Chip Market Brightens in 2017. The semiconductor industry may yet have been flat in 2016, but expects it is expected that the electronics industry rebounds in 2017, probably in the first half. Wall Streeter predicts return to 5% growth. Total IC business growth is expected to be around five percents for few years to come.There seems to several promises to this direction, especially in memory business. Chips Execs See Maturing Industry article says that pessimism about immediate revenue and R&D growth is a sign of a maturing industry.
Thanks to both rising prices and volume sales, the memory sector is expected to lead overall semiconductor sales growth. Sales of memory chips will increase 10% next year to a new record high of $85.3 billion, according to the latest report from IC Insights. NAND flash will grow almost as fast at 10% next year. The average annual growth rate for the memory market is forecast to be 7.3% from 2016-2021. Every year we need 5.6% more bits than previous year, and the unit prices are increasing on both DRAM and Flash.
There will be also other growth sectors. The data center will be the fastest growth segment next year, rising 10%, followed by automotive at 9% and communications at 7%. Consumer and industrial markets growing at about 4% in line with the overall industry. PCs will be the big drag on 2017, declining 2%.
China Dominates Planned Chip Fabs as more than 40% of front end semiconductor fabs scheduled to begin operation between 2017 and 2020 are in China, a clear indication that China’s long-stated ambition to build a significant domestic semiconductor industry is taking shape.
Trump Win Could Mean Big Questions for Manufacturing as while Trump vowed to keep American manufacturing jobs, he offered little in the way of stated policy other than the promise to punish companies that sent manufacturing job outside the US. Questions about trade also could directly affect US manufacturing. How that plays out is a big unknown.
Europe will try to advance chip manufacturing, but not much results in 2017 as currently there is almost no leading-edge digital chip manufacturing left in Europe as the local companies have embraced outsourcing of digital semiconductor manufacturing to foundries. The European Commission intends to reconvene a high-level group of European CEOs and executives to exchange views on Europe’s 10/100/20 nanoelectronics and chip manufacturing project and make adjustments as necessary for a wave of European Union investment supposedly starting in 2020. The two most advanced wafer fab locations left in Europe in terms of deep sub-micron miniaturization belong to Intel in Leixlip, Ireland and Globalfoundries in Dresden, Germany.
Smaller geometries are to be taken into use and researched in 2017. Several chipmakers ramp up their 10nm finFET processes, with 7nm just around the corner. As TSMC, GF/Samsung Battle at 7nm the net result is in the course of 18 months chip designers will see at least three variants of 7nm — separate immersion variants from TSMC and Globalfoundries and the EUV version from GF/Samsung. Intel has yet to detail its 7nm node.
At the same time R&D has begun for 5nm and beyond, but Uncertainty Grows For 5nm, 3nm as costs are skyrocketing. Both 5nm and 3nm present a multitude of unknowns and challenges. To put this in perspective, there are roughly two silicon atoms in 1nm of line width in a chip. Etching Technology Advances as atomic layer etch (ALE) moves to the forefront of chip-making technology—finally. TSMC recently announced plans to build a new fab in Taiwan at a cost of $15.7 billion targeted for TSMC’s 5nm and 3nm processes, which are due out in 2020 and 2022.
Moore’s Law continues to slow as process complexities and costs escalate at each node. Moore’s Law is dead, just not in the way everyone thinks. SiFive believes open source hardware is the way forward for the semiconductor industry. Technological advances keep allowing chips to scale, but the economics are another story – particularly for smaller companies that can’t afford chips in the volumes. The solution, according to San Francisco-based startup, SiFive, is open-source hardware, specifically an architecture developed by the company’s founders called RISC-V (pronounced “risk-five”). Done right SiFive, which was awarded Startup of the Year at the 2016 Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards, believes that RISC-V will do for the hardware industry what Linux has done for software. For example 5th RISC-V Workshop Points to Growing Interest in the RISC-V Platform.
Sensors are hot in 2017. These tiny, powerful solutions are creating the interface between the analog and the digital world. Data is everywhere, and sensors are at the very heart of that. While no one really knows what technology’s next “killer application” will be, we are confident that any killer app will rely on sensors.Appliance autonomy promises to make life simpler, but this field has still lots of to improve even after year 2017.
Interface ICs will continue to help simplify high-bandwidth designs while making them more robust and reliable. Application areas that will benefit include automotive, communications, and industrial. Both wired and wireless interface solutions have plenty of applications.
Analog’s status is rising as more sensors and actuators are added into electronic devices, pressure is growing to more seamlessly move data seamlessly back and forth between analog and digital circuitry. IoT pushes up demand for analog content and need for communication between these two worlds will continue to grow. Analog and digital always have fit rather uncomfortably together, and that discomfort has grown as SoCs are built using smaller feature sizes. The demand for analog silicon has always existed in the embedded space, but the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) is increasing the demand for connected mixed-signal content. At 28nm and 16/14nm, standard “analog” IP includes a fair amount of digital content.
It seems that hardware designer is a disappearing resource and software is the king in 2017. It is becoming less and less relevant in what format the device is used in many applications. Card computers are standard products and are found in many different card formats that can be used in very many applications. Embedded development is changing to more and more coding. More software designers that understand some hardware are needed, but it is not easy to leap to move to the hardware to software.
The power electronics market is moving at very fast pace. Besides traditional industrial, renewable, and traction sectors, new applications such as energy-storage systems, micro-grids, and dc chargers are emerging. As the automotive world moves to electric vehicles, this creates challenges for IGBT and SiC-MOSFET ICs, and their associated gate drivers. New packages for high-voltage IGBTs and high-voltage SiC-MOSFETs are introduced.
More custom power distribution and higher voltages on data center computer systems in 2017. OpenRack and OpenCompute projects are increasing the distribution voltage inside the server itself. This approach, plus transitioning to new materials such as gallium nitride in the power-conversion systems, can reduce overall power consumption by 20% and increase server densities by 30-40%.”
Power Modules and Reference Designs will be looked at in 2017 even more than earlier in power electronics. The semiconductor and packaging technologies used in power modules have advanced considerably, and the industry is developing modules today that are denser, less expensive, and easier to use. Designers want to rely on power modules to speed up designs and optimize space using smaller, easy-to-use power modules. Module manufacturers hope that engineers will increasingly choose a module over a discrete design in many applications.
The bi-directional DC/DC converter has been around for a while, but new applications are quickly emerging which necessitate the use of this architecture in so many more systems. Battery back-up systems need bi-directional DC/DC converters. Applications today require better energy efficiency and such systems as green power with solar or wind generation, need storage so that when there is no wind or sun available the electricity flow is not interrupted.
