Global electronics production is healthy, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The chart below shows the three-month-average change versus a year ago (3/12 change) in electronics production (measured in local currency) for the major Asian producers. China is the largest electronics manufacturing country and the original source… Read More





Reverse-engineering the First FPGA Chip Xilinx XC2064
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) can implement arbitrary digital logic, anything from a microprocessor to a video generator or crypto miner. An FPGA consists of many logic blocks, each typically consisting of a flip flop and a logic function, along with a routing network that connects the logic blocks. What makes an FPGA… Read More
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Goes Virtual with 2020 Global Technology Conference Series!
GlobalFoundries is one of the more interesting semiconductor stories of this decade. They started as a spinout of the AMD fabs then acquired Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in 2009 and the IBM Microelectronics business in 2014.
Now that events are virtual it is a great time for my fellow semiconductor professionals to
AI in Korea. Low-Key PR, Active Development
Based on press coverage and technical paper volume, you could be forgiven for thinking that Korea had decided to take a pass on AI mania, or maybe just to dabble a little here and there to stay abreast of trends. But you’d be wrong. Korea is very active in AI; they don’t feel a need to trumpet what they’re doing from the rooftops. If you … Read More
Trusted IoT Ecosystem for Security – Created by the GSA and Chaired by Mentor/Siemens
There’s a lot to keep you awake at night these days. If you live in California, it’s wildfires and unbreathable air. If you live on planet Earth, it’s COVID-19. And if you’re part of the value chain for IoT, it’s the security and robustness of the silicon and software fabric that connects our world. This fabric connects everything,… Read More
CEO Interview: Pengwei Qian of SkillCAD
Pengwei Qian is the founder and CEO of SkillCAD, a grassroots EDA company that has amassed the most impressive customer list (60+ companies) I have experienced for a company of this size, absolutely.
Pengwei has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and a Masters in Material Science from Fudan University and a Masters in Electronic Engineering… Read More
VLSI Symposium 2020 – Imec Monolithic CFET
The 2020 VLSI Technology Symposium was held as a virtual conference from June 14th through June 19th. At the symposium Imec gave an interesting paper on Monolithic CFET and I had a chance to interview one of the authors, Hiroaki Arimura.
It is well known in the industry that FinFETs (FF) are reaching the end of their scaling life. Samsung… Read More
The Cloud Changes Connected Cars
Rare is the auto maker today that views connectivity as an option when designing a car. Connectivity is essential even if it is not yet universally available.
Strategy Analytics interviewed a selection of automotive executives in connection with a white paper prepared for Ericsson to explore this proposition. (“Connected … Read More
Could loss of SMIC lead to loss of most of China?
Is the US finally getting truly tough on China? or just a bluff?
Could lead to a global reset of the industry & 10 year retreat?
Tech stocks wings have melted after super heated stock run?
SMIC added to the “naughty” list?
There have been numerous reports that the US is considering adding SMIC to the China “naughty”… Read More
Online Verification Meet-up With Intel and Arm!
Veriest is headquartered in Israel with engineering sites in Serbia & Hungary. The team has accumulated a wealth of experience through involvement in projects in the forefront of semiconductor technology.
Veriest maintains unrivaled quality standards in terms of both service and knowledge. With the ability to take on … Read More
Rapidus, IBM, and the Billion-Dollar Silicon Sovereignty Bet