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How to handle petabyte-scale traffic growth?

How to handle petabyte-scale traffic growth?
by Eric Esteve on 02-21-2016 at 12:00 pm

If you search the web for IP traffic growth, you will find many graphics, but the common result is that IP traffic is growing with high CAGR for many years and will again continue to grow with such high CAGR for the next five years. For example the global mobile data traffic is expected to grow with 53% CAGR 2015-2020… even if the smartphone… Read More


Emerging Smartphone Display Insights from Patents

Emerging Smartphone Display Insights from Patents
by Alex G. Lee on 02-20-2016 at 7:00 am

US201403549 illustrates a display that includes the multifunctional pixels. Each multifunctional pixel can include several display areas as well sensors. Combining visual display technology with sensors provides the touchscreen operation by use of a finger, stylus or other object positioned on or near the visual display,… Read More


To EUV, or not to EUV, that is the question!

To EUV, or not to EUV, that is the question!
by Daniel Nenni on 02-19-2016 at 4:00 pm

SPIE is next week so if you would like to meet me in person that is where I will be. SPIE is the big lithography and patterning conference for semiconductor professionals. Since I work with the foundries during my day job, SPIE is an important conference. SemiWiki blogger Scott Jones will also be there. During the day Scott does semiconductor… Read More


Why Apple’s Fight is Fruitless!

Why Apple’s Fight is Fruitless!
by Maria Miccoli on 02-19-2016 at 7:00 am

The article suggested by LinkedIn is titled “Should Apple fight a court order to unencrypt iPhones? #unlockiPhone”. However, my question is this, why didn’t the FBI just go to the NSA for what they needed? Why didn’t the FBI just hire the latest hacker who was able to hack the iphone and give him the same deal other hackers… Read More


New CEVA X baseband architecture takes on multi-RAT

New CEVA X baseband architecture takes on multi-RAT
by Don Dingee on 02-18-2016 at 4:00 pm

What we think of as a “baseband processor” for cellular networks is often comprised of multiple cores. Anecdotes suggest to handle the different signal processing requirements for 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, some SoC designs use three different DSPs plus a control processor such as an ARM core. That’s nuts. What is the point of having… Read More


Tesla’s Secret Weapon!

Tesla’s Secret Weapon!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 02-18-2016 at 12:00 pm

Some CEO’s make things look easy and appear to enjoy their work. CEO’s like Richard Branson and Warren Buffet come to mind. These are guys that clearly enjoy what they are doing and, as a result, make everything they do look effortless and fun.

Tesla’s Chairman and CEO, Elon Musk, is another one of these types. There is an impishness… Read More


FinFETs, Power Integrity and Chip/Package Co-design

FinFETs, Power Integrity and Chip/Package Co-design
by Bernard Murphy on 02-18-2016 at 7:00 am

FinFETs have brought a lot of good things to design – higher performance, higher density and lower leakage power – promising to extend Moore’s law for a least a while longer. But inevitably with new advances come new challenges, especially around optimizing for power integrity in these designs.

One of these challenges is… Read More


Internet of Things- Keeping the Best Things First

Internet of Things- Keeping the Best Things First
by Raj Kosaraju on 02-17-2016 at 4:00 pm

The growth of the Internet of Things and embedded and wearable devices—will have widespread and beneficial effects by 2025. In all of these exponentially-growing technologies — artificial intelligence, robotics, nanomaterials, biotech, bioinformatics, quantum computing, Internet of everything — these … Read More


Exploring USB Type-C DRP to USB Type-C DFP connection using USB C-Thru

Exploring USB Type-C DRP to USB Type-C DFP connection using USB C-Thru
by Rajaram Regupathy on 02-17-2016 at 12:00 pm

In a USB Type-C environment configuration process between a DRP and a DFP is as follows:

  • DRP to DFP attach/detach detection
  • Plug orientation detection
  • Initial DRP to DFP and power relationship detection
  • USB Type-C VBus current detection and usage
Read More

A Real Engineering Challenge – Artificial Red Blood Cells

A Real Engineering Challenge – Artificial Red Blood Cells
by Bernard Murphy on 02-17-2016 at 7:00 am

When you’re thinking about “what can we do next”, you can think big or you can think small – very, very small. Robert Freitas at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) has such an idea – artificial red blood cells (RBCs). These would be nano-machines which could augment the oxygen and carbon dioxide carrying capacity of … Read More