Power supplies need to become more efficient. Both European Union’s (EU) Code of Conduct (CoC) Tier 1 and CoC Tier 2 efficiency standards are to be taken into use. The European Union’s CoC Tier 1 effectively harmonizes the EU with US DoE Level VI and became effective as a voluntary requirement from January 2014, two years ahead of Level VI. Its adoption as an EU Ecodesign rule is currently under review to become law with an implementation date of January 2017. The key difference between the CoC requirements and Level VI is the new 10% load measure, which imposes efficiency requirements under a low-load condition where historically most types of power supplies have been notoriously inefficient. CoC Tier 2 further tightens the no-load and active mode power consumption limits.
During 2016, wireless-power applications started to pick up across many fields in the semiconductor industry, and it will continue to do so. Wireless power will continue to gain traction with increased consumer demand. Hewlett Packard, Dell, jjPlus, and Witricity have already announced products based on Airfuel standards. And, products based upon the Qi standard will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
Other prediction articles:
In Power & Analog 2017 Forecast: What Experts Are Saying article representatives from major players in the semiconductor industry share their predictions for 2017 regarding power modules, wireless power, data converters, wireless sensing, and more.
Looking Ahead to 2017 article tells on to what SIA is focused on working with. “U.S. semiconductor technology should be viewed as a strategic national asset, and the Administration should take a holistic approach in adopting policies to strengthen this vital sector,” the letter says
Hot technologies: Looking ahead to 2017 article collection has EDN and EE Times editors explore some of the hot technologies in 2017 that will shape next year’s technology trends and beyond.
1,115 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip Industry Outlines Post-CMOS Research Focus
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331541&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding Test Challenges across the Power Semiconductor Life Cycle
http://powerelectronics.com/power-management/understanding-test-challenges-across-power-semiconductor-life-cycle?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170403_ED-003_708&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10439&utm_medium=email&elq2=346eb3475f05451b843a032a496b268c
From start to finish, test and measurement plays an important role in bringing new power semiconductor devices to market, adapting them to customer applications and discovering the sources of faults. Understanding the full product development lifecycle and test challenges along the way can be helpful to insure the entire design process goes smoothly.
Evaluating Existing Devices
Applications engineers work with customers who are constantly stressing, testing, or stretching a design to maximize efficiency. These customers need detail beyond what is noted in the device specification. Requirements are constantly in flux, so what needs to be measured can vary daily. How can measurements be made quickly and easily without time being wasted to relearn software or instrumentation?
For these types of applications, it’s important to have a versatile set of test capabilities, including pulse, dc, and C-V. Software with a device-specific, as opposed to an instrument-specific, vocabulary helps simplify measurements.
Designing Devices
To effectively design devices that meet their customer’s latest requirements, power device design engineers and process engineers must understand how to tweak processes that produce the desired device performance. There must be confidence that the device models are sufficiently accurate, and changing particular process steps must produce the necessary changes in the device measurement parameters. Therefore, the device engineer must perform preliminary verification of key device parameters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Great Machine Learning Race
Chip industry repositions as technology begins to take shape; no clear winners yet.
http://semiengineering.com/the-great-machine-learning-race/
Processor makers, tools vendors, and packaging houses are racing to position themselves for a role in machine learning, despite the fact that no one is quite sure which architecture is best for this technology or what ultimately will be successful.
Rather than dampen investments, the uncertainty is fueling a frenzy. Money is pouring in from all sides. According to a new Moor Insights report, as of February 2017 there were more than 1,700 machine learning startups and 2,300 investors. The focus ranges from relatively simple dynamic network optimization to military drones using real-time information to avoid fire and adjust their targets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Shows Life Beyond CMOS
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331550&
Intel described more than a dozen technologies to transcend the limitations of CMOS it is developing in conjunction with universities and the Semiconductor Research Corp. industry consortium at the International Symposium on Physical Design (ISPD 2017) here last month.
Intel’s ultimate goal is to achieve significantly lower energy per operation for computation while utilizing the same fabs.
“We are looking beyond CMOS logic and computation methods to discover how to do it differently,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Drops Imagination
Can Imagination survive without Apple?
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331549
Apple has notified Imagination Technologies Group, a key GPU core licenser to Apple for years, that it will no longer use Imagination’s intellectual property in new products.
For the U.K.-based graphics IP firm, whose GPU core technologies have been intrinsic to Apple’s phones, tablets, iPods, TVs and watches, this is undoubtedly a devastating blow.
However, members of the GPU community, who’ve been aware of Apple’s hiring binge on GPU talent, tend to regard this as an inevitable development.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Sales Keep Climbing
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331555&
February semiconductor sales were up by 16.5 percent compared with February 2016, the largest year-to-year increase in more than six years, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) trade group said Monday (April 3).
However, sales of $30.4 billion for February declined by 0.8 percent compared with January sales of $30.6 billion. The SIA said the month-to-month decline was less than typical for the January to February season.
SIA President John Neuffer said through a press statement that early 2017 chip sales have been strong, lead by strength in memory products such as DRAM and NAND flash. “Year-to-year sales increased by double digits across most regional markets, with the China and Americas markets showing particularly strong growth,” Neuffer said. “Global market trends are favorable for continuing sales growth in the months ahead.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Printed Supercapacitors for Energy Harvesting Applications
https://tutcris.tut.fi/portal/en/publications/printed-supercapacitors-for-energy-harvesting-applications(a7aeea33-1d5f-4f33-8dbc-437cc81a9cbe).html
Energy harvesting from ambient sources such as light or vibrations is a promising method for powering distributed and ubiquitous electronics. Harvesting requires an intermediate energy storage, for which supercapacitors are well suited due to their long cycle life compared to batteries. Moreover, supercapacitors can be prepared from non-toxic materials with printing methods, enabling their use in many applications.
This thesis analyzes different types of solution processed supercapacitors prepared using different materials, fabrication methods and architectures, and their use in energy harvesting. Supercapacitors were prepared from the conventional material, activated carbon, as well as novel materials: carbon nanotubes and conducting polymer composites. Layers were deposited by doctor blade coating and screen printing, and in the case of conducting polymers, also electrochemical deposition. Neutral aqueous electrolytes were used in the supercapacitors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductors, Power Electronic Systems Roadmaps Point to the Future
http://powerelectronics.com/power-management/semiconductors-power-electronic-systems-roadmaps-point-future?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170405_ED-003_214&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10478&utm_medium=email&elq2=4a26d02659d74720b4a4623f656a9f14
Portrayed in roadmaps, future trends for power electronic systems will include semiconductors as well as other components and manufacturing impacts.
PEIC Offers 2017 Power Electronics Industry Roadmap
Now, a new group has entered into the roadmap world, this time specifically for power electronics. This roadmap looks at all facets of power electronics from semiconductors to manufacturing.
This roadmap shown in Fig. 1, shows that recent advances in power semiconductor technology have opened up new opportunities for innovation in power electronics. Market and regulatory conditions have created global demand for power electronics systems that take advantage of new semiconductor technologies to enable higher-efficiency devices that operate at higher temperatures, higher frequencies, and higher voltages in smaller packages and lower overall system cost. To meet these demands at scale, several technological and manufacturing challenges need to be overcome.
