Tis the Season to be kWh Wasteful!

Tis the Season to be kWh Wasteful!
by Alex Lidow on 12-16-2015 at 7:00 am

As the world gears up for the upcoming holiday shopping season, the technology needed by online retailers to meet demands will bring with it many unintended negative byproducts: increased inefficiency, waste and pollution, to name a few. Online sales are expected to grow by 12 percent in the holiday season, on top of an already Read More


The Mobility Imperative and the Untethered Consumer

The Mobility Imperative and the Untethered Consumer
by Alex Lidow on 12-10-2015 at 12:00 pm

Consumers want to be able to go where they want, when they want. They want televisions to be seamlessly synchronized with tablets, phones, laptops, and automobiles. They want all their communication, information, and entertainment to be available immediately, with high resolution, all the time. Recently the automobile industry… Read More


The Cost Challenge has Been Met – Let the Disruption Begin!

The Cost Challenge has Been Met – Let the Disruption Begin!
by Alex Lidow on 09-22-2015 at 12:00 am

Displacing the Silicon Power MOSFET with eGaN® FETs
35 years ago the silicon power MOSFET was a disruptive technology that displaced the bipolar transistor – and a $12B market emerged. The dynamics of this transition taught us that there are four key factors controlling the adoption rate of a new power conversion technology:

  • Does
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Re-Thinking Server Design

Re-Thinking Server Design
by Alex Lidow on 09-16-2015 at 12:00 pm

The demand for information is growing at an unprecedented rate. Our insatiable appetite for communication, computing and downloading, is driving this demand. With emerging technologies, such as cloud computing and the internet of things, not to mention the 300 hours of video being loaded to YouTube every minute, this trend Read More


M&A Frenzy in the Chip Industry, the Growth of GaN, and Why It Matters

M&A Frenzy in the Chip Industry, the Growth of GaN, and Why It Matters
by Alex Lidow on 09-07-2015 at 12:00 pm

If expanding industries typically indicate vibrancy, a race to acquire and consolidate is generally reflective of the opposite – a period of slowed growth in mature, once high-flying categories. And while many industries experience a period of stardom, followed by a sharp and steady decline, we should be extremely worried whenRead More


Four Industries that will be Transformed by GaN

Four Industries that will be Transformed by GaN
by Alex Lidow on 09-02-2015 at 4:00 pm

In a previous post we discussed a few automotive applications that will be big markets for GaN technology. But this is just a small part of the GaN story!

GaN transistors such as eGaN FETs from EPC are today available with performance 10 times better than the best commercial silicon. What happens when several devices are integrated
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GaN Technology — Contributing to Medicine in No Small Way

GaN Technology — Contributing to Medicine in No Small Way
by Alex Lidow on 08-26-2015 at 12:00 pm

In past posts, the disruptive nature of gallium nitride (#GaN) semiconductor technology, especially eGaN® FETs, was discussed…now with significantly higher performance at an equivalent cost, the inevitability of GaN displacing the aging power MOSFET is becoming clearer.

This post highlights a specific end-use application
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Four Things a New Semiconductor Technology Must Have to be Disruptive

Four Things a New Semiconductor Technology Must Have to be Disruptive
by Alex Lidow on 08-21-2015 at 12:00 pm

This post discusses attributes of gallium nitride (#GaN) that make it a disruptive technology and identifies the four factors required for GaN technology to displace silicon as the technology of choice.

Displacing the Silicon with GaN

38 years ago, when I first entered the semiconductor business as a freshly minted Stanford
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GaN Technology for the Connected Car

GaN Technology for the Connected Car
by Alex Lidow on 08-16-2015 at 4:00 pm

GaN technology is disruptive, in the best sense of the word, making possible what was once thought to be impossible – eGaN® technology is 10 times faster, significantly smaller, and with higher performance at costs comparable to silicon-based MOSFETs. The inevitability of GaN displacing the aging power MOSFET is becoming clearerRead More


High-Voltage Power Design

High-Voltage Power Design
by Paul McLellan on 05-20-2015 at 7:00 am

Most of what is talked about on SemiWiki is silicon design. After all for regular SoCs it is the only game in town. But for high voltage power applications (think automotive for one big market) there are other more esoteric technologies becoming more attractive.

Silicon has been the material of choice for high-voltage power applications… Read More