Here is my list of electronics industry trends and predictions for 2016:
There was a huge set of mega mergers in electronics industry announced in 2015. In 2016 we will see less mergers and how well the existing mergers went. Not all of the major acquisitions will succeed. Probably the the biggest challenge in these mega-mergers is “creating merging cultures or–better yet–creating new ones”.
Makers and open hardware will boost innovation in 2016. Open source has worked well in the software community, and it is coming more to hardware side. Maker culture encourages people be creators of technology rather than just consumers of it. A combination of the maker movement and robotics is preparing children for a future in which innovation and creativity will be more important than ever: robotics is an effective way for children as young as four years old to get experience in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics as well as programming and computer science. The maker movement is inspiring children to tinker-to-learn. Popular DIY electronics platforms include Arduino, Lego Mindstorms, Raspberry Pi, Phiro and LittleBits. Some of those DIY electronics platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi are finding their ways into commercial products for example in 3D printing, industrial automation and Internet of Things application fields.
Open source processors core gains more traction in 2016. RISC-V is on the march as an open source alternative to ARM and Mips. Fifteen sponsors, including a handful of high tech giants, are queuing up to be the first members of its new trade group for RISC-V. Currently RISC-V runs Linux and NetBSD, but not Android, Windows or any major embedded RTOSes. Support for other operating systems is expected in 2016. For other open source processor designs, take a look at OpenCores.org, the world’s largest site/community for development of hardware IP cores as open source.
GaN will be more widely used and talked about in 2016. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a binary III/V direct bandgap semiconductor commonly used in bright light-emitting diodes since the 1990s. It has special properties for applications in optoelectronic, high-power and high-frequency devices. You will see more GaN power electronics components because GaN – in comparison to the best silicon alternative – will enable higher power density through the ability to switch at high frequencies. You can get GaN devices for example from GaN Systems, Infineon, Macom, and Texas Instruments. The emergence of GaN as the next leap forward in power transistors gives new life to Moore’s Law in power.
Power electronics is becoming more digital and connected in 2016. Software-defined power brings to bear critical need in modern power systems. Digital Power was the beginning of software-defined power using a microcontroller or a DSP. Software-defined power takes this to another level. Connectivity is the key to success for software-defined power and the PMBus will enable the efficient communication and connection between all power devices in computer systems. It seems that power architectures to become software defined, which will take advantage of digital power adaptability and introduce software control to manage the power continuously as operating conditions change. For example adaptive voltage scaling (AVS) is supported by the AVSBus is contained in the newest PMBus standard V 1.3. The use of power-optimization software algorithms and the concept of the Software Defined Power Architecture (SDPA) are all being seen as part of a brave new future for advanced board-power management.
Nanowires and new forms of memory like RRAM (resistive random access memory) and spintronics are also being researched, and could help scale down chips. Many “exotic” memory technologies are in the lab, and some are even in shipping product: Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), Resistive RAM (ReRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), Nano-RAM (NRAM).
Nanotube research has been ongoing since 1991, but there has been long road to get practical nanotube transistor. It seems that we almost have the necessary parts of the puzzle in 2016. In 2015 IBM reported a successful auto-alligment method for placing them across the source and drain. Texas Instruments is now capable of growing wafer scale graphene and the Chinese have taken the lead in developing both graphene and nanotubes according to Lux Research.
While nanotubes provide the fastest channel material available today, III-V materials like gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) are all being explored by IBM, Intel, Imec and Samsung as transistor channels on silicon substrates. Dozen of researchers worldwide are experimenting with black phosphorus as an alternative to nanotubes and graphene for the next generation of semiconductors. Black phosphorus has the advantage of having a bandgap and works well alongside silicon photonics device. 3-Molybdenum disulphide MoS2 is also a contender for the next generation of semiconductors, due to its novel stacking properties.
Graphene has many fantastic properties and there has been new finding in it. I think it would be a good idea to follow development around magnetized graphene. Researchers make graphene magnetic, clearing the way for faster everything. I don’t expect practical products in 2016, but maybe something in next few years.
Optical communications is integrating deep into chips finally. There are many new contenders on the horizon for the true “next-generation” of optical communications with promising technologies in development in labs and research departments around the world. Silicon photonics is the study and application of photonic systems which use silicon as an optical medium. Silicon photonic devices can be made using existing semiconductor fabrication. Now we start to have technology to build optoelectronic microprocessors built using existing chip manufacturing. Engineers demo first processor that uses light for ultrafast communications. Optical communication could also potentially reduce chips’ power consumption on inter-chip-links and enable easily longer very fast links between ICs where needed. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which may enable engineers to exceed the properties of silicon in terms of energy efficiency and speed, moving researchers toward 2D on-chip optoelectronics for high-performance applications in optical communications and computing. To build practical systems with those ICs, we need to figure out how make easily fiber-to-chip coupling or how to manufacture practical optical printed circuit board (O-PCB).
Look development at self-directed assembly.Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM have discovered a trenching capability that could be harnessed for building devices through self-directed assembly. The capability could potentially be used to integrate lasers, sensors, wave guides and other optical components into so called “lab-on-a-chip” devices.
Smaller chip geometries are come to mainstream in 2016. Chip advancements and cost savings slowed down with the current 14-nanometer process, which is used to make its latest PC, server and mobile chips. Other manufacturers are catching to 14 nm and beyond. GlobalFoundries start producing a central processing chip as well as a graphics processing chip using 14nm technology. After a lapse, Intel looks to catch up with Moore’s Law again with with upcoming 10-nanometer and 7-nm processes. Samsung revealed that it will soon begin production of a 10nm FinFET node, and that the chip will be in full production by the end of 2016. This is expected to be at around the same time as rival TSMC. TSMC 10nm process will require triple patterning. For mass marker products it seems that 10nm node, is still at least a year away. Intel delayed plans for 10nm processors while TSMC is stepping on the gas, hoping to attract business from the likes of Apple. The first Intel 10-nm chips, code-named Cannonlake, will ship in 2017.
Looks like Moore’s Law has some life in it yet, though for IBM creating a 7nm chip required exotic techniques and materials. IBM Research showed in 2015 a 7nm chip will hold 20 billion transistors manufactured by perfecting EUV lithography and using silicon-germanium channels for its finned field-effect transistors (FinFETs). Also Intel revealed that the end of the road for Silicon is nearing as alternative materials will be required for the 7nm node and beyond. Scaling Silicon transistors down has become increasingly difficult and expensive and at around 7nm it will prove to be downright impossible. IBM development partner Samsung is in a race to catch up with Intel by 2018 when the first 7nm products are expected. Expect Silicon Alternatives Coming By 2020. One very promising short-term Silicon alternative is III-V semiconductor based on two compounds: Indium gallium arsenide ( InGaAs ) and indium phosphide (InP). Intel’s future mobile chips may have some components based on gallium nitride (GaN), which is also an exotic III-V material.
Silicon and traditional technologies continue to be still pushed forward in 2016 successfully. It seems that the extension of 193nm immersion to 7nm and beyond is possible, yet it would require octuple patterning and other steps that would increase production costs. IBM Research earlier this year beat Intel to the 7nm node by perfecting EUV lithography and using silicon-germanium channels for its finned field-effect transistors (FinFETs). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest foundry, said it has started work on a 5nm process to push ahead its most advanced technology. TSMC’s initial development work at 5nm may be yet another indication that EUV has been set back as an eventual replacement for immersion lithography.
