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Intel says fabless model collapsing… really?

Intel says fabless model collapsing… really?
by Daniel Nenni on 04-28-2012 at 7:00 pm

There is an interesting discussion in the SemiWiki forum in response to the EETimes article: Intel exec says fabless model ‘collapsing’. Definitely an interesting debate, one worth our time since the advertising click hungry industry pundits will certainly jump all over it. Clearly I’m biased since I helped build… Read More


IC Reliability and Prevention During Design with EDA Tools

IC Reliability and Prevention During Design with EDA Tools
by Daniel Payne on 04-27-2012 at 5:04 pm

IC device physics uncovers limits to reliable operation, so IC designers are learning to first identify and then fix reliability issues prior to tape-out. Here’ s a list of reliability issues to keep you awake at night:… Read More


Next Generation Transistors

Next Generation Transistors
by Paul McLellan on 04-27-2012 at 1:54 pm

We have all heard that planar transistors have run out of steam. There are two ways forward. The one that has garnered all the attention is Intel’s trigate which is their name for FinFET. The other is using thin film SoI which ST is doing. TSMC and Global seem to be going the FinFET way too, although at a more leisurely pace. But … Read More


Keeping Moore’s Law Alive

Keeping Moore’s Law Alive
by Paul McLellan on 04-27-2012 at 12:37 pm

At the GSA silicon summit yesterday the first keynote was by Subramanian Iyer of IBM on Keeping Moore’s Law Alive. He started off by asking the question “Is Moore’s Law in trouble?” and answered with an equivocal “maybe.”

Like some of the other speakers during the day, he pointed out that … Read More


Introduction to FinFET technology Part II

Introduction to FinFET technology Part II
by Tom Dillinger on 04-27-2012 at 9:00 am

The previous post in this series provided an overview of FinFET devices. This article will briefly cover FinFET fabrication.

The major process steps in fabricating silicon fins are shown in Figures 1 through 3. The step that defines the fin thickness uses Sidewall Image Transfer (SIT). Low-pressure chemical vapor (isotropic)… Read More


Kadenz Leben: CDNLive! EMEA

Kadenz Leben: CDNLive! EMEA
by Paul McLellan on 04-27-2012 at 2:01 am

If you are in Europe then the CDNLive! EMEA user conference is in Munich at the Dolce Hotel from May 14th to 16th. Like last month’s CDNLive! in Cadence’s hometown San Jose, the conference focuses on sharing fresh ideas and best practices for all aspects of semiconductor design from embedded software down to bare silicon.… Read More


Intel’s Ivy Bridge Mopping Up Campaign

Intel’s Ivy Bridge Mopping Up Campaign
by Ed McKernan on 04-26-2012 at 9:03 pm

In every Intel product announcement and PR event, there are hours of behind the scenes meetings to discuss what they should introduce, what are the messages and what are the effects on the marketplace to maximize the impact of the moment. The Ivy Bridge product release speaks volumes of what they want to accomplish over the coming… Read More


Do you need more machines? Licenses? How can you find out?

Do you need more machines? Licenses? How can you find out?
by Paul McLellan on 04-26-2012 at 9:00 pm

Do you need more servers? Do you need more licenses? If you are kicking off a verification run of 10,000 jobs on 1,000 server cores then you are short of 9000 cores and 9000 licenses, but you’d be insane to rush out with a purchase order just on that basis. Maybe verification isn’t even on the critical path for your design,… Read More


TSMC 28nm Beats Q1 2012 Expectations!

TSMC 28nm Beats Q1 2012 Expectations!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-26-2012 at 9:00 am

TSMC just finished theQ1 conference call. I will let the experts haggle over the wording of the financial analysis, but the big news is that TSMC 28nm Q1 revenue was 5%, beating my guess of 4%. So all of you who bet against TSMC 28nm it’s time to pay up! Coincidentally, I’m in Las Vegas where the term deadbeat is taken literally!

Per my … Read More


Non Volatile Memory IP: a 100% reliable, anti fuse solution from Novocell Semiconductor

Non Volatile Memory IP: a 100% reliable, anti fuse solution from Novocell Semiconductor
by Eric Esteve on 04-25-2012 at 9:36 am

In this pretty shaky NVM IP market, where articles frequently mention legal battles rather than product features, it seems interesting to look at Novocell Semiconductor and their NVM IP product offering, and try to figure out what makes these products specific, what are the differentiators. Before looking at SmartBit cell into… Read More