Development of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices is a major component of the global innovation race in power electronics. WBG semiconductor devices, especially SiC and GaN-on-Si devices, are beginning to penetrate the market, although Si devices continue to dominate the industry.
The U.S. WBG semiconductor device manufacturing supply chain is more developed in SiC device technology, while GaN-on-Si devices tend to be manufactured in Asian foundries, leveraging the massive silicon device foundry infrastructure there.
In addition, next-generation WBG semiconductors like bulk GaN and so-called ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors like gallium oxide (Ga2O3), aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and diamond are in aggressive development as they promise additional performance advantages over SiC and GaN-on-Si.
Components that support the overall power electronics systems, including capacitors, magnetic components, and packaging technologies are being pushed to match the new semiconductor performance levels, which in turn is creating market conundrums that are hampering growth of advanced semiconductors.
Current capacitor technologies struggle to match the high temperature performance needs, as existing capacitor technologies are limited by the properties of the dielectric used.
Ferrites are the dominant form of soft magnetics used in power electronics systems today, primarily due to their low cost. However, they are bulky and reducing their size requires higher frequency operation, which causes high losses. Amorphous alloys and nanocrystalline materials are being explored as potential solutions to this issue, but none of the materials developed exhibit the desired performance characteristics at a competitive cost yet.
New packaging techniques and materials are being developed to improve the performance of power electronics systems at high temperatures with improved reliability over many thermal cycles.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Sales Keep Climbing
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331555&
February semiconductor sales were up by 16.5 percent compared with February 2016, the largest year-to-year increase in more than six years, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) trade group said Monday (April 3).
However, sales of $30.4 billion for February declined by 0.8 percent compared with January sales of $30.6 billion. The SIA said the month-to-month decline was less than typical for the January to February season.
“Global market trends are favorable for continuing sales growth in the months ahead.”
The year is indeed shaping up to be a strong one for semiconductor sales, with market watchers generally forecasting moderate to strong annual growth. Last week, market research firm IC Insights Inc. more than doubled its forecast for 2017 chip sales growth to 11 percent, crediting surging average selling prices for DRAM and NAND.
Chip Materials Market Grew 2.4% in 2016
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331561&
Sales of semiconductor materials grew by 2.4 percent in 2016 compared with 2015, according to the SEMI trade organization.
Wafer fabrication materials revenue increased 3.1 percent to reach $24.7 billion last year, while the packaging materials revenue increased 1.4 percent to $19.6 billion, according to SEMI, which represents semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers worldwide.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ISPD Predicts Chip Futures
Machine Learning to Determine Architectures
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331563&
The paradigm of real-time machine learning is eliminating many of the human-driven elements in the physical design of microchips, according to speakers at the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM’s) International Symposium on Physical Design (ISPD).
IEEE- and Intel-Fellow Pradeep Dubey of Intel’s Parallel Computing Lab outlined how cognitive computers will take over many human elements in his keynote presentation the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tech predictions from 2007
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/from-the-edge-/4458199/Tech-predictions-from-2007
Just how good are we at predicting the future? When we look at CES 2017, for example, and the realities of cutting wires, technology truly has come far. Sometimes it’s fun to look back at an attempt to look forward. I ran across an NBC News piece that Brian Williams did 10 years ago on what 2017 would look like, and the “wrenching changes” predicted in what was then the decade to come.
Well, this security aspect is dead on. Our lives are pretty much open books. Facial recognition software is still used, however, and the adoption of biometric technology to the extent that it will free us completely is quite a reach.
Predicted in the news piece as well was the networked classroom, which is true, given the availability of online education and connected devices. It is not, however, replacing the traditional brick and mortar school on the level predicted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM Bests Insulators
IRPS Unveils Better Dielectric
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331573&
IBM revealed a new insulator formulation that will take it to the 7nm node and beyond at the IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS) this week. The material comes in two forms — silicon-boron-carbon-nitride (SiBCN) and silicon-oxygen-carbon-nitride (SiOCN) —both of which improve performance and increase yields.
Big Blue also showed how to model line edge roughness (LER) variations filled with SiBCN or SiOCN between wires on a chip as well as new techniques to better measure failure rates by pre-screening chip tests for optimal performance.
In a paper titled “Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown of SiN, SiBCN and SiOCN Spacer Dielectric,” James Stathis, manager of electrical characterization and reliability at IBM Research described how SiBCN and SiOCN outperformed SiN as a spacer dielectric at 10-nanometer thickness (on a 22-nanometer chip) and at six nanometer thickness on a seven nanometer test chip. Its plan is to introduce SiBCN at the 14-nanometer node (already in manufacturing with GlobalFoundries) while SiOCN will being implemented in 7nm. At 5nm IBM hopes to use the ultimate insulator, air gaps, according to Stathis.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Insights from APEC: Plotting the Future of Semiconductor Technologies
http://electronicdesign.com/blog/insights-apec-plotting-future-semiconductor-technologies?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170410_ED-003_97&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10557&utm_medium=email&elq2=81d615a1d3a04505883b9b31045f9822
A can’t-miss event at APEC are the plenary sessions where power electronics experts share their extensive knowledge through different presentations. This year, session attendees got a better idea of where power electronic is heading as well as updates on the latest advances in some technology trends.
Innovations in energy and power management, for example, are happening at a very rapid pace. Technology advances can be seen throughout the energy sector in applications ranging from energy generation to energy storage. As these technologies evolve, the power semiconductor industry is trying to keep up with the high demand of smart and high-efficiency power management systems.
Dr. Bahai predicts that the semiconductor market will grow consistently and quickly in the next two years. In 2005, 30% of the energy of the United States went through some kind of semiconductor device. By 2030, 80% of energy will travel through a semiconductor device, giving the power semiconductor industry an unmatched opportunity to evolve and grow.
In recent years, energy storage solutions have expanded from automotive to residential storage solutions. As data centers consume more power, there are opportunities to improve efficiency by not having loads connected 24/7.
In terms of new power semiconductor materials, gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) are increasingly used in power systems. In many applications, they perform better than silicon devices, which make them more suitable even at a higher cost.
Energy technology is going through a revolution similar to data technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The fibers make touch sensitive sensors
US-North Carolina State University researchers have created a elastic and touch-sensitive fibers, which can be used as an interface tourch screen for electronic equipment.
The new fibers are made of tubular polymeric filaments which include a liquid metal alloy of a eutectic gallium and indium (eGain). The strands have a diameter of a few hundred microns.
“We have created a soft and flexible fibers that can detect touch, as well as stretching and twisting. The microscopic fibers can be useful to integrate the electronics to new destinations such as wearable devices, “says NC State Michael Dickey.
Each fiber is composed of three strands. One of them is filled the entire length of eGain-material, together with filled two-thirds of the third and only one-third. The tubes are then twisted together into a helix.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/04/10/kosketusherkista-kuiduista-antureita/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung will make a gigantic profit
9.9 billion won, or EUR 8.2 billion. Thus, recorded a net profit of Korean Samsung in January-March. The reading is the best Korean company to three years and a fine return at the same time last year after the catastrophic Note 7 to issues.