It seems that 2016 could be the year for mass-adoption of 3D ICs and 3D memory. For over a decade, the terms 3D ICs and 3D memory have been used to refer to various technologies. 2016 could see some real advances and traction in the field as some truly 3D products are already shipping and more are promised to come soon. The most popular 3D category is that of 3D NAND flash memory: Samsung, Toshiba, Sandisk, Intel and Micron have all announced or started shipping flash that uses 3D silicon structure (we are currently seeing 128Gb-384Gb parts). Micron’s Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) uses stacked DRAM die and through-silicon vias (TSVs) to create a high-bandwidth RAM subsystem with an abstracted interface (think DRAM with PCIe). Intel and Micron have announced production of a 3D crosspoint architecture high-endurance (1,000× NAND flash) nonvolatile memory.
The success of Apple’s portable computers, smartphones and tablets will lead to the fact that the company will buy as much as 25 per cent of world production of mobile DRAMs in 2016. In 2015 Apple bought 16.5 per cent of mobile DRAM.
After COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris environmental compliance 2016 will become stronger business driver. Increasingly, electronics OEMs are realizing that environmental compliance goes beyond being a good corporate citizen. On the agenda for these businesses: climate change, water safety, waste management, and environmental compliance. Keep in mindenvironmental compliance requirements that include the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC (RoHS 1), and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). It’s a legal situation: If you do not comply with regulatory aspects of business, you are out of business. Some companies are leading the parade toward environmental compliance or learning as they go.
Connectivity is proliferating everything from cars to homes, realigning diverse markets. It needs to be done easily for user, reliably, efficiently and securely.It is being reported that communications technologies are responsible for about 2-4% of all of carbon footprint generated by human activity. The needs for communications and faster speeds is increasing in this every day more and more connected world – penetration of smart devices there was a tremendous increase in the amount of mobile data traffic from 2010 to 2014.Wi-Fi has become so ubiquitous in homes in so many parts of the world that you can now really start tapping into that by having additional devices. When IoT is forecasted to be 50 billion connections by 2020, with the current technologies this would increase power consumption considerably. The coming explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) will also need more efficient data centers that will be taxed to their limits.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling increased automation on the factory floor and throughout the supply chain, 3D printing is changing how we think about making components, and the cloud and big data are enabling new applications that provide an end-to-end view from the factory floor to the retail store. With all of these technological options converging, it will be hard for CIOs, IT executives, and manufacturing leaders keep up. IoT will also be hard for R&D.Internet of Things (IoT) designs mesh together several design domains in order to successfully develop a product. Individually, these design domains are challenging. Bringing them all together to create an IoT product can place extreme pressure on design teams. It’s still pretty darn tedious to get all these things connected, and there’s all these standards battles coming on. The rise of the Internet of Things and Web services is driving new design principles as Web services from companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Uber are setting new standards for user experiences. Designers should think about building their products so they can learn more about their users and be flexible in creating new ways to satisfy them – but in such way that the user’s don’t feel that they are spied on what they do.
Subthreshold Transistors and MCUs will be hot in 2016 because Internet of Things will be hot in 2016 and it needs very low power chips. The technology is not new as cheap digital watches use FETs operating in the subthreshold region, but decades digital designers have ignored this operating region, because FETs are hard to characterize there. Now subthreshold has invaded the embedded space thanks to Ambiq’s new Apollo MCU. PsiKick Inc. has designed a proof-of-concept wireless sensor node system-chip using conventional EDA tools and a 130nm mixed-signal CMOS that operates with sub-threshold voltages and opening up the prospect of self-powering Internet of Things (IoT) systems. I expect also other sub-threshold designs to emerge. ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England) is also working at sub- and near-threshold operation of ICs. TSMC has developed a series of processes characterized down to near threshold voltages (ULP family for ultra low power are processes). Intel will focus on its IoT strategy and next-generation low voltage mobile processors.
FPGAs in various forms are coming to be more widely use use in 2016 in many applications. They are not no longer limited to high-end aerospace, defense, and high-end industrial applications. There are different ways people use FPGA. Barrier of entry to FPGA development have lowered so that even home makers can use easily FPGAs with cheap FPGA development boards, free tools and open IP cores. There was already lots of interest in 2015 for using FPGA for accelerating computations as the next step after GPU. Intel bought Altera in 2015 and plans in 2016 to begin selling products with a Xeon chip and an Altera FPGA in a single package – possibly available in early 2016. Examples of applications that would be well-suited for use of ARM-based FPGAs, including industrial robots, pumps for medical devices, electric motor controllers, imaging systems, and machine vision systems. Examples of ARM-based FPGAs are such as Xilinx’s Zynq-7000 and Altera’s Cyclone V intertwine. Some Internet of Things (IoT) application could start to test ARM-based field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, enabling the hardware to be adaptable to market and consumer demands – software updates on such systems become hardware updates. Other potential benefits would be design re-use, code portability, and security.
The trend towards module consolidation is applicable in many industries as the complexity of communication, data rates, data exchanges and networks increases. Consolidating ECU in vehicles is has already been big trend for several years, but the concept in applicable to many markets including medical, industrial and aerospace.
It seems to be that AXIe nears the tipping point in 2016. AXIe is a modular instrument standard similar to PXI in many respects, but utilizing a larger board format that allows higher power instruments and greater rack density. It relies chiefly on the same PCI Express fabric for data communication as PXI. AXIe-1 is the uber high end modular standard and there is also compatible AXIe-0 that aims at being a low cost alternative. Popular measurement standard AXIe, IVI, LXI, PXI, and VXI have two things in common: They each manage standards for the test and measurement industry, and each of those standards is ruled by a private consortium. Why is this? Right or wrong, it comes down to speed of execution.
These days, a hardware emulator is a stylish, sleek box with fewer cables to manage. The “Big Three” EDA vendors offer hardware emulators in their product portfolios, each with a distinct architecture to give development teams more options. For some offerings emulation has become a datacenter resource through a transaction-based emulation mode or acceleration mode.
LED lighting is expected to become more intelligent, more beautiful, more affordable in 2016. Everyone agrees that the market for LED lighting will continue to enjoy dramatic year-on-year growth for at least the next few years. LED Lighting Market to Reach US$30.5 Billion in 2016 and Professional Lighting Markets to See Explosive Growth. Some companies will win on this growth, but there are also losers. Due currency fluctuations and price slide in 2015, end market demands in different countries have been much lower than expected, so smaller LED companies are facing financial loss pressures. The history of the solar industry to get a good sense of some of the challenges the LED industry will face. Next bankruptcy wave in the LED industry is possible. The LED incandescent replacement bulb market represents only a portion of a much larger market but, in many ways, it is the cutting edge of the industry, currently dealing with many of the challenges other market segments will have to face a few years from now. IoT features are coming to LED lighting, but it seem that one can only hope for interoperability
Other electronics trends articles to look:
Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2016 (EDN)
CES Unveiled NY: What consumer electronics will 2016 bring?
Analysts Predict CES 2016 Trends
LEDinside: Top 10 LED Market Trends in 2016
961 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
FPGA Prototyping Gains Ground
http://semiengineering.com/fpga-prototyping-gains-ground/
The popular design methodology enables more sophisticated hardware/software verification before first silicon becomes available.
FPGA technology for design prototypes is making new inroads as demands increase for better integration between hardware and software.
FPGA prototyping, also known as physical prototyping, has been supported by all of the major EDA players for some time, and it has been considered an essential tool for the largest chipmakers, along with emulation and simulation. But its reach is growing, spurred by the Internet of Things (IoT), a variety of new markets, and most importantly the tighter connection that exists between hardware and software in sophisticated chips, which can have a significant impact on power and performance.
