The field of artificial intelligence has relied on heavy inspiration from the world of natural intelligence, such as the human mind, to build working systems that can learn and act on new information based on that learning. In natural networks, neurons do the work, deciding when to fire based on huge numbers of inputs. The relationship… Read More




Accuracy of In-Chip Monitoring for Thermal Guard-banding
I remember working at Intel and viewing my first SPICE netlist for a DRAM chip, because there was this temperature statement with a number after it, so being a new college graduate I asked lots of questions, like, “What is that temperature value?”
My co-worker answered, “Oh, that’s the estimated junction… Read More
Why we will all benefit from the next space race
Until January 3, no human being had ever set eyes upon the “dark side” of the moon: the side always facing away from the Earth. It always remained a mystery. But no longer. China’s National Space Administration successfully landed a lunar lander, Chang’e-4, at South Pole-Aitken, the moon’s largest and deepest basin. Its lunar rover… Read More
ASML and Memory Loss 2019
ASML reported a more or less in line quarter as expected, coming in at EUR3.14B in revenues and EPS of EUR1.87. However, guidance was worse than most analysts were expecting with Q1 revenues expected to be EUR2.1B or down about one third.
This cut is something we have been talking about for a while as we have expected sharp memory CAPEX… Read More
Having Your Digital Cake and Eating It Too
Anybody who’s ever read the iconic MAD magazine would be familiar with the wordless Spy vs Spy cartoon. First published in January, 1961, it features two agents involved in stereotypical and comical espionage activities. One is dressed in white, and the other in black, but they are otherwise identical. A parody of the political… Read More
Intel Swaggers at CES
Intel started out as a DRAM company using planar NMOS technology, then later on added EPROM and Microprocessors to the product mix. Their CPU technology enabled the dynamic growth of the PC industry starting with the IBM PC back in 1981 and continuing all of the way to this day. They long ago dropped out of the DRAM marketplace and began… Read More
Contrarian Views on Quantum Computing
I’m not opposed to the exotic ideas which capture public attention from time to time, but I do enjoy puncturing a popular expectation demanding every novel technology be a revolutionary breakthrough. I’ve already made my small contribution to driving a stake through the heart of claims that quantum computing (QC) will replace… Read More
Design Integrity Investment Thesis Part 2
It is important when talking about a market to first establish the need and potential growth, then determine how the market is being served. This requires examining product features and services offered. … Read More
Accelerating 5G Design Innovation Through Simulation Workshop
DesignCon is coming up, kicking off the first of many industry conferences for the year. It’s at the Santa Clara Convention Center which is the best venue in Northern California. Not only is this a semiconductor crowd, it’s also a systems crowd covering chips, boards, and systems. More than 175 companies participate with an expected… Read More
TSMC and Semiconductors 2019 and Beyond
TSMC has always been my bellwether and for 2019 I think we need to pay careful attention. Bad economic news has been spreading inside the fabless semiconductor ecosystem (tool and IP budgets have been tightening) but I think it is a bit premature. Let’s take a look at the TSMC 2018 Q4 earnings call and talk more about it in the comments… Read More
Yes Intel Should Go Private