Samsung’s net sales amounted to € 41.5 billion in the first quarter. Sales is not grown that much, but the result improved clearly. It is based primarily on an increase in prices of memory chips: margins have risen markedly.
DRAM and already lasted longer than the rise in the price of flash memory has received research institutes to raise their forecasts for this year’s growth of the semiconductor. For example, IC Insights now predicts that the market will grow 11 percent a year. The growth is largely based on DRAM and flash memories growing average prices.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6148-samsung-tekee-jattimaisen-tuloksen
Tomi Engdahl says:
System-Level Testing
http://semiengineering.com/system-level-testing/
The increasing complexities of testing advanced semiconductor integrated devices across a span of applications: automotive, mobile computing, wearables, and more;
Semiconductor trends driving necessary shifts in testing methodologies including SiP, SoC, 3D FINFETs, heterogeneous components, and others;
The true costs of test escapes;
https://www.astronics.com/test-systems/whitepaper—system-level-testing-for-semiconductors
Tomi Engdahl says:
Board Level Reliability Of Automotive Embedded Wafer-Level BGA FOWLP
http://semiengineering.com/board-level-reliability-of-automotive-embedded-wafer-level-bga-fowlp/
Why fan-out wafer-level packaging is becoming so important for performance and thermal dissipation.
With shrinking chip sizes, Wafer Level Packaging (WLP) is becoming an attractive packaging technology with many advantages in comparison to standard Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages. With the advancement of various fan-out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) designs, this advanced technology has proven to be a more optimal and promising solution compared to fan-in WLP because of the greater design flexibility in having more input/output (I/O) and improved thermal performance. In addition, FOWLP shows superior high-frequency performance with its shorter and simpler interconnection compared to flip chip packaging. eWLB (embedded wafer level BGA) is a type of FOWLP
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Product Quality Getting Lost In The IIoT?
http://semiengineering.com/is-product-quality-getting-lost-in-the-iiot/
Big data is a necessary tool for cultivating product quality DNA, from the chip to the end device.
Manufacturing operations have continuously evolved using data capture and management to assess and test production effectiveness on the manufacturing floor. The advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and its anticipated ability to track and manage the factory environment with machine-to-machine process analytics heralds yet another transformation, promising a higher level of data intelligence. “Industry 4.0” will have a substantive impact on manufacturing business models and profitability, which is a fundamental justification for its advancement. Perhaps because of the tangible expectation of increased profit, much of the focus for IIoT investment has been toward manufacturing process improvements, with less emphasis, or acknowledgement of, the resulting effects on the quality of the product that is being manufactured. In this era of burgeoning big data analytics, product quality’s impact on enterprise profitability should not be overlooked.
In all industries, substandard product quality can negatively impact financial performance and company reputation. Scrap material costs and recalls resulting from defective parts circulated into the supply chain can compromise an organization’s profitability.
For product analytics to be more successful, data must be relevant to the goals of the organization. It must also be actionable, defined as:
Available quickly (“real-time”)
Processed immediately and automatically
Accessible to the supply chain
Product Analytics Throughout the Supply Chain
With all the business risks associated with releasing poorly performing or faulty devices to consumers, big data will be a necessary tool to cultivate product quality “DNA” from the semiconductor through to the electronic end device. As a device moves from chip to board to sub-system, and from manufacturer to OEM to end user, the complexity of data multiplies, making it challenging and costly to quickly identify the source of failure. With product analytics, this information is quickly traceable along the entire manufacturing process through to the end user. With the advent of the IIoT, it is imperative that product analytics information be combined with process analytics to support the next era of industrial automation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Looking Back at Board Test
The market has seen change and consolidation.
http://semiengineering.com/looking-back-at-board-test/
Printed circuit board testing has been around as long as printed circuit boards, also known as printed circuit assemblies and printed wiring boards. PCB technology started in the early 20th century with Thomas Edison and other inventors. As boards shrink to fit inside wearable gadgets and other products with compact form factors, PCB test equipment vendors are addressing new challenges.
Boards are subjected to automated optical inspection for their inner layers, automated X-ray inspection to find manufacturing defects, and electrical test, basically divided into functional test and in-circuit test. There is also bare-board test, to check for opens and shorts.
Let’s climb into the Electronics Time Machine and look back at what’s happened in the board test market over the decades.
These days, Teradyne is competing in board test with Keysight Technologies (inheritor of the HP/Agilent board test line), Astronics Test Systems, Italy’s SPEA, and Taiwan’s Test Research Inc.
The board test market is greatly changed from the last century, although Keysight and Teradyne remain strong competitors for in-circuit board testers. And so it goes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Time For New Rules
Trying to fit everything into a discussion about Moore’s Law is getting ridiculous.
http://semiengineering.com/time-for-new-rules/
Is Moore’s Law dead? Brigadier General Paul Fredenburgh, commandant of the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, asked that question to four industry CEOs last week while visiting Silicon Valley with some of his students. He received four highly nuanced, if not different, answers.
From one perspective or another, all of the CEOs were all correct. It’s taking longer to move from one process node to the next, but there is significantly more compute power being offered at each new node. While that isn’t technically a doubling of transistors every two years or so, performance continues to increase an average of 30% every couple of years, either through architectural changes, new materials or different packaging approaches.
Moreover, there is no end in sight to how long this will continue. 2.5D, fan-out wafer-level packaging and full 3D will radically improve performance and lower power.
What is becoming obvious, though, is that Moore’s Law as it was originally written is getting tougher to follow. There are several reasons for this:
1. Quality is becoming a bigger issue as semiconductors begin making inroads in safety-critical and industrial markets, including autonomous vehicles, robotics and personalized medicine.
2. Market demand for moving to the next process node will continue, but the number of high-volume markets is shrinking. Companies such as Samsung, Intel and Xilinx all need increased transistor density. But for other companies, density isn’t the only way to solve their power/performance/cost issues.
3. Despite the fact that EUV is moving forward after years of delays, the big challenge with advanced nodes is time. EUV will help. But that’s only one piece of the puzzle. It takes longer to design chips at advanced nodes
While Moore’s Law is continuing in one way, it also has ended in another. And while collectively this is referred to as Moore’s Law, it bears only glimmers of resemblance to the observation first penned by Gordon Moore.
Tomi Engdahl says:
2.5D, FO-WLP Issues Come Into Focus
http://semiengineering.com/2-5d-fo-wlp-issues-come-into-focus/
Advanced packaging goes mainstream, creating ripples throughout the back-end of the semiconductor industry.
Advanced packaging is beginning to take off after years of hype, spurred by 2.5D implementations in high-performance markets and fan-out wafer-level packaging for a wide array of applications.
There are now more players viewing packaging as another frontier driving innovation. But perhaps a more telling sign is that large foundries in Taiwan have begun offering packaging services to customers, blurring the line between foundries and OSATs.
