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Apple’s Implications for Semiconductor

Apple’s Implications for Semiconductor
by Robert Maire on 01-29-2015 at 11:00 am

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

NoC 102: Using SonicsGN to Address Low Power Requirements From IoT to Servers
by Paul McLellan on 01-29-2015 at 7:00 am

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

Translating Intel
by Scotten Jones on 01-28-2015 at 10:00 pm

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 Earnings Call
by Paul McLellan on 01-28-2015 at 9:35 pm

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

Tabula Closes its Doors
by Paul McLellan on 01-28-2015 at 3:55 pm

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

Opto-Electronics to Take Care of Data Explosion
by Pawan Fangaria on 01-28-2015 at 11:30 am

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

Altera Back to TSMC at 10nm? Xilinx Staying There
by Paul McLellan on 01-28-2015 at 7:00 am

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?

Qualcomm versus Samsung?
by Daniel Nenni on 01-28-2015 at 3:00 am

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


DNA Sequencing Eyes SoCs for Stability and Scale

DNA Sequencing Eyes SoCs for Stability and Scale
by Majeed Ahmad on 01-27-2015 at 9:00 pm

DNA sequencing — which provides vital information on genetics study, forensics, diagnostics and therapies — has been an exclusive territory of high-end research labs with millions of dollars to spend because of the expensive chemical and optical equipment needed for research. That is changing, thanks to complex… Read More


Xilinx ships the VU440 and its 4M logic cells

Xilinx ships the VU440 and its 4M logic cells
by Don Dingee on 01-27-2015 at 8:00 pm

Xilinx has delivered not only “the biggest FPGA on the planet”, but what it claims is currently the world’s largest integrated circuit: the Virtex UltraScale VU440, with 19 billion transistors fabbed in TSMC 20nm. The list of first customers to receive parts says a lot about the state of SoC design today, and the vital role FPGA-based… Read More