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Drift is a Bad Thing for SPICE Circuit Simulators

Drift is a Bad Thing for SPICE Circuit Simulators
by Daniel Payne on 10-07-2016 at 12:00 pm

My first job out of college was with Intel, located in Aloha, Oregon and I did circuit simulations using a proprietary SPICE circuit simulator called ASPEC that was maintained in-house. While doing some circuit simulations one day I noticed that an internal node in one of my circuits was gradually getting higher and higher, even… Read More


Climbing the dimensions (part 1)

Climbing the dimensions (part 1)
by Claudio Avi Chami on 10-07-2016 at 7:00 am

Translated and adapted from an article by Jaime Poniachik
The novel Flatland was written en 1884 by Edwin A. Abbot. This novel describes a fantastic, two-dimensional, flat world. Hence the name of the novel. This world has living beings. They have only two dimensions and they move in a plane which they cannot abandon.

It is not difficult… Read More


Takata’s Deepest Betrayal

Takata’s Deepest Betrayal
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-06-2016 at 4:00 pm

There’s been a lot of betrayal in the automotive industry over the past few years. Consumers have been betrayed by car makers that failed to identify, report or anticipate problems or that deliberately misled their customers. But no betrayal was deeper than that of Takata and the ongoing airbag recall effort. And Takata’s… Read More


Smarter Cities and The Internet of Things

Smarter Cities and The Internet of Things
by Bill McCabe on 10-06-2016 at 12:00 pm

Parking meters, information signs, CCTV, traffic signals – almost everywhere that you look in a modern city, there’s a microchip embedded device, connecting to what has now become known as the all-encompassing Internet of Things. Although we often overlook the fact, cities are, in essence, huge and complex businesses. Cities… Read More


Processors, Processors, Processors Everywhere

Processors, Processors, Processors Everywhere
by Tom Simon on 10-06-2016 at 7:00 am

At first glance a processor conference might seem a bit arcane, however we live in an era where processors are ubiquitous. There is hardly any aspect of our lives that they do not touch in some way. Last week at the Linley Processor Conference the topics included deep learning, autonomous driving, energy, manufacturing, smart cities,… Read More


Of distant dreams and violent delights

Of distant dreams and violent delights
by Don Dingee on 10-05-2016 at 4:00 pm

Another report today of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire, this time an allegedly refurbished unit, takes us back to the turning point in Samsung mobile phone history. It’s not the first time a defective Samsung phone – or a pile of thousands of them – has been on fire.

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee issued a powerful edict to his mobile… Read More


You’re Going to Want to Attend the Cadence Photonics Summit Workshop, October 19-20

You’re Going to Want to Attend the Cadence Photonics Summit Workshop, October 19-20
by Tom Dillinger on 10-05-2016 at 12:00 pm

Photonics IC’s (PIC’s) are used to transmit and receive data through a (single-mode or multi-mode) optical fiber carrier, and provide the requisite electro-optical conversion for system integration. The architecture of the PIC spans the full characteristics of data transmission and reception:

  • light generation

Typically,… Read More


The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Neural Nets

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Neural Nets
by Bernard Murphy on 10-05-2016 at 7:00 am

In 1960, the Nobel-winning theoretical physicist Eugene Wigner published an article titled “The unreasonable effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences”. His point was that, at least in the physical and chemical worlds, mathematics is able to describe the behavior of nature to an uncannily accurate degree, which… Read More


Free Copy of Mobile Unleashed: The History of ARM!

Free Copy of Mobile Unleashed: The History of ARM!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-04-2016 at 4:00 pm

As most of you know SemiWiki published a book which is a really nice history of ARM. We have received many compliments on it and we are very proud. As a thank you to all SemiWiki members I would like to offer a free electronic version of the book (PDF). You can access it via the attachment at the bottom of this wiki:

SemiWiki Book Download:MobileRead More


"Rigid-Flex Design is Coming"

"Rigid-Flex Design is Coming"
by Tom Dillinger on 10-04-2016 at 12:00 pm

Printed circuit boards that incorporate a combination of traditional PCB technology with flexible substrates, aka rigid-flex designs, have enabled an increasing variety of product designs, that leverage the unique physical form factor and lightweight options that rigid-flex technology offers. Yet, this technology requires… Read More