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Evaluate MEMS Devices out-of-fab Before Fabrication

Evaluate MEMS Devices out-of-fab Before Fabrication
by Pawan Fangaria on 03-21-2014 at 10:30 am

MEMS design and fabrication is highly complex in the sense that the fabrication process heavily depends on the design, unlike IC fabrication which has a standard set of processes. A slight change in MEMS design can alter its fabrication steps to a large extent. For example, setting device parameters such as capacitance or linear… Read More


ARM, Cadence and the Internet of Things

ARM, Cadence and the Internet of Things
by Paul McLellan on 03-20-2014 at 6:30 pm

There is clearly a lot of hype about the Internet of Things (IoT) right now, but also it is clear that it will be a real market. In fact, it already is with various medical, fitness and home-appliance products already available. At CES in January, wearables was probably the biggest trend. That doesn’t always pan out (3D TV was… Read More


TLM Modeling Environment Goes Commercial

TLM Modeling Environment Goes Commercial
by Daniel Payne on 03-20-2014 at 6:00 pm

The most successful EDA companies typically choose a domain where they have deep knowledge, then serve a few leading-edge customers that are willing to work with a start-up in exchange for early access to that new technology. The theory is that if you can satisfy the leading-edge customer then you can also satisfy the rest of the … Read More


Handel Jones on FD-SOI vs FinFET

Handel Jones on FD-SOI vs FinFET
by Paul McLellan on 03-20-2014 at 1:27 am

Handel Jones has a new white-paper out titled Why Migration to FD-SOI is a Better Approach Than Bulk CMOS and FinFETs at 20nm and 14/16nm for Price-Sensitive Markets. Handel has done an in-depth analysis of the wafer and die costs of the various approaches, bulk planar (what we have been doing up to now), FD-SOI and FinFET. The analysis… Read More


Sewn open: Arduino and soft electronics

Sewn open: Arduino and soft electronics
by Don Dingee on 03-19-2014 at 3:00 pm

As several other recent threads on SemiWiki have pointed out, the term “wearables” is a bit amorphous right now. The most recognizable wearable endeavors so far are the smartwatch and fitness band, but these are far from the only categories of interest.

There is another area of wearable wonder beginning to get attention: clothing,… Read More


Triple Patterning

Triple Patterning
by Paul McLellan on 03-19-2014 at 1:00 pm

As you can’t have failed to notice by now, 28nm is the last process node that does not require double patterning. At 20nm and below, at least some layers require double patterning. The tightest spacing is typically not the transistors but the local interconnect and, sometimes, metal 1.


In the litho world they call double patterning… Read More


Aldec the leader in DO254

Aldec the leader in DO254
by Luke Miller on 03-19-2014 at 12:00 pm

I am convinced after studying out the matter, that Aldec is one of the leaders in DO254 certification. As you listen and read the news as I do about flight MA-370, you keep theorizing and wondering. This is a good time to introduce the reader to the seriousness of flight worthy electronics and the arduous process to achieve certification.Read More


Xilinx’s UltraScale vs Arria 10 – Non dolet, Paete

Xilinx’s UltraScale vs Arria 10 – Non dolet, Paete
by Luke Miller on 03-18-2014 at 9:30 pm

The DSP48E2 (I do not come up with these names… Could have named it a multiplier thingy) in the Xilinx 20nm UltraScale family (I do not come up with these names… Could of named it Virtex-8, or Luke-8) is simply amazing. Today was good, as I began playing with UltraScale tools and seeing how the DSP checks out. I also encourage you to check… Read More


Atmel on Tour at AT&T Park

Atmel on Tour at AT&T Park
by Paul McLellan on 03-18-2014 at 5:02 pm

OK, it’s not exactly AT&T park…it’s the parking lot. But they have a huge semi loaded up with lots of cool Atmel stuff to show off some of the things that their customers are doing with their microcontrollers and display technology, primarily focused on the internet of things (IoT). I went down to check it … Read More