“This goes from one part of a foundry to another part of the factory, or to an OSAT,”
Cost is the key metric to watch in advanced packaging, and that cost is determined by yield, the time it takes to achieve that yield, the thickness of various dies in the package, and the type of package used. So far, relationships between foundries and OSATs—and between customers and each of them—are not well defined when it comes to fan-outs and 2.5D. While the packaging technologies and approaches are understood well enough, the roles of all the players and the optimal methodologies for building and testing these packages are rather murky.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Testing MEMS, Sensors Is Different
These devices require more than an electrical input and output.
http://semiengineering.com/how-testing-mems-sensors-is-different/
When it comes to testing microelectromechanical system devices and sensors, sometimes you have to shake and bake.
MEMS and sensors are physically different from standard ICs. They require a specific type of stimulus to get the required testing results. Most chips only need to have an electrical charge run through them to gauge their pass/fail status – electrical input, electrical output — so it’s all digital, all the time.
MEMS and sensors, however, are more on the analog side of the fence. Most vendors of automatic test equipment are easily disposed to testing of digital or mixed-signal chips. When it comes to MEMS devices or sensors, specialized handling equipment is often required.
Temperature sensors, for example, may be subject to heating in testing. MEMS gyroscopes must be spun around in a gimbal controlled by stepper motors in a special module.
“Testing MEMS and sensors is significantly more complex than testing ICs,”
The challenge is that what starts out as a known good die may not end up as a known good die, and being able to detect that isn’t so easy.
“A lot of these devices are very sensitive, so how you test often depends on the application,” explains Joey Tun, principal market development manager at National Instruments. “With automotive, this is even harder because they do see fairly extreme temperatures, so testing needs to be more intensive.”
Testing needs to be done before MEMS devices are assembled, and they have to be tested after assembly.
What’s different?
One big difference with the MEMS and sensors testing, compared with other chips, is there is a stimulus in addition to the electrical input and output.
“A stimulus can be any type of physical, inertial, pressure, magnetic, optic, sound, gas, light, whatever — any stimulus that needs to be measured is applied to a device and that is also measured,” says Ram Praturu, director of test product technology marketing at STATS ChipPAC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GigE chips ease network design
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458228/GigE-chips-ease-network-design
A suite of 48 Gigabit Ethernet chips, Microchip’s GigEpack lineup reduces the complexity of deploying high-speed industrial, automotive, and consumer networks. The portfolio includes single-chip switches with integrated HSR/DLR redundancy, as well as automotive-grade USB 3.1 Gen 1 to Gigabit Ethernet bridge chips that support ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) and infotainment systems on a variety of physical network layers.
The GigEpack suite comprises three product families. Supporting both copper and fiber, the KSZ9477/9567/9897 switch family allows the creation of ultra-reliable networks using HSR (high-availability seamless redundancy) and DLR (device level ring) redundancy protocols. The LAN7800/LAN7850/LAN7801 bridge family enables customers to add Gigabit Ethernet to embedded processors via USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 2.0, or HSIC (High Speed Inter-Chip) bridging to such physical layers as 1000Base-T or 100Base-T1. These products join the existing KSZ9031 family of automotive-grade Gigabit PHY transceivers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reinforced isolator packs power converter
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458227/Reinforced-isolator-packs-power-converter
TI’s ISOW7841 reinforced digital isolator integrates a DC/DC converter that provides up to 650 mW of isolated power, while offering 80% higher efficiency than most integrated devices, according to the manufacturer. This quad-channel isolator reduces device operating temperature by up to 40°C, enabling higher power delivery, higher channel count, and longer system lifetime.
By combining 5000 VRMS reinforced isolation and DC/DC conversion in a single package, the ISOW7841 eliminates the need for a separate isolated power supply, minimizing both board space and BOM cost. Additionally, a working voltage of 1 kVRMS helps improve system reliability and life expectancy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Power Integrations highlights importance of power factor correction at APEC 2017
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4458242/Power-Integrations-highlights-importance-of-power-factor-correction–at-APEC-2017
Power factor correction is the process of improving a low power factor in a facility by increasing the ratio of real (working) power to apparent (total) power.
Here is what HP says about power factor correction, especially regarding data center needs1:
Before computing and storage devices can use electrical power, the AC provided from the source must be transformed to direct current (DC) by a power supply. The term “power” is the rate at which the electricity does work, such as running a central processing unit (CPU) or turning a cooling fan. The power that the electricity provides (apparent power) is simply the voltage times the current, measured in volt-amperes (VA). There is a difference between the power supplied to a device and the power actually used by the device because of the capacitive nature at the input of the device to delay current flow.
A power supply that has a PF of 1.0 indicates that the voltage and current peak together, which results in the most efficient loading of the device. Power supplies for servers usually contain circuitry to “correct” the power factor (that is, to bring input current and voltage into phase).
Power-factor correction allows the input current to continuously flow, reduces the peak input current, and reduces the energy loss in the power supply, thus improving its operation efficiency. Power-factor-corrected (PFC) power supplies have a power factor near unity (~1), and thus are highly efficient. The use of energy-efficient PFC devices, including uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), can lead to significant cost savings.
Many designers may try a low-cost approach to correct low power factor; that is, installing capacitors within a facility’s power distribution system. Capacitors will behave like a temporary storage bank for reactive (magnetizing) power (kVAR).
Capacitors have been used to improve poor power factors since 1917; this is 2017 and designs are “not your father’s” PFC architectures.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Foxconn indicates a preliminary bid for Toshiba’s chip business of about $27B; SK Hynix Inc. and chipmaker Broadcom also make bids
Toshiba Chip Business Makes Hon Hai Willing to Pay $27 Billion
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-10/foreign-bidders-said-more-aggressive-in-toshiba-chip-unit-sale
Toshiba Corp. and the Japanese government want to sell the company’s semiconductor business to a domestic buyer, but foreign bidders are proving more determined and aggressive as the auction heads toward a final decision in the coming weeks.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. and chipmaker Broadcom Ltd. have all submitted preliminary bids for the Toshiba business valued at 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) or more, people familiar with the matter said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Differential amp cuts noise/distortion
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458192/Differential-amp-cuts-noise-distortion
Along with a 10 GHz gain bandwidth, the LTC6419 dual differential amplifier from Linear Technology offers low input noise density of 1.1 nV/√Hz. The part also minimizes distortion, providing a spurious-free dynamic range of 85 dB at 100 MHz, while driving 2 VPk-Pk signals.
Four external resistors set the differential gain of each amplifier, configurable from unity gain with a frequency response beyond 1 GHz, to a gain of 100 with a bandwidth of 100 MHz, up to a maximum gain of 400 with a bandwidth of 30 MHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Test Equipment Gets Small
http://mwrf.com/blog/test-equipment-gets-small?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170411_MWRF-001_434&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10582&utm_medium=email&elq2=6a081d828adc42eebb3e29f64cb63c2c
Today, we are clearly seeing a push toward better-performing products in smaller sizes. To prove this, one need only look at how far cellular phones have advanced over the years. Now, smartphones can do almost whatever we want while still being able to fit inside our pockets. But high-performance in small sizes doesn’t just apply to smartphones. For example, aerospace and defense systems must yield to today’s size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints.
