Silvaco Swallows Invarian

Silvaco Swallows Invarian
by Paul McLellan on 03-20-2015 at 7:00 am

Yesterday, Silvaco announced that it has acquired Invarian Inc. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Who is Invarian? They are a recognized leader in block-level to full-chip sign-off analysis for complex, high-performance ICs. Their unique methodology utilizes a parallel architecture and concurrent power-voltage-thermal… Read More


Silvaco TCAD Webinar

Silvaco TCAD Webinar
by Paul McLellan on 01-26-2015 at 4:50 pm

TCAD is a somewhat specialized area since not that many people design semiconductor processes compared to the number who design chips. Bit without TCAD there would be no chips. One area where the two domains intersect is that of SEE, where neutrons (mainly) can cause a flop or a memory bit to change. Since we live on a radioactive planet… Read More


Leakage Current TCAD Calibration in a-Si TFTs

Leakage Current TCAD Calibration in a-Si TFTs
by Daniel Payne on 11-23-2014 at 4:00 pm

Two weeks ago I blogged about amorphous silicon and how that material is well-suited for designing TFTs. Today I’m following up after watching the archived webinarpresented by Nam-Kyun Tak of Silvaco. After clicking on that link you’ll be brought to a brief sign-up page and then can watch the archived webinar in your… Read More


Amorphous Silicon and TFTs

Amorphous Silicon and TFTs
by Daniel Payne on 11-07-2014 at 7:00 am

Most ICs are fabricated with crystalline silicon (c-Si), which is a tetrahedral structure forming a well-ordered crystal lattice. There’s another form of semiconductor material called amorphous silicon (a-Si) which has no long-range periodic order. It turns out that a-Si is a great material for the active layer in thin-film… Read More


Silvaco at the TSMC 2014 Open Innovation Platform

Silvaco at the TSMC 2014 Open Innovation Platform
by Daniel Payne on 10-31-2014 at 7:00 am

The success of our semiconductor eco-system depends on collaboration, so the annual TSMC OIP Event just held on September 30 at the San Jose Convention Center was a prime example of that. I didn’t attend this year, but I did follow up with Amit Nandaof Silvaco this week to hear about what they presented. As a consultant I’ve… Read More


SiC and Si Power Devices

SiC and Si Power Devices
by Daniel Payne on 09-27-2014 at 7:00 am

ICs for consumer electronics are often battery powered, which are considered low voltage designs. On the other end of the IC spectrum are high voltage devices used in many industrial applications like: automotive, aerospace, data centers, transportation and power generation. … Read More


TCAD to SPICE

TCAD to SPICE
by Paul McLellan on 09-21-2014 at 7:00 am

Power devices have historically been made from silicon (Si), which has reached the limit of electric power loss reduction. With the superior physical and electrical properties of silicon carbide (SiC), we can expect to see a significant expansion in the amount of electric power conversion of electrical equipment as well as reduced… Read More


TCAD to SPICE Simulation of Power Devices

TCAD to SPICE Simulation of Power Devices
by Daniel Payne on 08-31-2014 at 1:30 pm

The periodic table shows that Silicon (Si) is in a column along with other elements like Carbon (C) and Germanium (Ge). With so much emphasis on Silicon, you’d think that the other semiconductor materials have been neglected a bit.

Silicon is a wonderful material and most of our consumer electronics and handheld devices … Read More


Silvaco News: Silicon Valley, China and Korea

Silvaco News: Silicon Valley, China and Korea
by Paul McLellan on 08-20-2014 at 3:00 am

Silvaco is one of the sponsors of the GSA Executive Forum to be held over in VC Land at the Rosewood Sand Hill on September 10th. Note that it starts at 11.45am with a networking lunch.

  • The featured keynote speakers are Fareed Zakariah and Rana Faroohar, both of CNN. Rana is also Senior Managing Editor of Time.
  • The first panel session
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Modeling and Analysis of Single Event Effects (SEE)

Modeling and Analysis of Single Event Effects (SEE)
by Daniel Payne on 07-08-2014 at 4:00 pm

Single Event Effects (SEE) are important because we depend upon our consumer, industrial and aerospace products to work reliably. Protons, electrons, neutrons, or alpha particles may perturb the MOS or bipolar device operation in either a destructive or non-destructive fashion. Galactic cosmic rays are one source of these… Read More