Still, FPGA prototyping isn’t always user-friendly. It’s difficult to work with, particularly when it comes to partitioning. And while the technology is fast, it has limits.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Focus Shifting To Photonics
http://semiengineering.com/focus-shifting-to-photonics/
Using light to move data will save power and improve performance; laser built into process technology overcomes huge hurdle.
Silicon photonics finally appears ready for prime time, after years of unfulfilled expectations and a vision that stretches back at least a couple decades.
The biggest challenge has been the ability to build a light source directly into the silicon process, rather than trying to add one onto a chip after manufacturing. Intel today said it has achieved that milestone, setting the stage for building economies of scale into the process. That may take several more years, but it nonetheless represents an important step for this technology.
“We have solved the problem of integrating the laser into the process,” said Alexis Bjorlin, general manager of the Connectivity Group at Intel. “We invested in a methodology to bond light-emitting III-V GaN to silicon so that the lasers are defined in silicon. This is the Holy Grail of silicon photonics.”
The first implementations of this technology will be between systems within a data center, where silicon photonics already is in widespread use. This is a relatively price-insensitive but fast-growing market
“Right now we can drive a 3X per bit power reduction. So you have higher-rate switches, and you get an improvement in power consumption. The core differentiator there is the laser integrated on silicon.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
SiC Muscles Rohm into Auto Biz
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330345&
Rohm, a Japanese component maker whose business could be harmed by the steady decline in market share among the leaders of Japan’s consumer electronics industry — namely, Sony, Panasonic and Sharp — has good reason to sweat its own prospects.
“We worry our business, too, could start declining,”
After all, it’s not just Rohm who might suffer. A ripple effect threatens suppliers of chips, parts and components, who have grown by riding the coattails of Japan’s once-dominant consumer system companies in segments like home entertainment, mobile devices and white goods.
The company has identified “power device, sensor network, optical device and synergy with LSI products [Lapis Semiconductor is Rohm’s subsidiary]” as the company’s “four growth engines.”
Tesla design win
Rohm produces a range of power devices, including MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors), IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistors), FRD (fast recovery diodes) and SBD (schottky barrier diodes).
But where Rohm differentiates itself from rivals is with silicon carbide (SiC) power devices, according to Azuma.
Rohm says it is leading in the development of SiC power devices and modules for improved power savings. Applications range from high efficiency inverters in DC/AC converters for solar/wind power supplies and electric/hybrid vehicles to power inverters for industrial equipment and air conditioners.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electronics production continues to decline in the Nordic countries
Semiconductor Distributors Association dmass (Distributors’ and Manufacturers’ Association of Semiconductor Specialists) reported that the distributors’ sales in the Nordic countries shrank in the second quarter to EUR 161 million. The amount is 10 per cent lower than a year earlier.
Norhern Europe is clearly a component of sales the weakest link in Europe.
Dmass identified that the market shrank this time in both Sweden and Norway.
Germany’s development is still the most important thing for Europe and there’s semiconductor distribution sales increased by five percent to EUR 575 million.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4905:elektroniikkatuotanto-vahenee-edelleen-pohjoismaissa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
8 bit microcontrollers do not die
When the Microchip went to the stock exchange in 1993, many experts said that the 8-bit was dead. However, 20 years later 8-bit are still the largest micro-drivers of the market in terms of money.
20 years ago it was thought that the PC processor development would quickly lead to the fact that the 32- and later 64-bit processors take over the embedded applications. That has not happened.
While Moore’s law is improving the efficient PC processor features, the new small geometries are not the best solution for a small micro-controller, who often live in a variety of analog peripherals.
In addition to the raw performance is not always the best way to solve a problem that requires a quick reaction to a small external stimulus.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4917:8-bittiset-eivat-suostu-kuolemaan&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
The FTC has given the go-ahead to ON Semiconductor’s acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor. As part of the requirements, ON Semiconductor had to divest its planar insulated gate bipolar transistor business, which will be sold to Littelfuse. (Littelfuse will also pick up the transient voltage suppression diode and switching thyristor product lines
Source: http://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-design-50/
Tomi Engdahl says:
LTC Design Note: Dual 9A, step-down μModule regulator with digital power system management
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4442477/LTC-Design-Note–Dual-9A–step-down–Module-regulator-with-digital-power-system-management?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160829&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160829&&elqTrackId=54d1e940c72d469d98cfabbc885de4be&elq=5b59ff5b71da40cb82574a870dca5d1c&elqaid=33627&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29397
The LTM4675 is a dual 9A or single 18A step-down μModule (micromodule) DC/DC regulator featuring remote configurability and telemetry monitoring of power system management (PSM) parameters over PMBus—an open standard I2C-based digital interface protocol. Its 16mm × 11.9mm × 3.51mm BGA package includes analog control loops, precision mixed-signal circuitry, EEPROM, power MOSFETs, inductors, and supporting components. It features a wide 4.5V to 17V input voltage range, and a 0.5V to 5.5V output voltage range with ±0.5% DC accuracy over temperature.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SiC Muscles Rohm into Auto Biz
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330345&
Rohm, a Japanese component maker whose business could be harmed by the steady decline in market share among the leaders of Japan’s consumer electronics industry — namely, Sony, Panasonic and Sharp — has good reason to sweat its own prospects.
“We worry our business, too, could start declining,” Katsumi Azuma, Rohm’s director of discrete & module production, told us during a recent interview with EE Times, held at the company’s headquarters in Kyoto.
After all, it’s not just Rohm who might suffer. A ripple effect threatens suppliers of chips, parts and components, who have grown by riding the coattails of Japan’s once-dominant consumer system companies in segments like home entertainment, mobile devices and white goods.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Buck regulator is resistor-programmable
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4442589/Buck-regulator-is-resistor-programmable?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160829&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160829&elqTrackId=28131a1d442443018cb5570e750841e8&elq=5b59ff5b71da40cb82574a870dca5d1c&elqaid=33627&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29397
A current-mode step-down regulator from Linear Technology, the LTC3623 uses a 50-µA current reference and a single resistor to adjust its output voltage from 14.5 V to 0 V. The design of the LTC3623 enables easy current sharing between multiple regulators, setting the output voltage for all of the regulators with one external resistor.
The LTC3623 provides bipolar ±5-A sink and source capability and a wide 4-V to 15-V input range useful for dual-cell lithium-ion applications and fixed 5-V and 12-V intermediate bus systems
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Future of UVM
Discussion is long overdue. At a minimum it has to become easier to use.
http://semiengineering.com/the-future-of-uvm/
But thinking back through the last 15 years and the evolution of functional verification that culminated in UVM, have we ever considered that UVM is where functional verification possibly went wrong? Should we be considering a future without UVM?
Or… hmmm… uhhh…
Meh.
Never mind.
Let’s scratch the whole time-for-a-frank-discussion-on-the- future-of-UVM thing. The evidence for and against is sketchy at best so there’s probably no point in discussing it.
et’s keep doing what we’re doing! Except for one tiny difference:
Let’s make failing miserably with UVM less likely.
UVM
Verification methodology
http://semiengineering.com/kc/technology.php?tid=31055
The Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) is an open source SystemVerilog library allowing creation of reusable verification components and assembling test environments utilizing constrained random stimulus generation and functional coverage methodologies. UVM is a combined effort of designers and tool vendors, based on the successful OVM and VMM methodologies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Context Is Everything
http://semiengineering.com/context-is-everything/
Knowing what’s around a chip determines success and failure of designs.
With consumer and industrial IoT applications, the importance of system context to IC vendors is paramount. No more are the days of developing a chip in isolation; close partnership with systems companies is de rigueur as they provide the use case data that is foundational to development of systems that work.
