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Semiconductor Power Crisis and TSMC!

Semiconductor Power Crisis and TSMC!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-02-2011 at 8:48 pm

Power grids all over the world are already overloaded even without the slew of new electronic gadgets and cars coming out this year. At ISSCC, Dr. Jack Sun, TSMC Vice President of R&D and Chief Technology Officer made the comparison of a human brain to the closest thing available in silicon, a graphical processing unit (GPU).… Read More


With EUVL, Expect No Holiday

With EUVL, Expect No Holiday
by Beth Martin on 03-02-2011 at 1:12 pm

For a brief time in the 1990s, when 4X magnification steppers suddenly made mask features 4X larger, there was a period in the industry referred to as the “mask vendor’s holiday.” The party ended before it got started with the arrival of sub-wavelength lithography, and we all trudged back to the OPC/RET mines. Since then, the demands… Read More


Semiconductor Design Flows: Paranoia or Prudence

Semiconductor Design Flows: Paranoia or Prudence
by Steve Moran on 02-28-2011 at 11:34 am

I was recently talking to a friend who works for a semiconductor company (I can’t tell you which one or how big it is. I am not even sure I can tell you that he/she works for a semiconductor company.) I was describing Semiwiki.com to him/her and this person thought it was a great concept but wondered how much of the site would be focused Read More


Will Thunderbolt kill SuperSpeed USB?

Will Thunderbolt kill SuperSpeed USB?
by Eric Esteve on 02-28-2011 at 11:09 am

And probably more protocols, like: Firewire, eSATA, HDMI …
Some of you probably know it as Light Peak, as it was the code name for the just announced (last week) Thunderbolt Intel proprietary interface, supporting copper (or optical) interconnect when Light Peak was optical only. This will make Thunderbolt easier to implement,Read More


Intel Sandy Bridge Fiasco and EDA

Intel Sandy Bridge Fiasco and EDA
by Daniel Nenni on 02-27-2011 at 6:49 am

I purchased two Toyotas last year and both have since been recalled. Why has Toyota spent $1B+ on recalls in recent years? Same reason why it will cost Intel $700M (which does not include reputation damage) to recall Sandy Bridge chip sets, because someone did not do their job! The WHAT has been discussed, lets talk about HOW it happened.… Read More


ISSCC Semiconductors for Healthy Living

ISSCC Semiconductors for Healthy Living
by Daniel Nenni on 02-26-2011 at 4:19 pm

Not only do I enjoy San Francisco, I really enjoy the International Solid-State Conference that was held in San Francisco again last week. This was ISSCC #57 I believe. ISSCC attracts a different crowd than other semiconductor conferences, probably because there are no exhibits and no sales and marketing nonsense, just serious… Read More


Semiconductor Ecosystem Collaboration

Semiconductor Ecosystem Collaboration
by Daniel Nenni on 02-24-2011 at 8:30 am

After 27 years in semiconductor design and manufacturing I actually had to look up the word collaboration. Seriously, I did not know the meaning of the word.

Collaboration:a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seenRead More


Wally Rhines DvCon 2011 Ketnote: From Volume to Velocity

Wally Rhines DvCon 2011 Ketnote: From Volume to Velocity
by Daniel Nenni on 02-23-2011 at 1:49 pm

Abstract:
There has been a remarkable acceleration in the adoption of advanced verification methodologies, languages and new standards. This is true across all types of IC design and geographic regions. Designers and verification engineers are surprisingly open to new approaches to keep pace with the relentless rise in design… Read More


Evolution of process models, part I

Evolution of process models, part I
by Beth Martin on 02-23-2011 at 1:15 pm

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Thirty five years ago, in 1976, the Concorde cut transatlantic flying time to 3.5 hrs, Apple was formed, NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, the VHS vs Betamax wars started, and Barry Manilow’s I Write the Songs saturated the airwaves. Each of those advances, except perhaps Barry Manilow, was the result of the first modern-era,… Read More


Custom and AMS Design

Custom and AMS Design
by Daniel Payne on 02-21-2011 at 10:06 pm

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For IC designers creating full-custom or AMS designs there are plenty of challenges to getting designs done right on the first spin of silicon. Let me give you a sneak peek into what’s being discussed at the EDA Tech Forum in Santa Clara, CA on March 10th that will be of special interest to you:

3D TSV (Through Silicon Vias) are… Read More