What does system on chip (SoC) actually mean? How this tech moniker came into being? There is quite a bit of enigma about SoC in the technology press and what this term really stands for. Roger Shepherd, consultant at Parallel Computer Systems, shares on Quora his version of the SoC story. He says that he first heard about SoCs when … Read More
CEO Interview with Dr. Maksym Plakhotnyuk of ATLANT 3DDr. Maksym Plakhotnyuk, is the CEO and Founder…Read More
Altair SimLab: Tackling 3D IC Multiphysics Challenges for Scalable ECAD ModelingThe semiconductor industry is rapidly moving beyond traditional…Read More
AI Booming is Fueling Interface IP 23.5% YoY GrowthAI explosion is clearly driving semi-industry since 2020.…Read More
NVM IP now Available for On-Chip MCU Code
As of today NVM IP has been mostly used in SoC or IC to support very specific needs like analog trimming and calibration or encryption key integration for Digital Right Management (DRM) purpose. In other words small size (less than 1K-bit) few times programmable (FTP) NVM IP was enough to support these needs, thus most of the NVM IP… Read More
Apple’s Implications for Semiconductor
Apple’s iPhone 6 alone represents at least 50K wafer starts/month plus the iPad (A8X). What could the Iphone 6S/7 & A9 mean? What about the iWatch? Apple is the technology and volume driver of the semiconductor industry so lets take a look at the broader implications.
If we do the math the A8 is 89mm2 and 8.47 X 10.5mm. Using… Read More
NoC 102: Using SonicsGN to Address Low Power Requirements From IoT to Servers
At the end of last year, I moderated a Sonics webinar to introduce the concept of a network-on-chip or NoC. It was called NoC 101 and the replay is still available here.
Well it is a new year and time for chapter 2. I will be moderating a webinar next Wednesday February 4th at 10am pacific time. Once again the webinar itself will be delivered… Read More
Translating Intel
Some of Intel’s technology posts make some pretty specific statements and I have seen a number of posts where people seem to have misinterpreted what Intel was actually saying.
Multi Patterning
I have seen a lot of confusion on this one with some people saying Intel didn’t use multi patterning at 22nm and others saying Intel used … Read More
Qualcomm Earnings Call
Qualcomm had their earnings call today. There has been a lot of discussion about their business going forward and they lowered guidance. They didn’t say explicitly why but in the usual Kabuik theater of these things this is what they did say:While our outlook for the first half of the fiscal year is ahead of our prior expectations,… Read More
Tabula Closes its Doors
I heard a rumor at lunchtime that Tabula was closing its doors. A friend of mine talked to a couple of employees and it is true. They have to be given 2 months notice apparently so the doors don’t actually close until March 24th. I thought they had raised $150M but Wikipedia (not always reliable of course) says $215M. They were … Read More
Opto-Electronics to Take Care of Data Explosion
As we come nearer to an intelligent IoT world, one of the major concerns we talk every day is about data explosion, its storage, and access and so on. In the beginning of the year, I had blogged about some facts that indicated successful emergence of IoT in very near future. My faith gets further strengthened when I envision the semiconductor… Read More
Altera Back to TSMC at 10nm? Xilinx Staying There
Xilinx announced their quarterly results last week. They slightly missed their number due mainly to a decline in wireless sales. Of course Xilinx parts don’t go in the smartphones since the cost and power are too high, but they are very heavily used in basestation, backhaul etc especially in China. Xilinx’s business… Read More
Qualcomm versus Samsung?
There is an interesting reality show playing in the media featuring Qualcomm and Samsung with supporting actors TSMC, LG, Xaomi, and Apple. As I’m sure we all have read, Samsung is losing massive amounts of money on mobile which was once a very profitable business unit. Let’s take a look at the current landscape and some of the recent… Read More
TSMC N3 Process Technology Wiki