While this makes sense in a smartphone, it’s significantly harder to achieve in an IoT device for a couple reasons. First, many of these devices require low cost but they’re developed in lower volumes. Moreover, time to market is a competitive advantage, which greatly increases the pressure to churn out chips quickly while also understanding how those chips will behave in the context of not only one system, but other systems to a device is connected.
The first step in all of this is defining you mean by ‘system,’ and ‘system-level design.’
“Your system is a component for the next system higher up,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
India’s “Huaqiang North:” Can Indian & Chinese Dreams Both Be Achieved?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=30&doc_id=1330296&
The “Indian Dream” would not be possible without the help of Chinese manufacturing, and the “Chinese Dream” is also inseparable from realizing the huge market opportunities in India.
The “Indian Dream” would not be possible without the help of Chinese manufacturing, and the “Chinese Dream” is also inseparable from realizing the huge market opportunities in India. As two BRIC countries, we should continue to work together and strive to become the world’s economic growth engines of the future.
First, there are a number of ways in which the situations in China and India are similar. We both have a long history of civilization; we both have been severely ravaged and bullied by Western powers; and we have large populations and many areas that are still very poor. So it would be fair to say that we are brothers in hardship.
Second, we should never underestimate the development potential of a nation with a huge population, land, and resources like India. By the end of 2015, India’s population had reached 1.289 billion. Just think: even if only several hundred million of this large population create wealth, it would be enough to support an enormous supply-and-demand market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Silego invites circuits at CMIC (Configurable Mixed-signal ICs). It is a small programmable circuits, which can be carried out many activities for small systems. Chips are replaced by discrete components, making it easier to design.
Silego announced in spring 2014 that it had sold for a billion CMIC circuit, so the second billion took delivery time of less than 2.5 years. For applications requiring non-volatile memory in which each circuit is configured to replace the passive and discrete components on the circuit board.
CMIS circuits can be found in portable devices, wearable electronics, computers and storage devices, smart home appliances, telecommunication devices and medical electronics.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4934:kaksi-miljardia-piiria-yli-1300-tuotteeseen&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
TactoTek company from Kelpele Finland has already started to reinvent electronics production technology, in which the components are integrated in injection molded plastic parts.
- We are currently working on in collaboration with a number of well-known brands’ products in the global automotive industry, household appliances, and wearable intelligence market. The first of these will be in stores 2017.
- Wrapped in plastic pressing the circuits, such as wiring, the capacitive buttons and sliding switches and antennas, as well as traditional silicon-based components, such as LEDs, integrated circuits and sensors, Harvela lists.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4930:nokia-veteraani-tukee-elektroniikkavalmistusta-mullistavaa-tactotekia&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
ON Semi to Sell Automotive IGBT Biz to Littelfuse
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330375&
ON Semiconductor (Phoenix, AZ) has agreed to sell its ignition IGBT power device business to Littelfuse (Chicago, IL) for $104 million to allow its acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor to go ahead.
ON Semiconductor has agreed to sell the Ignition IGBT business to Chicago-based manufacturer Littelfuse within 10 days of the close of the transaction. This includes design files and intellectual property that Littelfuse needs to manufacture ON’s Ignition IGBTs. ON must also support the transfer of its customer relationships to Littelfuse, and supply Ignition IGBTs for Littlefuse to sell to customers while Littelfuse sets up its manufacturing operations.
The portfolio has annualized sales of approximately $55 million and is expected to close in late August, 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Debuts 14nm+ Processors
Process gives Kaby Lake 12% boost
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330373&
Intel Corp. officially announced Kaby Lake, its seventh-generation Core PC processors made in a 14nm+ process and focused on delivering better 4K video. The family provides the first indication of what more modest product advances may look like as Intel stretches Moore’s law to cover with one process node multiple generations of chips.
Kaby Lake processors gain a 12% improvement from enhancements to Intel’s 14nm process. They also include a modestly updated media engine with hardware support for decoding VP9 video and encoding and decoding 4K 10-bit HEVC video. Otherwise, the chips use the same architecture as the previous Skylake generation, including the existing Skylake x86 pipeline.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NI’s Truchard to Retire, COO/CFO Davern to Take Over
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1330378&
National Instruments’ founder and greatest cheerleader will step down after 40 years.
Dr. James Truchard, founder and CEO of National Instruments, has announced his retirement effective January 1, 2017. NI’s COO/CFO Alex Davern will take over as CEO. Truchard will remain as chairman of the board, with Davern being appointed to the board by the end of January.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electrons at the speed limit
https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2016/08/electrons-at-the-speed-limit.html
Electronic components have become faster and faster over the years, thus making powerful computers and other technologies possible. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now investigated how fast electrons can ultimately be controlled with electric fields. Their insights are of importance for the petahertz electronics of the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Half-bridge power IC packs GaN FETs
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4442621/Half-bridge-power-IC-packs-GaN-FETs?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160831&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160831&elqTrackId=8291ccf81ae6471c942c3584dcf6bcb9&elq=da7b829cf3d846949884a3ef16792bce&elqaid=33640&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29417
Housed in a 5×5-mm QFN package, the DA8801 from Dialog Semiconductor combines GaN power FETS with analog drivers, logic, and protection to form an efficient 650-V half-bridge. According to the manufacturer, the DA8801 enables power adapters that are more efficient, smaller, and have higher power density.
The half-bridge IC targets fast-charging power adapters for smart phones and notebooks. It teams such building blocks as gate drivers and level-shifting circuits with 650-V high-side and low-side power switches to achieve an optimized design that reduces power losses by as much as 50% with up to 94% power efficiency.
Highly-optimized SmartGaN™ half bridge
http://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/products/da8801
The DA8801 is a highly-optimized, high-voltage GaN half bridge which integrates 650V high side and low side power switches with analog, logic, and protection. It enables power supplies to shrink in half and cuts power losses in half.
GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are 10x faster than Silicon MOSFETs, enabling high frequency power electronics to deliver much higher efficiency. GaN power switches require 5x lower QG, COSS, and QRR, resulting in extremely low switching and charging loss.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Renesas, Maxim In Duel for Intersil
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330390&
The courtship of Intersil Corp. is turning into a duel between Japan’s Renesas Electronics and San Jose, Calif.-based Maxim Integrated Products Inc.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Intersil may announce a sale to Renesas as early as next week, choosing the Japanese chip vendor over the U.S. semiconductor company.
Reuters added, however, that Maxim might still disrupt the deal with a new offer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flex Tech Debuts in Silicon Valley
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1330394&
The NextFlex research consortium demonstrated the potential of flexible hybrid electronics at its new shared manufacturing research center in San Jose this week.
NextFlex explores ways to attach sensors and chips directly to flexible conductive surfaces. This will give birth to a wide variety of systems with previously unimagined form factors.
http://www.nextflex.us/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Non-Volatile Memories Morph Industry Collaboration
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330386&
Standards and specifications have always been a critical part of making sure memories will work properly within a broader system, but as technologies have evolved and memory and storage have begun to merge, collaboration is changing among vendors and their customers.
The launch of Micron Technology’s Austin, Tex.-based Micron Storage Solutions Center earlier this year in part was driven by this new mode of collaboration, Steve Moyer, the company’s VP of storage software engineering told EE Times in a telephone interview, and the tipping point was the industry beginning to transition non-volatile memory technology and flash emerging as a storage technology. “We really began to look at this seriously as a company two-and-a-half years ago,” he said. “There’s a shift happening in enterprise storage.
Fujitsu Is Licensee of Nantero’s Carbon-Nanotube RAM
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330387&
Fabless chip company Fujitsu Semiconductor and foundry Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor have both announced that they are licensees of carbon-nanotube non-volatile memory technology from Nantero Inc. (Woburn, Mass.).
