By offering low-power PCI Express PHY solution for mobile application! To make it clear, we are not talking about Mobile Express (M-PCIe), but clearly about PCI Express protocol, including a PCIe Controller and a PCIe PHY. Initially developed to support internal connection between the CPU and the GPU in a PC, the technology has… Read More



eSilicon Lyfts Its Game
We have got used to services like Uber and Lyft (at least in cities that are not so anti-consumer as to ban them, I’m looking at you New York. Et vous Paris). But in most of the semiconductor world we are still stuck standing at the side of the road waving our hand helplessly in the hope that the light on that taxi is actually on. Leading… Read More
Samsung Foundry Debuts 10nm Wafer!
The Samsung Smart, Connected Lifestyle event was last night at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco. Getting into San Francisco was no picnic with all of the roadwork and new building construction. We even saw people drive up on the sidewalk to get around car clogs. It really was crazy but definitely worth it after seeing the first … Read More
Flash Automobiles
Building flash memory for automotive is not straightforward. Just look at the specs you have to meet for grade 1 qualification:
- 100,000 cycles of endurance (writing new values)
- 10 years data retention
- all at 125°C (also needs to work down to -40°C)
GlobalFoundries have been working with Silicon Storage Technology (which is a wholly-owned… Read More
Realize the Genius of Your Design!
I think we can all agree that no matter what you are designing, FPGA prototyping can help. The challenge is getting the most out of the leading edge FPGA prototyping solutions and that requires a detailed understanding of how this technology works and what FPGA prototyping solutions match your design and verification requirements.… Read More
OneSpin Launchpad, the App Store for Formal Verification
Formal verification is qualitatively different from most other verification. A simulation can pass or fail. But while formal verification can prove that the circuit is correct, or incorrect, it can also return “not proven” which means either that the algorithms realized that they were not powerful enough to prove… Read More
Global Electronics Trending Upward
Global electronics production is on a generally positive trend. The chart below shows three-month-average change versus a year ago (3/12 change) for electronics production by country or region in local currency. Total industrial production is shown for Europe and South Korea since electronics production data is not available.… Read More
NFV opens gate for ARM server stampede
A couple of years ago, our own Paul McLellan gave us a report on the 2013 Linley Microprocessor Conference with a provocative headline: “Server Shift to ARM Becomes a Stampede”, a title right off one of the Linley slides. 64-bit ARMv8 architecture was relatively new to the game, and ARM share in networking platforms was just a sliver… Read More
How Microtechnology Will Change Just About Everything
When I hear the term micro-technology my first thought is of accelerometers and gyroscopes. However as I’ll explain shortly, micro technology is being applied to a lot more than smartphones and quadcopters. The fruits of development in this area will affect industry, medical, energy, transportation and many other sectors. … Read More
High-Voltage Power Design
Most of what is talked about on SemiWiki is silicon design. After all for regular SoCs it is the only game in town. But for high voltage power applications (think automotive for one big market) there are other more esoteric technologies becoming more attractive.
Silicon has been the material of choice for high-voltage power applications… Read More
Flynn Was Right: How a 2003 Warning Foretold Today’s Architectural Pivot