A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives & Strategies

A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives & Strategies
by Sagar Pushpala on 10-17-2022 at 10:00 am

A Perspective on Semiconductor Manufacturing Initiatives

My name is Sagar, and I’ve been a long-time executive in the semiconductor manufacturing world — holding key positions at large multi-nationals, a leading semiconductor foundry, and partnering with many of the top-tier foundries and OSATs. Since “retiring”, I’ve also spent time advising and investing in start-ups through Read More


Chip Train Wreck Worsens

Chip Train Wreck Worsens
by Robert Maire on 10-16-2022 at 4:00 pm

Train Wreck Semiconductors 2022

-Semi Equip go from bad to worse as TSMC cuts capex
-Numbers will be slashed for December quarter
-So far just a handful of exceptions to blockade but temporary
-China’s response could be very ugly

Fast motion train wreck

Just when some people thought that Fridays department of commerce announcement couldn’t get worse,… Read More


U.S. Automakers Broadening Search for Talent and R&D As Electronics Take Over Vehicles

U.S. Automakers Broadening Search for Talent and R&D As Electronics Take Over Vehicles
by Tony Hayes on 10-06-2022 at 6:00 am

DOCKLANDS3

The auto industry isn’t for the faint of heart in late 2022. As Deloitte recently explained, chip shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, unpredictable consumer demand and the industry overhaul mandated by the rise of EVs are all creating unprecedented turmoil in this key sector. One particularly pressing challenge is the ongoing… Read More


WEBINAR: Intel Achieving the Best Verifiable QoR using Formal Equivalence Verification for PPA-Centric Designs

WEBINAR: Intel Achieving the Best Verifiable QoR using Formal Equivalence Verification for PPA-Centric Designs
by Synopsys on 08-30-2022 at 10:00 am

Synopsys Fusion Compiler

Synopsys Fusion Compiler offers advanced optimizations to achieve the best PPA (power, performance, area) on today’s high-performance cores and interconnect designs. However, advanced transformation techniques available in synthesis such as retiming, multi-bit registers, advanced datapath optimizations, etc. are

Read More

Intel and TSMC do not Slow 3nm Expansion

Intel and TSMC do not Slow 3nm Expansion
by Daniel Nenni on 08-09-2022 at 10:00 am

Pat Gelsinger and CC Wei SemiWiki

The media has gone wild over a false report that Intel and TSMC are slowing down 3nm. It is all about sensationalism and getting clicks no matter what damage is done to the hardworking semiconductor people, companies and industry as a whole. And like lemmings jumping off a cliff, other less reputable media outlets perpetuated this… Read More


How TSMC Contributed to the Death of 450mm and Upset Intel in the Process

How TSMC Contributed to the Death of 450mm and Upset Intel in the Process
by Craig Addison on 08-05-2022 at 6:00 am

450mm wafer

Pinpointing exactly when 450mm died is tricky. Intel’s pullback in 2014 has been cited as a pivotal moment because it was the main backer of the proposed transition, as it had been for the shift to 150mm (6-inch) wafers in the early 1980s.

However, the participation of global foundry leader TSMC was also seen as crucial if 450mm wafers… Read More


Intel & Chips Act Passage Juxtaposition

Intel & Chips Act Passage Juxtaposition
by Robert Maire on 07-31-2022 at 6:00 am

Chips Act Corporate Welfare

-Need more/less spend & more/fewer chips
-The irony of chips act passage & Intel stumble on same day
-Due to excess supply of chips, Intel cuts spending
-Due to shortage of chips, the government increases spending
-How did this happen on the same day? Cosmic Coincidence?

Timing is everything

The irony of intel cutting spending… Read More


3D Device Technology Development

3D Device Technology Development
by Tom Dillinger on 07-13-2022 at 6:00 am

CFET cross section v2

The VLSI Symposium on Technology and Circuits provides a deep dive on recent technical advances, as well as a view into the research efforts that will be transitioning to production in the near future.  In a short course presentation at the Symposium, Marko Radosavljevic, from the Components Research group at Intel, provided … Read More


Using STA with Aging Analysis for Robust IC Designs

Using STA with Aging Analysis for Robust IC Designs
by Daniel Payne on 06-23-2022 at 10:00 am

Gate Level Aging min

Our laptops and desktop computers have billions of transistors in their application processor chips, yet I often don’t consider the reliability effects of aging that the transistors experience in the chips. At the recent Synopsys User Group (aka SNUG), there was a technical presentation on this topic from Srinivas Bodapati,… Read More


Intel 4 Deep Dive

Intel 4 Deep Dive
by Scotten Jones on 06-13-2022 at 6:00 am

Figure 1

As I previously wrote about here, Intel is presenting their Intel 4 process at the VLSI Technology conference. Last Wednesday Bernhard Sell (Ben) from Intel gave the press a briefing on the process and provided us with early access to the paper (embargoed until Sunday 6/12).

“Intel 4 CMOS Technology Featuring Advanced FinFET TransistorsRead More