
At the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference held in February, ASML presented the latest information on their Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) and Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) exposure systems. I recently got to interview Mike Lercel of ASML to discuss the presentations.
DUV
Despite all the attention EUV is getting, most layers are still… Read More
Quantum Tunneling for OTPs, PUFs: Higher security
I’ve had a number of enjoyable discussions with John East who ran Actel until it was acquired. (John and Actel devices also play an important role in my book, The Tell-Tale Entrepreneur.) This is relevant because Actel were well-known for their anti-fuse FPGAs. eMemory Technology, the subject of this blog, also produce an anti-fuse… Read More
Delivering True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Experience
A recent blog about the Hearables market covered how expansive and far reaching the product opportunities promise to be. Of course, consumer purchase criteria will drive the product realizations, adoptions and consequently the market success of each of these envisioned products. Whether it is the earbud product or one of those… Read More
Electromagnetic and Circuit RLCK Extraction and Simulation for Advanced Silicon, Interposers and Package Designs
For years, there have been rather distinct domains for the extraction of interconnect models from physical design data.
Chip designers commonly focused on RC parasitics for circuit/path delay calculations and dynamic I*R voltage drop analysis. The annotation of extracted parasitics to a netlist model required the layout… 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
All-Digital In-Memory Computing
Research pursuing in-memory computing architectures is extremely active. At the recent International Solid State Circuits conference (ISSCC 2021), multiple technical sessions were dedicated to novel memory array technologies to support the computational demand of machine learning algorithms.
The inefficiencies associated… Read More
Honda Asserts Automated Driving Leadership
When Honda Motor Co. tied up with General Motors almost a year ago to collaborate on vehicle propulsion technology, connected car tech, and assisted driving, observers might have been forgiven for thinking Honda was surrendering its independence to catch up in the EV race. Honda reasserted its independence last week with the
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to 5G Cars
Prior to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic car makers were inching toward putting their 5G connectivity plans into action. There was a growing recognition, at the time, that no one wanted to miss the 5G car boat – and no car maker would want to be stuck selling 4G cars in a 5G world.
The onset of the pandemic was a shock to the system.
Rapidus, IBM, and the Billion-Dollar Silicon Sovereignty Bet