Nantero was founded in 2001 and has spent 15 years developing its technology, which it claims offers the potential to become a non-volatile replacement for DRAM. It also offers rewrite speeds and endurances thousands of times higher than those of NAND flash memory.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flex Tech Debuts in Silicon Valley
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1330394&
The NextFlex research consortium demonstrated the potential of flexible hybrid electronics at its new shared manufacturing research center in San Jose this week.
NextFlex explores ways to attach sensors and chips directly to flexible conductive surfaces. This will give birth to a wide variety of systems with previously unimagined form factors.
Among the promised goodies are:
Paste-on chemical skin sensors that could determine the hydration levels of athletes, soldiers and babies
Antennas which could be embedded in the fabrics of jet liners to monitor passenger activity
Silicon wafers so flexible you can fold them up like linen dinner napkins
Strain gauge sensors that also include energy harvesting cantilevers
The goal of the center is to develop infrastructure and an experienced workforce for manufacturing flexible devices in the heart of Silicon Valley, said Malcom Thompson, NextFlex’s executive director. A 34,000 square-foot prototyping facility includes a Class 10,000 clean-room for conductive film deposition. Roughly $45 million in projects are in the definition stage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone7 Boosts Broadcom Results
Set-top, switch chips still supply constrained
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330400&
Broadcom Ltd. will get a bigger bite of the Apple iPhone 7 and can’t get enough chips to handle the demand for 4K set-top boxes or data center switches. That said, the company’s chief executive, Hock Tan, sees the overall semiconductor industry as stable, not booming.
The outlook came as Broadcom reported revenue of $3.792 billion, up 7% from the prior quarter and a net loss of $315 million, according to generally accepted accounting procedures. In non-GAAP terms that exclude costs related to acquisitions, Broadcom reported quarterly profit of $1.293 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $2.89, slightly ahead of Wall Street’s expectations.
Tan took over as chief executive after a landmark $37 billion bid last year to buy Broadcom, a deal that closed in February. The merged company, which sold off some of its wireless business to Cypress earlier this year, won’t fully realize its cost savings until sometime next year.
The wireless group should see sales grow another 30% in the current quarter as the iPhone7 ramps, despite an expected seasonal downturn in business in Samsung’s high-end Galaxy phones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Carbon Nanotube Transistors Are On The Passing Lane
http://hackaday.com/2016/09/04/carbon-nanotube-transistors-are-on-the-passing-lane/
There are many obstacles in the way to turning carbon nanotubes into something useful. Materials engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have now brought carbon nanotubes (CNTs) one step closer to becoming practically applicable for semiconductor electronics. In particular, the team managed to assemble arrays of carbon nanotube transistors that outperform their silicon-based predecessors.
One obstacle the researchers had to overcome were metallic impurities, which are present in arc-discharge-generated carbon nanotubes and practically short-circuit the materials semiconducting properties.
For first time, carbon nanotube transistors outperform silicon – See more at: http://news.wisc.edu/for-first-time-carbon-nanotube-transistors-outperform-silicon/#sthash.h1hEWZdA.dpuf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Softbank has completed its £24B cash acquisition of ARM Holdings — One of the biggest tech deals this year — and the biggest ever in the UK — has now closed. Today, Softbank announced that it has completed its acquisition of ARM Holdings, the semiconductor firm that it saidin July …
Softbank has completed its £24B cash acquisition of ARM Holdings
https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/05/softbank-has-completed-its-24b-cash-acquisition-of-arm-holdings/
One of the biggest tech deals this year — and the biggest ever in the UK — has now closed. Today, Softbank announced that it has completed its acquisition of ARM Holdings, the semiconductor firm that it said in July it would acquire for £24 billion in cash (around $32 billion in today’s currency, $31 billion at the time of the deal), in order to make a big jump into IoT. As a result, ARM will be delisted from the LSE effective September 6. Softbank has said that it plans to run the company as a standalone business.
The news comes a couple of days after the deal received its final required regulatory clearance, paving the way for the close.
“Pursuant to the terms of the Acquisition, SBG purchased all of ARM’s issued and to be issued shares (excluding any ARM shares already owned by SBG or an SBG subsidiary) for cash, for a total acquisition price amounting to approximately GBP 24.0 billion (approximately USD 31.0 billion or JPY 3.3 trillion),” the company noted in its announcement. “Subsequent to the completion of the Acquisition, ARM will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange as of September 6, 2016 (GMT) and will cease to be a listed company.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Micro-controllers on steady growth
Micro-controllers sold this year to 22.4 billion, more than ever before. IC Insights forecasts the market to grow, both in terms of money and in terms of number of units, at least in the next five years.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4980:mikro-ohjaimissa-tasaista-kasvua&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Heat is basically always the worst enemy of electronics. Texan Vorago Technologies now says that its micro-controller worked flawlessly in tests of 400 hours at a temperature of 200 degrees. During the 400-hour VA10800 control carried out successively 7200 trillion error-free operation. Also the power consumption according to the specifications remained at a low level.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4969:ensimmainen-200-asteessa-toimiva-mikro-ohjain&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Half-bridge power IC packs GaN FETs
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4442621/Half-bridge-power-IC-packs-GaN-FETs?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160905&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160905&elqTrackId=8565f1711eda44fcac8099af72249763&elq=6ed5d122a2f14a39b306052dd8566a6e&elqaid=33704&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29470
Housed in a 5×5-mm QFN package, the DA8801 from Dialog Semiconductor combines GaN power FETS with analog drivers, logic, and protection to form an efficient 650-V half-bridge. According to the manufacturer, the DA8801 enables power adapters that are more efficient, smaller, and have higher power density.
The half-bridge IC targets fast-charging power adapters for smart phones and notebooks. It teams such building blocks as gate drivers and level-shifting circuits with 650-V high-side and low-side power switches to achieve an optimized design that reduces power losses by as much as 50% with up to 94% power efficiency.
DA8801
Integrated 650V GaN Half Bridge Power IC
http://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/products/da8801
The DA8801 is a highly-optimized, high-voltage GaN half bridge which integrates 650V high side and low side power switches with analog, logic, and protection. It enables power supplies to shrink in half and cuts power losses in half.
GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are 10x faster than Silicon MOSFETs, enabling high frequency power electronics to deliver much higher efficiency. GaN power switches require 5x lower QG, COSS, and QRR, resulting in extremely low switching and charging loss.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ina Fried / Recode:
Intel is buying Movidius, a startup that makes vision chips for drones and virtual reality — It’s the latest in a string of acquisitions for the chip giant. — Intel announced late Monday that it is buying Movidius, a small chipmaker that makes computer vision processors used in drones …
Intel is buying Movidius, a startup that makes vision chips for drones and virtual reality
It’s the latest in a string of acquisitions for the chip giant.
http://www.recode.net/2016/9/6/12810246/intel-buying-movidius
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Softbank has completed its £24B cash acquisition of ARM Holdings — One of the biggest tech deals this year — and the biggest ever in the UK — has now closed. Today, Softbank announced that it has completed its acquisition of ARM Holdings, the semiconductor firm that it saidin July …
Softbank has completed its £24B cash acquisition of ARM Holdings
https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/05/softbank-has-completed-its-24b-cash-acquisition-of-arm-holdings/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Certifying on Non-certified Hardware?
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/blog/post/certifying-on-non-certified-hardware–f4d301c0-acbd-4082-9885-da5ef8ec2f67?contactid=1&PC=L&c=2016_08_30_embedded_technical_news
Historically, almost all certified systems have been built using non-certified hardware. Now, with the availability of pre-certified hardware, confusion has emerged as to which is the correct approach to take.