The smaller-sized product trend also pertains to test-and-measurement equipment, as can be proven by the number of portable test instruments now on the market. Such instruments can offer the performance needed in a portable size—and at prices that are usually lower than benchtop instruments.
Specifically, one can take a look at the current spectrum analyzer market. The spectrum analyzer, which is obviously an essential part of any RF test lab, has traditionally been a large benchtop instrument.
However, a number of suppliers are now offering portable spectrum analyzers, which can be connected to a laptop or desktop computer via a USB port. In essence, these analyzers can be held in a person’s hand
Last year, Tektronix introduced new portable spectrum analyzers, while Anritsu introduced the portable MS2760A millimeter-wave spectrum analyzer earlier this year. Other companies offering portable spectrum analyzers include Signal Hound and Aaronia USA.
The availability of portable spectrum analyzers doesn’t mean that traditional benchtop spectrum analyzers will disappear anytime soon, but it’s clear that test-and-measurement equipment is adapting to the times.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microwave Energy Powers Many Industrial Applications
http://mwrf.com/systems/microwave-energy-powers-many-industrial-applications?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170411_MWRF-001_434&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10582&utm_medium=email&elq2=6a081d828adc42eebb3e29f64cb63c2c
High-power microwave energy may be best known for a fast, hot meal, but it is also the basis for a wide range of industrial heating, drying, and processing applications.
Industrial microwave heating systems operate within the unlicensed industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands set aside by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for industrial applications in the U.S., such as 915 and 2450 MHz, to prevent interference with other frequency bands.
Many materials are processed by means of microwave heating, and not just for the next meal, although microwave energy is the main component of thermal processing used to eliminate bacteria in commercial food products. In agriculture, microwave energy is exploited for drying of grain and removal of moisture from wood for use as lumber. In the pharmaceutical industry, microwave energy removes the moisture from various powdered substances. In the materials supply industry, microwave energy enables the addition of different types of coatings to rubber and plastic materials.
For industrial applications, such as food processing, power consumption and material processing are key operating parameters toward minimizing the cost of the microwave heating or drying process. As an example, a microwave heating/drying system developed by Max Industrial Microwave uses only a small percentage of the energy required by other heating/drying systems per liter of water evaporated from the processed material, with reduced thermal processing time.
On a smaller scale, Microwave Research has a long track record of supplying microwave heating equipment at 2450 MHz for both industrial and laboratory applications. When a microwave-based heating chamber is needed for experimentation, the company offers standard microwave heating systems with as much as 3.2 kW power, although it has also developed laboratory and industrial processing systems at power levels as high as 12 kW. Many of its systems are designed according to custom requirements.
Although EM energy at resonant frequencies of 915 and 2450 MHz is most often used for industrial microwave heating applications, not all suppliers of industrial EM-based heating systems subscribe to the use of those frequencies. The “Macrowave” heating systems from Radio Frequency Co. use RF rather than microwave heating to take advantage of the more uniform heating properties of the longer wavelengths. The low-frequency systems have been used to eradicate tobacco beetles when drying tobacco, and remove salmonella when pasteurizing fishmeal prior to packaging it as pet food.
For example, the company promotes the efficiency of its RF heating systems, such as its Macrowave Pasteurization Systems that operate at 40 MHz. Compared to higher-frequency microwave heating systems, the long wavelengths of these lower-frequency systems provide good depth of EM energy penetration into the material to be heated
A line of CW magnetrons from the Econoco Div. of Communications & Power Industries includes models operating at fixed frequencies of 896, 915, 922, and 929 MHz (with ±10 MHz frequency variation) and as much as 100 kW output power. The magnetrons run on +19.5 to +20.0 kV anode voltage and 5.8 to 6.0 A anode current
Suppliers of high-power CW magnetrons for industrial microwave heating applications at 915 and 2450 MHz include e2v, Hitachi High Technologies America, L-3 Technologies (formerly L-3 Communications, Electron Devices), and the aforementioned Communications & Power Industries, Econoco Div.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chinese Investment Firm Agrees to Buy Xcerra
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331580&
A Chinese private equity firm has cut a deal to acquire Xcerra Corp., a Massachusetts-based supplier of semiconductor and electronics test equipment, for $580 million, Xcerra said Monday (April 10).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple and Google in the Memory Business?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331584&
A recent report out of Japan says three of tech’s biggest and most prominent companies are interested in bidding on Toshiba’s memory chip business. Can this be true?
Here’s one to put in the healthy skepticism file: a recent report from a Japanese newspaper claims that Apple, Google and Amazon have all thrown their hats into the bidding for Toshiba’s chip business. Hmmmm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SINGLE-INDUCTOR MULTIPLE-OUTPUT DC-DC CONVERTERS
http://ims.unipv.it/~franco/ChapterBooks/10.pdf
http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tps65135.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
The world’s highest density flash memory
Flash memory capacity is raised now by building them a little higher, like apartment buildings. Currently sold in 48 of the metallization of integrated circuits, but next autumn Korean Hynix launches a NAND circuit, where the metallization is already 72.
It was argued that the new structure of packs in the same space of 1.5 times the number of memory cells than in the 48 minute layer circuits. A single-chip devices can be brought to 32 GB of storage capacity.
According to Gartner, NAND chips market will grow this year, 46.5 billion dollars. In 2021, manufacturers can share increased to $ 56.5 billion of cake.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6158&via=n&datum=2017-04-11_15:19:11&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
The DRC check scalable to nearly a thousand processor
he increasing complexity of the designs and viivanlevyksien shrinkage has led to the fact that the designs of the DRC checking, namely to ensure the realization of the design rules will take more time. EDA-house Cadence Design Systems facilitates problem with a new design rules Pegasus tools.
the number of design rules has roughly doubled with each new process generation. According to the company the situation was more or less under control even 28 nanometers, but after a DRC check (Deisgn Rule Checking) has taken time for up to four days (over 100 hours) for each iteration.
Pegasus revolutionize the DRC revision of massive parallelism. The system supports the transfer of up to 960 processors. In practice, this means that the days of consuming a DRC check will now be forced to hours.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6162-drc-tarkistus-skaalautuu-lahes-tuhannelle-prosessorille
Tomi Engdahl says:
In recent years, scientists have developed a Nanoscale vacuum channel transistors (NVCT).
They combine the best of modern vacuum tubes and semiconductors to the same device. Compared to conventional transistors NVCT transistors are faster and more resistant to higher temperatures and radiation.
NVCT transistors properties make them suitable for deep space and a high-frequency devices and THz electronics. They have also been nominated to continue Moore’s Law.