In almost every industry, the vast majority of certified applications are built using non-certified microprocessors (an exception would be space-based systems, which generally use space-qualified parts). But for industrial, medical, automotive, and other vertical market segments, non-certified hardware is routinely used for systems with safety requirements.
In some industries, pre-certification of components does exist. External agents like TÜV audit the data package to determine if the software component was developed to meet the requirements of the standard. For most safety standards, this determination carries little to no weight when certifying the system for a particular safety integrity level (SIL). However, a certified-component does provide confidence that the quality is sufficient for deployment. Regulatory agencies do expect to see a data package with information for each component in the system regardless of the origin
Tomi Engdahl says:
2016 IC Industry: Who Grabbed What…So Far
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330392
To identify the last standing acquisition targets in the semiconductor industry, there’s no better way than simply tracking key transactions unveiled thus far in 2016.
After the historic year of M&A semiconductor announcements in 2015 (a total value of more than $105 billion–excluding chip equipment and materials suppliers), “we appear to be on track to reach the second or third highest annual level of acquisition deals being struck in 2016,” Rob Lineback, senior market research analyst at IC Insights, told us.
He estimated the value of 2016 deals so far at $50 billion, not yet including Renesas’ potential acquisition of Intersil for about $3 billion.
Topping the list is Softbank’s acquisition of ARM for $32 billion in cash. Analog
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Spins out Security Group
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330421&
Intel Corp. will sell 51% of its security group to a private equity company for $3.1 billion in cash, spinning it off as an independent company to be called McAfee. Under former chief executive Paul Otellini, the x86 giant bought McAfee in 2010 for $7.68 billion.
Intel will retain 49% ownership of the new company in a transaction valuing the business at $4.2 billion. In a written statement, Intel called the new company “one of the world’s largest cybersecurity companies.”
An estimated 7,500 McAfee employees will leave Intel at the close of transaction, expected in the second quarter of 2017. The move follows a broader reorg announced in April in which Intel said it is laying off 12,000 workers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Globalfoundries Preps 12nm FDSOI Process
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330423&
Globalfoundries Inc. has announced a next-generation FDSOI process to follow on from the 22FDX process that is nearing production. The company has also announced the presence of EDA and IP companies Cadence and Synopsys within the FDXelerator ecosystem development program for FDSOI.
FDSOI, standing for fully depleted silicon on insulator, is an alternative to the FinFET chip manufacturing style favored by Intel and foundry TSMC. Much of the original research for SOI was conducted by IBM before being carried forward by STMicroelectronics. Now Samsung at 28nm and Globalfoundries at 22nm are working to bring FDSOI into production.
The 12FDX process nominally at 12nm minimum geometry, is intended to enable the intelligent from mobile computing and 5G connectivity to artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. It is notable that STMicroelectronics missed out on a design win with long time partner Mobileye that was attracted to 10nm FinFET
In short 12FDX offers performance of 10nm FinFET with better power consumption and lower cost than 16nm FinFET.
“Some applications require the unsurpassed performance of FinFET transistors, but the vast majority of connected devices need high levels of integration and more flexibility for performance and power consumption, at costs FinFET cannot achieve,” said Globalfoundries’ CEO Sanjay Jha, in a statement. “Our 22FDX and 12FDX technologies fill a gap in the industry’s roadmap by providing an alternative path for the next generation of connected intelligent systems.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Debuts Three Custom Chips
AirPods’ W1 is company’s first wireless SoC
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330418
Apple’s products announced today pack at least three new chips including its first wireless SoC to date, showing the company’s increasing silicon prowess.
The company’s largest and most complex effort remains the iPhone application processor. The 64-bit A10 Fusion in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus packs 3.3 billion transistors.
The SoC adopts ARM’s Big.little approach, using two high performance cores running 40% faster and two high efficiency cores at one-fifth the power consumption of the A9 SoC in the iPhone 6. It also sports a six-core GPU that’s 50% faster than graphics in the A9.
“It’s the most powerful chip in a smartphone,”
The biggest surprise of the event came from the lowly earbud. Apple’s new wireless AirPods and three new wireless Beats headphones include a custom chip called the W1.
Apple’s Schiller and the company’s materials did not mention the term Bluetooth.
Schiller said AirPods do not require a device pairing process typical of Bluetooth. A one-step process lets them pick up audio from either an iPhone or Apple Watch which presumably would at least require some variant of a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi transmission.
Separately, Apple rolled out an updated Apple Watch Series 2. It uses a so-called S2 system-in-package with a 50% faster dual-core CPU and 2x faster GPU than are in the current model.
Tomi Engdahl says:
High Current Power MOSFET with Current Mirror and Temperature Sense Diodes
https://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/ixys/high-current-power-mosfet-with-current-mirror-and-temperature-sense-diodes/
Using current mirror for current sensing in high current MOSFET applications significantly reduces power loss in current sensing circuit and lowers design cost by replacing expensive high power current sensors with inexpensive standard resistors. Two temperature-sensing diodes monolithically integrated in the MOSFET’s die monitor the junction temperature of the MOSFET, rather than that of the package or heat sink temperature. This significantly increases the precision of temperature measurement and reduces the protection gap for operating ambient temperature with minimal risk of damaging the device.
IXYS MMIXT132N50P3 contains the current mirror to monitor the drain current in a major device and two diodes with common cathode utilizing the same die as the major device for temperature monitoring.
The current mirror is created as a part of the major MOSFET structure with common drain (D) and gate (G) terminals and separated source terminals (S and CS).
MMIXT132N50P3 contains an N+1 identical structure with which N structures create the major MOSFET and the (N+1)th structure creates the current mirror. For this particular design, N = 200, and if no current sense resistor in the current mirror’s source is used (RCS = 0), the current mirror’s current is exactly 1/200 of the major device source current.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Next PCIe is the last with copper
The PCI bus technology manages the PCI-SIG 4.0 version promises PCIExpress bus ready for next year. At the same time the organization says that the 4.0 version is the last using copper cables PCI bus. Since then, the connection is bound to become an optical.
At the moment, it seems that the physical connector changes. 4.0 interface will be backward compatible with earlier versions of the PCI.
A single cable of the fourth generation of PCIe-bus transfer two gigabytes of data per second. X16-type connector Alpi will therefore pass data from 32 gigabytes per second. The pace is thus a double compared to the PCIe 3.0
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5015:seuraava-pcie-on-viimeinen-kuparilla&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
GlobalFoundries Rolls Out 12nm FD-SOI Process
Foundry also touts an ecosystem for its 22nm process.
http://semiengineering.com/globalfoundries-rolls-out-12nm-fd-soi-process/
GlobalFoundries uncorked its 12FDX platform, incorporating a 12nm fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator process technology. The foundry’s Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany, will support customer development with the 12nm process, with product tape-outs scheduled for the first six months of 2019.
The 12FDX technology follows the company’s 22FDX platform involving a 22-nanometer process. The foundry asserted that 12FDX will provide the performance of a 10nm FinFET chip design, while improving on the cost and power consumption of 16nm FinFET technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Focus Shifts To Architectures
http://semiengineering.com/focus-shifts-to-architectures/
As chipmakers search for the biggest bang for new markets, the emphasis isn’t just on process nodes anymore. But these kinds of changes also add risks.
Chipmakers increasingly are relying on architectural and micro-architectural changes as the best hope for improving power and performance across a spectrum of markets, process nodes and price points.
While discussion about the death of Moore’s Law predates the 1-micron process node, there is no question that it is getting harder for even the largest chipmakers to stay on that curve. Case in point: The final version of the ITRS roadmap was rolled out this summer. In preparation for that, IEEE announced in May that it plans to create an International Roadmap For Devices and Systems, providing metrics that are relevant to specific markets instead of a one-size-fits-all roadmap based almost entirely upon device scaling. That was followed in June by an advanced packaging roadmap from IEEE and SEMI for systems in package.
Both of those moves, as well as many others, point to a growing reliance on architectures and microarchitectures to optimize power, performance and area, rather than just adding more transistors onto a die. And they put far more pressure on architects of all types—power, chip, system and software—to replace the gains once provided by device scaling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Noise Killed My Chip
http://semiengineering.com/noise-killed-my-chip/
Which kind of noise is likely to give your next project a headache, and what you can do about it.
In the past, noise was considered an annoyance, especially for analog circuitry. But today chips are actually failing because insufficient analysis was performed.
Noise types that used to be second-order effects are becoming primary factors that have to be considered. This is happening at the same time that noise margins are getting smaller, both in the amplitude and temporal dimensions. It normally takes a significant failure within the industry before things change, and the word on the street is that such a failure has happened—and that many companies are now paying a lot more attention to noise analysis.
There are no new sources of noise and yet “noise has become one of the most critical issues in semiconductors,”
“It impacts analog circuits, it impacts digital circuits.”
While there may be no new sources, the problem is getting worse. “There are a couple of reasons,” says Eric Naviasky, fellow in the design IP group of Cadence. “First, we have higher density of switching currents per square millimeter than we had in the past. This is directly due to process scaling. The density of decoupling capacitors has not been able to keep up. In addition, di/dt has increased. The processes are faster and thus for all of the inductive components, di/dt affects you. In the past, you did not need to worry about every picoHenry, but today you worry about everything.”
The tolerance to noise is decreasing. “We believe that the lower you go in geometry, the bigger the problem will become,” says Tegethoff. “You have less headroom in the voltage level, the data rates keep going up, and circuits need to be low power.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Key high-speed connector layout techniques
http://www.edn.com/design/pc-board/4442661/Key-high-speed-connector-layout-techniques?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160912&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160912&elqTrackId=87337ee36c424bc389bc083ca8b30ef7&elq=af5594a4c4a943108009c03be5a6fc4c&elqaid=33810&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29551
This article discusses the essential considerations of mounting connectors on PCBs. These aspects include the pin assignments for signals and grounds, stubs due to the pins of through-hole or press-fit connector, and impedance mismatch caused by surface mount pads of the connector. A connector is one of the transmission-line elements along a multiple-board signal path between transmitter and receiver. Therefore, it is crucial to select and mount the connector in a manner that best suits the system design.
inverting (S-) and non-inverting (S+) are assigned to two adjacent pins. Furthermore, a signal pair is segregated from another by ground (G). Such pin assignments prevent mode conversion from differential to common. As a result, the risk of inter-pair crosstalk and common-mode noise coupling is minimized.
When a through-hole or press-fit connector is used, it’s important to make sure that the pin length does not exceed the PCB thickness. A stub exists when the connector pin is longer than the PCB thickness.
A differential pair of 100Ω enters the press-fit male connector with various stub lengths (0 mil, 50 mil, and 100 mil) on PCB #1 and exits the press-fit female connector without stubs on PCB #2. The trace length on each PCB is 0.5 inch and medium loss material is used as substrate. The plots of SDD21 and TDR are shown in Figure 3. The model with a 100 mil stub has 20Ω impedance mismatch and 11 GHz resonance. Meanwhile, the model with a 50 mil stub has 14Ω impedance mismatch and 17 GHz resonance. Once there is no pin stub, the impedance mismatch is reduced to 10Ω and resonance extends beyond 18GHz.
Connector SMT pads contribute to impedance mismatch on the transmission line. Once a signal pair with narrower traces reaches the SMT pads with wider copper, the strip capacitance of this segment is increased
A signal pair of 100Ω (6 mil trace width and 1.2 mil thickness in single ended mode) enters the SMT pad of female connector on PCB #1 and exits the SMT pad of male connector on PCB #2
Tomi Engdahl says:
How much common current is too much?: Rule of Thumb #31
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4442671/How-much-common-current-is-too-much–Rule-of-Thumb–31?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160912&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160912&&elqTrackId=4996078afd144f0fae4f91464f5ee849&elq=af5594a4c4a943108009c03be5a6fc4c&elqaid=33810&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29551
Passing an EMC certification test is hard. The biggest source of failures is radiation from common currents on external cables. It only takes about 5µA of common current to fail some EMC compliance tests. Watch out for this “common” failure mode.
Spoiler summary: It only takes 5µA of common current to fail an FCC part 15 Class B EMC compliance test.
Remember: before you start using rules of thumb, be sure to read the Rule of Thumb #0: Using rules of thumb wisely.
Previous: Rule of Thumb #30: The frequency of cavity resonances
Passing an EMC certification test is hard. The most sensitive test, FCC part 15 class B, requires the maximum far field strength, 3 meters distant from your product, to be less than 100 µV/m at 88 MHz, with a 120 kHz bandwidth in the detector.
Just how much is this? If your product were a radio station, radiating in all directions, so that its far field strength at 3m distant was enough to fail this test, it would only have to radiate, in the 120 kHz bandwidth, about 10 nW of power. Not much.
Using a simple model for an antenna – a wire with a voltage source driving current in it, we can estimate just how much common current is required to fail an FCC test
It only takes 5µA of common current on an external cable to fail an FCC EMC compliance test. Keep your common currents below this and you will have a much better chance of passing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industrial electronics increases steadily
The number of industrial devices is growing steadily, so in the required number of electronics growth does not just throw. Last year, the industry of semiconductors sold 40.7 billion dollars, and for the coming years is predicted seven percent growth.
Semicast Research, this means that in 2021 teollisuuspuolijohteita sold 61.5 billion dollars. The entire semiconductor market in the industrial electronics sector accounts for about 12 per cent.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5019:teollisuuselektroniikka-kasvaa-tasaisesti&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shielding 4K2K Display Graphics Connector Solder Tails Mitigates EMI
http://www.techonline.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4441994/Shielding-4K2K-Display-Graphics-Connector-Solder-Tails-Mitigates-EMI?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160912&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160912&elqTrackId=16acd0df42914b1383495add9a80065f&elq=990c7e07afa14a7caea00f0e05d2c0eb&elqaid=33822&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29565
4K2K Display Resolution requires high-data-rate (HDR) differential signaling of 4-lanes of eDP at 5.4 Gbps and the emerging 8K resolution displays that require the transfer of 8.1 Gbps data rates. If the embedded display graphics connector is placed in close proximity to the wireless radios and antennas carrier signals, then the radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) energy of the high-data-rate being transferred across the graphics connector solder tails causes interference with the wireless carrier band frequency bands and causing the communications links to fail to operate properly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10-bit oscilloscopes adjust to signal conditions
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4442666/10-bit-oscilloscopes-adjust-to-signal-conditions?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160912&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160912&elqTrackId=4dfd3940f5e34bb1acf7193799d5b503&elq=990c7e07afa14a7caea00f0e05d2c0eb&elqaid=33822&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=29565
When it comes to any kind of signal digitizing, you always face the tradeoff between bandwidth and resolution. Teledyne LeCroy’s HDO9000 series bridges the gap between its traditional 8-bit 12-bit oscilloscopes, but it’s flexible architecture lets it find the best combination of resolution and sample rate. The HDO9000 line gives better resolution than attainable with eight bits but with higher bandwidth than you get with their 12-bit cousins.