NASA’s Ames Research Center scientists have designed a silicon-based vacuum channel transistor, which improved gate structure reduces the control voltage from tens of volts to less than five volts.
NVCT-in component is in fact not a vacuum but the electrons traverse the space, which is filled with an inert gas. Since the distance between the electrons is about 50 nanometers, the electron probability to run into the gas molecules is very low. In practice, the electrons move as fast as vacuum.
IBM’s researchers have in turn fired electron a nano-wires made of semiconductors of III-V group which is integrated on silicon.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6163-uusi-transistori-tekee-laitteista-nopeampia
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flex circuits: Innovations and processes
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4458173/Flex-circuits–Innovations-and-processes
Flex PCBs have been a key enabler of modern high density electronics, but achieving this density requires thinner layers and finer lines. Conventional three-layer flex circuits comprised of copper, polyimide, and bonding adhesives are giving way to thinner, smoother two-layer flex circuits that forego the adhesive layer – the copper is instead deposited directly on the polyimide. These two-layer circuits may be as thin as 30 µm, with line spacing as fine as 15 µm (0.6 mils). It’s imperative, therefore, that the processed panels are handled extremely carefully to avoid causing wrinkles, tension, or scratches.
The inherent physical delicacy of flex circuits poses some key manufacturing challenges that can negatively affect yield and potentially impact a design’s viability. These challenges are being addressed by flex-supporting technologies that enable large-scale FPC (flexible printed circuit) production while ensuring quality yield and output. More flex circuit suppliers are adopting advanced flex manufacturing techniques to enhance manufacturing efficiency, improve yield, and maintain low costs and market competitiveness.
Production design and manufacturing of FPCs is different from rigid PCBs
Improvements in traditional sheet-to-sheet material handling and lately, automated roll-to-roll (R2R) processes are bolstering flex circuit production to meet growing market demands.
Flex CAM and CAD solutions: Better control of the process from design to production
Special design for manufacturing (DFM) software tools for flex circuits help neutralize production problems during the design stage. These advanced tools are used to fully automate manual editing sessions, reducing errors and critical cycle time.
Tool-based flex circuit design analyzers provide additional control by enabling engineers to review designs before, during, and after tooling. They can be used to check construction constraints for flex boards, and report problems related to stiffeners, air gaps, pre-bend areas, frequent moving parts, trace overlaps and joints, and conductive masks.
Laser drilling and routing are common in flex printed circuit production.
Automated Optical Inspection (AOI): Achieving higher levels of quality inspection
The majority of FPC products are either double- or single-sided. Traditionally, these did not always undergo AOI inspection. In the past five years, fine-line flex has become a major part of the smartphone interconnect, resulting in integrated device manufacturers demanding higher quality control of the single- and double-sided FPCs, and making AOI-level inspection mandatory.
Conclusion
FPCs are invaluable for a wide range of applications – none more so than the modern smartphone, where they provide a high level of pattern density together with interconnection folding capabilities. This enables efficient thin product designs that simply cannot be achieved with conventional rigid PCBs. But producing these ultra-thin, flexible, and delicate interconnects comes with many challenges. Extra care must be taken throughout the production process to ensure that the technology benefits that these circuits enable aren’t compromised by low yield and manufacturing inefficiencies that ultimately drive up the cost of end devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Step-Down dc-dc Converter Eliminates Ferrite Cores at 50kHz Enabling Power Supply on Chip with One-Cycle Transient
http://powerelectronics.com/power-management/step-down-dc-dc-converter-eliminates-ferrite-cores-50khz-enabling-power-supply-chip?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170412_ED-003_583&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10610&utm_medium=email&elq2=862e3ac164ec45e7a615daabd542fb0e
Virtually all present-day DC-DC converters store DC energy in magnetic devices with ferrite cores, such as inductors with DC bias. A new topology for non-isolated step-down dc-dc converters discards ferrite cores completely. The new Resonance Scaling Method results in use of 10nH resonant inductors even at 50kHz switching frequency and an effective factor of 1,000 times reduction of the magnetic size and weight of comparable buck converter at 50kHz.This opens a new power electronics era with the first true Power-Supply-on-a-Chip.
The groundbreaking PWM-Resonant Ćuk topology could revolutionize the design of non-isolated, step-down dc-dc converters. This new topology provides much higher-efficiency, fast-transient response settling in one cycle, with much smaller size and lower weight than its ferrite core cousins. This converter is ideal for 12V to 1V applications for supplying microprocessors, as it replaces four to eight modules of a multiphase buck converter with a single converter.
Obviously, it is equally beneficial in all step-down voltage applications. This topology reduces 10 nH resonant inductors to copper traces on the board at even 50kHz and enables high-power, ultra-high efficiency, and unprecedented power density at reduced cost.
Obviously, there was all along a need to eliminate this DC inductor of buck converter and replace it with one or more resonant inductors which would in a single stroke eliminate both DC current and power limitations of the buck converter.
For low-voltage applications, you can replace the two rectifier diodes with synchronous rectifier MOSFETs (Fig.2a), which reduces conduction losses.
Also, you can replace all four MOSFETs with GaN transistors
This converter (Fig. 1) has three resonant components: resonant capacitor Cr, resonant inductor Lr1, and resonant inductor Lr2. They, in turn, create two overlapping resonances
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hon Hai Bids $27 Billion for Toshiba Chip Unit
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331588&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Developing Touch Sensitivity for Your Levi’s
Low-cost 2D Man-Machine Comm
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331583&
-Touch screens have become the standard interface for many Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, especially smartphones. But many wearables only need two-dimensional touch interfaces to substitute for buttons and potentiometers which can now be achieved by inexpensive polymer tubes only a few microns thick and filled with liquid metal, according to researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Unveils 10, 22nm Processes
Transistor-density metric proposed
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331531&
Intel will start making 10nm chips this year it claims will lead the industry in transistor density using a metric it challenged rivals to adopt. Separately, it announced a 22nm low-power FinFET node to compete for foundry business with fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) from rivals such as Globalfoundries.
At 10nm, Intel will pack 100.8 million transistors per square millimeter. It estimated 10nm foundry processes now in production from TSMC and Samsung have about half that density.
Intel’s metric averages density of a small and a large logic cell. Specifically, it uses a two-input NAND cell with two active gates and a scan flip-flop cell with as many as 25 active gates.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Photons Emitted
GaAs Doping Beats Q-dots
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331592&
Future quantum computers need reliable arrays of consistently encoded single-photon sources, which many investigators assumed would come from quantum dots. However, University of Tsukuba researchers now contend that doped gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductors provide nearly identically encoded single photon sources more reliably than quantum dots.
“We believe that our demonstration is an essential step toward future quantum information processing using impurities in III-V compound semiconductors,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Virtual PCIe Delivers A “Shift Left” In Software-Defined Networking Emulation
http://semiengineering.com/virtual-pcie-delivers-a-shift-left-in-software-defined-networking-emulation/
Methodologies for hardware-software co-verification and accelerated virtual emulation.