HDO9000 series, with models of 1 GHz, 2 GHz, 3 GHz, and 4 GHz maximum bandwidth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Focus Shifts To Architectures
http://semiengineering.com/focus-shifts-to-architectures/
As chipmakers search for the biggest bang for new markets, the emphasis isn’t just on process nodes anymore. But these kinds of changes also add risks.
Chipmakers increasingly are relying on architectural and micro-architectural changes as the best hope for improving power and performance across a spectrum of markets, process nodes and price points.
While discussion about the death of Moore’s Law predates the 1-micron process node, there is no question that it is getting harder for even the largest chipmakers to stay on that curve.
“Architects used to be instrumental in defining a new family of chips,” said Mike Gianfagna, vice president of marketing at eSilicon. “Now they’re instrumental in defining new chips. The difference is that a new family of chips happens every few years. A new chip is every few months.”
There is clear evidence this shift is in well underway within big chip companies such as Intel, Samsung, AMD, and Nvidia, all of which have been wrestling with dwindling power/performance returns for several process nodes.
Nvidia’s new Parker SoC is one example. The company is pitching as a compute platform for autonomous machines of all sorts. The device is built for throughput and speed. So while it includes a 16nm finFET-based CPU, with two 64-bit “Denver” ARM cores and four A57s, it also includes a number of other chips, including a 256-core GPU, display and audio engines, a safety engine, a secure boot processor, and DDR4 memory, which is just starting to be used in servers.
At the other end of the scale, Intel rolled out a new microcontroller chip for the embedded IoT market based on the Quark architecture and designed for “duty cycle use cases,” according to Peter Barry, principal engineer at Intel.
“This is designed to run up to 10 years off a coin-cell battery,” said Barry. “The power target is 1 milliwatt active power.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Photonics Moves Closer To Chip
http://semiengineering.com/photonics-moves-closer-to-chip/
Government, private funding ramps up as semiconductor industry looks for faster low-power solutions.
Silicon photonics is resurfacing after more than a decade in the shadows, driven by demands to move larger quantities of data faster, using extremely low power and with minimal heat.
Until recently, much of the attention in photonics focused on moving data between servers and storage. Now there is growing interest at the PCB level and in heterogeneous multi-chip packages. Government, academic and and commercial investments in this technology are all on the rise, and there is a renewed sense of optimism that this technology will become useful across more markets and applications.
“In the early 2000s there was a lot of energy being put into photonics,” said Gnyaneshwar Ramakrishna, chairman of the photonics technical committee for IEEE’s Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society. “That died down for a while. But now that we’re able to show speeds of 25 Gbps to 100 Gbps, photonics is coming back in a big way. It’s being used for short reach and long reach in data centers, and we’re seeing a need for photonics at the modular level. We are working on how to bring it onto a board. There is, finally, so to speak, a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The ecosystem appears to be firmly on board, though. “Silicon photonics will be a $33 billion to $35 billion industry,” said Sanjay Jha, CEO of GlobalFoundries, during a recent speech. “There will be a dramatic increase. It will be used for all the data in cars and connectivity between racks of servers. There will be a seamless distribution of processing in the data center.”
The goal of all of these efforts is to eke efficiencies and economies of scale out of silicon photonics, as the semiconductor industry did with digital logic and memory using Moore’s Law as a guide. Silicon photonics is viewed as a way of moving more data more efficiently, and even more securely, but the price has to drop significantly for it to reach a broader audience.
For processors to utilize photonics, optical signals need to be converted to electrical signals. Research is underway to process and store optical signals, sidestepping that entire conversion process, but most experts believe it will be years before a solution is ready, and even then it’s questionable whether it will be cost-effective.
At this point, the three leaders in this field are Cisco, Intel and IBM. Of the three, only Cisco is shipping the technology in quantity in a variety of devices.
Optical to electrical, and back again
Converting signals takes energy and time. The electro-optical conversion process requires modulation of an RF signal onto the output of a laser diode, and then a receiver to convert the signal back to electrical.
Inside of data centers, the signal can be carried by an optical fiber cable. The same idea works for a 2.5D package, where one die is electrical and the other is optical. So far, an entire system that incorporates electrical and optical has not been commercially available on a single die, and it doesn’t appear likely anytime soon. There is even debate about whether a 2.5D chip using optics and standard electronics will outperform one built with existing CMOS.
“Right now it doesn’t make sense on a die,” said Drew Wingard, CTO of Sonics. “It probably will not beat the performance of electrical connections in a package.”
There are several basic components involved in silicon photonics. One is a waveguide, which is the equivalent of a switch in the electrical world. The second is a splitter, also known as a multiplexer (mux) or demultiplexer (demux). The third is a coupling mechanism, to get the photons off a chip.
Building photonics into chips
At the chip level, the first implementations will be die-to-die within a package using an interposer, most likely using one chip for photonics and another for standard electronic processing and routing. The opto-electric conversion will happen either before it crosses into a standard silicon interposer, or after the signals reach the other side using an optical interposer.
“Silicon photonics is certainly very interesting to fabless companies because it’s an extension of what they’re already doing,” said Gilles Lamant, distinguished engineer at Cadence. “But for fabs, unless they have an SOI process in place, they’re out of luck.”
Layout is indeed one of the big changes, and where EDA companies are focusing their efforts. “Topologically, you need to connect everything together with wave guides,”
There are other unique considerations in silicon photonics, as well. One involves connectivity through the wave guide. Interferometers are commonly used in these kinds of devices to split beams, and each of those beams must then be reflected back toward the beam splitter, which then combines their amplitudes. That means five components within a circuit that most chip engineers normally don’t encounter.
Phase shifting of signals is another option, using ring modulators. By using a balanced PN junction and applying an electrical field, those signals can be modulated and controlled. And with interferometers, signals can be brought together in-phase or out of phase, which provides even more possibilities.
In fact, one of the key drivers behind an all-optical device is that whenever electronic components are involved, they invariably slow down on-chip and off-chip communication and computation. An all optical device would be virtually unlimited in terms of compute power, by today’s standards
“Right now, this is all gated by the electrical side,” said Cisco’s Patel. “An optical IC at some point has to deal with an electrical signal and the rate at which you can switch electrical. What will happen from here is we will extend the boundary of optical. Optical processing at this point is expensive. It’s not a CMOS cost structure. But as the cost of structures comes down and key issues are resolved, that will change. The long march has started. We will move from electrical interposers to electro-optical interposers.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Also like the year will be quite a crazy year semiconductor industry. Just last year, the transaction volume is not reached, but the big shops have been seen this year. The latest Japanese Renesas buy American Intersil.
22.50 dollars per share price of Renesas Intersil to shell out $ 3.2 billion. The transaction will generate the world ”s largest supplier of embedded solutions, “such as companies boast a fusion.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5034:taas-jattikauppa-puolijohdealalla&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel: first programmable circuit
Intel is known as PC processors left the manufacturer, but now the company is also the world’s second-largest manufacturer of field programmable circuits. Last year, it bought Altera and now seen the light of day are the first Intel-branded FPGA.
The first of the famous Intel logo has been given a finish Altera’s Stratix flagship 10.
Krzanich presented itself produced 14-nanometer process, Stratix circuitry are 10. This is the same process with the latest PC Intel processors manufactured. They Intel moves to 10 nanometers next year.
FPGA chip, Intel changed, but also for its annual IDF developer meetings. Now, during the event held in the SoC FPGA Developer Forum.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5029:intelilta-ensimmainen-ohjelmoitava-piiri&catid=13&Itemid=101