This paper reviews both SW and UVM Vector Based Verification (VBV) methodologies and Advanced Vector Based Verification (AVBV) that uses Software Defined Networking (SDN) HW to service PCIe transactions to the DUT. When deploying VBV methodologies, using the Veloce Transactor Library (VTL) family of components is most appropriate for UVM, C++ and SDK testbench methodologies.
We explore how VirtuaLAB PCIe and Ethernet Virtual Machines (VM) work together, how they compete for host resources and how VMs address the big device management channel requirements for HW and SW co-verification in Veloce emulation. We also discussed how VMs achieve greater functional coverage using a SDN SW High Availability (HA) test case example.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Hunt For A Low-Power PHY
http://semiengineering.com/the-hunt-for-a-low-power-phy/
The physical layer interface is necessary for a chip to access the outside world, but it threatens to consume increasing portions of the power budget. What can be done to prevent a PHY limit?
Most chips will contain two types of interfaces, parallel and serial. “A serial interface has a serializer/deserializer (SerDes), and the data is run as fast as you can,” explains Kasamsetty. “With the memory interface, or other parallel interfaces, it is accessing more data at a time. You need parallel access to get enough data throughput.”
The PHY design for each is substantially different, and it basically comes down to the timing reference used for each interface.
But clock rate is not everything. “Parallel interfaces have a latency advantage because you don’t have to squeeze everything through a serial channel,”
Conclusion
The design and integration of PHYs cannot be done in isolation. “We have to consider the overall system,” concludes Isaacson. “The expertise that goes into building one of these is not just the design of the analog portion of the PHY, but also in the package design, the board design, the signal integrity, the power delivery, the thermal delivery and, depending upon the memory type, may also lead to a discussion around manufacturing capability and mechanical capability. And if you actually build it, then how do you take the risk out of it? It can encompass a wide range of disciplines to be able to come up with a working product at the end of the day.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designing Low-Power, MCU-Based Sensor Modules is Easier than Ever
http://electronicdesign.com/analog/designing-low-power-mcu-based-sensor-modules-easier-ever?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170417_ED-003_979&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10660&utm_medium=email&elq2=d5d7a797b8904538b49ad277729a150a
Monitoring and control devices have been around for decades in various forms, but they’re use is expanding in homes as well as in building automation for HVAC, fire safety, and lighting. At the heart of these devices and systems are the sensors that detect the physical characteristic of interest. What makes these devices so advantageous is that microcontrollers can be incorporated to customize and optimize the design to the application. New smaller, lower-cost, lower-power-consumption MCUs are making the design process fast and simple.
Guided by the “less is more” philosophy, companies like Texas Instruments (TI) continue to develop and release new smaller microcontrollers (MCUs) with only a few kilobytes of memory. Such devices with low-power consumption address hundreds of applications that can benefit from them since they can replace standard logic or some analog circuits.
At the heart of a typical modern thermostat design is a low-power MCU with RAM, ROM, or flash along with multiple I/O interfaces (Fig. 1). The temperature sensor is a negative-temperature-coefficient (NTC) thermistor. Its output is converted to digital by an internal analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Other inputs are multiple pushbutton controls.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Miniature Filter Takes Aim at EMI
A new compact lowpass filter has been introduced to overcome interference.
http://mwrf.com/components/miniature-filter-takes-aim-emi?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170418_MWRF-001_929&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10672&utm_medium=email&elq2=6a653a21842f4e96a403c579e80d0ae9
As mentioned, discrete capacitors and inductors are often used to suppress EMI. However, the MEM1005PP251T LC filter actually contains two capacitors and one inductor in a standard 0402 case size (Fig. 1). These elements together form a lowpass Pi filter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GaN FETs Redefine Power-Circuit Designs
http://electronicdesign.com/power/gan-fets-redefine-power-circuit-designs?code=UM_NN6TI65&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10634&utm_medium=email&elq2=75dad075c1564418ad4dc346ee1dca74
Silicon MOSFET power transistors have been a mainstay of power-supply design for years. And while they’re still widely used, gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors are gradually replacing MOSFETs in some new designs. Recent developments in GaN technology, plus the availability of improved GaN devices and driver circuitry, have more designers looking at the GaN option. GaN offers clear benefits over conventional MOSFETs such as greater switching speeds and higher efficiency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GaN applications: The next step in power management growth
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4458231/GaN-applications–The-next-step-in-power-management-growth-
While visiting Efficient Power Conversion’s booth at APEC 2017, I became keenly aware of what CEO and co-Founder, Alex Lidow has been leading up to when he hired an immensely talented technical team initially in 2007 and added more talent along the journey to 2017 which would lead GaN power element development toward a process perfection effort and on through to the creation of a growing set of high profile industry applications to performance heights that the power industry has never seen.
LIDAR: Seeing the light to automotive safety with eGaN
Tomi Engdahl says:
On the Topic of Fuel Cells, More R&D Required
http://powerelectronics.com/alternative-energy/topic-fuel-cells-more-rd-required?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170419_ED-003_305&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10691&utm_medium=email&elq2=7c7520f8170d4a2fb1e717fbe53d3a87
Commercial fuel cells are available, but for wider use they need more R&D to improve their performance, reliability, and cost.
To meet this need, R&D at several U.S. universities and national laboratories is focused on making fuel cells a more widely used energy source. Some of this R&D is in the basic research phase, some is more advanced. This R&D is complex because it combines chemical and electrical disciplines, so it needs scientists with an understanding of both. And, sometimes it is hard to find people with this inter-disciplinary background.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Component shortage threatens smartphone manufacturers
Gartner has raised its estimates of the semiconductor market growth this year. Growth is primarily based on the rise in memory prices, but the research institute warns that a shortage of components threatens smartphone and PC manufacturers.
According to Gartner, semiconductors are sold this year by $ 386 billion, which is 12.3 percent more than last year. Growth is based on the rise in DRAM and flash memory prices. This, however, makes market developments more uncertain and correction is expected in 2019.
According to Gartner, the rise in memory prices puts big bangs on smartphone, PC and server manufacturers. Silicon manufacturers increase their capacity, but short-term components may become shortage. It also raises prices in end products.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6173&via=n&datum=2017-04-13_15:04:13&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
16-core server industry now fits in your palm
PCI technology development organization PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) is after a long work in adopting the new COM module standard. Type 7 cards with the COM Express -korttimoduulit suitable, for example, servers industrial networks.
COM Express 3.0 standard has been working on for a long time. The first pre-standards support the cards were already available in more than a year ago. 3.0 standard adds a new Type 7 connector as well as support for server processors skill levels.
The new standard supports four 10-Gigabit Ethernet interface.
PCI Express has increased the number of lines to 32.
COM Express Card dimensions are 95 x 125 millimeters. Type 7 card has been developed specifically for industrial air ventilation servers operating platform.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6177&via=n&datum=2017-04-13_15:04:13&mottagare=30929