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:
Design For Silicon Success At 7nm
http://semiengineering.com/design-for-silicon-success-at-7nm/
Rising complexity and tighter design margins increase the cost, and likelihood, of design failure.
Next-generation automotive, mobile and high-performance computing applications demand the use of 7nm SoCs to deliver greater functionality and higher performance at much lower power. According to Gartner, when compared to 16nm/14nm technology, 7nm offers 35% speed improvement, 65% less power, and 3.3X density improvement. Hence, despite a whopping cost of $27M — per Gartner’s estimate — to design a 7nm chip, SoC design houses that can leverage economies of scale are continuing to adopt this technology to remain competitive. With aggressive time-to-market requirements, all that investment is wasted if the silicon fails, or even if it is late to market. Simply put, the cost of design failure is huge.
Increased Design Complexity
7nm SoCs are faster, bigger, yet more complex, with a great deal of high-speed I/Os, analog, mixed signal and RF IPs integrated on the same substrate next to fast switching, low power digital logic. Along with thinner wires, the increased device density leads to longer wires, and hence greater routing congestion. The devices, driving higher currents with faster slew rates into those wires, pose significant challenges to both power and timing closure.
Sub-500mV operating voltages lead to tighter noise margins, resulting in a chip that is very sensitive to changes in supply voltage. For instance, a 100mV noise in 1V supply at 28nm technology constituted only 10% of the operating voltage. The same drop at sub-500mV supply will translate to 25% to 30% of the nominal supply
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nickel zinc replaces lithium batteries
The lithium battery is an excellent invention that has revolutionized mobile electronics. Its problem is the instability of lithium, which scientists are keenly trying to solve. Now, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed a technology that replaces lithium with a nickel zinc combination.
NRL’s electrochemical materials research team has developed a water-based zinc battery. The three-dimensional, zinc-zinc anode replaces lithium. And best of all, its energy density and downloadability are similar to the characteristics of the Li-ion Batteries.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6247-nikkeli-sinkki-korvaa-litiumin-akuissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip Sales Up 18% Through Q1
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331671&
Global semiconductor revenue continued to surge in March, with the three-month moving average of sales increasing more than 18 percent year-over-year for the first time since October 2010, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) trade group.
Through the first three months of the year, the semiconductor industry is well ahead of its 2016 pace. First quarter chip sales totaled $92.6 billion, also an increase of 18.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016, the SIA said. Sequentially, first quarter sales were down slightly compared to the seasonally strong fourth quarter, according to the SIA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DoE Claims 1nm Fab Record
Electron litho unearths new properties
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331668&
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Brookhaven National Laboratory have claimed a world record, saying they have patterned devices with feature sizes as small as 1nm. The research team hopes to use the same technique to create and impart to silicon new properties never before observed.
So far, the Brookhaven researchers have only proven the concept with poly-methyl methacrylate or PMMA — a polymer commonly used as a coating in lithography as an alternative to glass (under the Plexiglas trade name) and a resist called hydrogen silsesquioxane.
Brookhaven scientists made clever use of an electron microscope to pattern the material at even smaller sizes than is normally possible with electron-beam lithography (EBL).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Stops Royalties to Q’comm
Figures suggest that Apple pays ~$8 per device
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331662&
Qualcomm is lowering its third-quarter guidance by about $500 million, claiming that Apple said it will not pay patent royalties. The disclosure suggests that Qualcomm receives a whopping $2 billion a year, or roughly $8 per device, in royalties for Apple products.
Specifically, Qualcomm lowered its third-quarter guidance from a range of $5.3 to $6.1 billion to a range of $4.8 to $5.6 billion. Apple said that it will withhold Qualcomm royalty payments starting in the first calendar quarter until the patent dispute between the companies is resolved, Qualcomm said in a press statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3-D Graphene Boosts Electronics
Nobel Prize Winners Innovate
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331658&
A three dimensional form of graphene is being explored as a next-generation electronics material by a pair of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) researchers who won a Nobel Prize for graphene research in 2010.
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov discovered the new three-dimensional form of graphene — called Weyl Semimetals — which was predicted by the late German physicist Hermann Weyl.
The promise of 3-D graphene is that electrons in them have no mass — like photons — but carry an electrical charge, making them one of the most promising new methods of achieving superconductor-like conductivity on the surface of a topological material.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finding Flash: A Look at Today’s Memory Shortage
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331677&
SSD drive prices have risen between 10% and 20% and suppliers are extending lead-times to distributors out into the 20+ week range. Here’s a look at the current state of the flash memory market.
For nearly three years, I’ve been predicting that 2017 was the year for flash/solid state disks (SSD) to leave hard disk drives (HDDs) in the dust. Now that it has finally come to pass, we are hit by a perfect storm on the flash die supply side. With a transition to 3D NAND running late, and high demand in all sectors from smartphones to servers, flash die supply is very tight today. Prices are rising by 20% or more and shortages in segments like PCs are impacting sales.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Create Artificial Synapse For Electronic Brains
Synapse of Ferroelectric Memristors
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331680&
For electronic brains to learn, they need to simulate (slowly) or emulate (quickly) the memristor component of real brains called the synapse. The University of Arkansas, with researchers from France, have succeeded in creating a fast-acting artificial synapse out of a ferroelectric material and biological type architecture.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Could Pass Intel in Chip Sales
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331676
Thanks to surging memory chip prices, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. could knock Intel Corp. from its familiar perch atop the chip vendor sales leaders as soon as this quarter, according to market research firm IC Insights Inc.
Samsung, the industry leader in memory chip sales, is benefiting from a precipitous rise in average selling prices (ASPs) for DRAM and NAND flash. According to IC Insights, DRAM ASPs in the first quarter of this year were 45 percent greater than in the first quarter of 2016, while NAND ASPs increased 40 percent over the same period.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Embedded FPGA — A New System-Level Programming Paradigm
Why eFPGAs are both essential and inevitable.
http://semiengineering.com/embedded-fpga-a-new-system-level-programming-paradigm/
The current public debate on the future of the semiconductor industry has turned to discussions about a growing selection of technologies that, rather than obsessing on further process geometry shrinks, focuses instead on new system architectures and better use of available silicon through new concepts in circuit, device, and packaging design. Embedded FPGA is the latest offering that promises to be far more than simply a ʹbetter mousetrap.ʹ The emergence of embedded FPGA is, in fact, not only essential at this juncture of the micro‐ electronics history, but also inevitable.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Q&A: Power Technology Roadmap Co-Chairs Divulge Details Behind New Report
http://www.electronicdesign.com/power/qa-power-technology-roadmap-co-chairs-divulge-details-behind-new-report?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170503_ED-003_30&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10891&utm_medium=email&elq2=986ace2d95934df9816af75474e4d2eb
Artesyn’s Conor Quinn and ON Semiconductor’s Dhaval Dalal explain what’s in store in the world of power as it relates to the new edition of the PSMA’s PTR report.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The dynamic power supply industry continues to innovate
http://www.powerelectronicsnews.com/uncategorized/the-dynamicpower-supply-industry-continues-to-innovate
The overall market for AC/DC and DC/DC commercial switch mode power supplies (C-SMPS), which excludes consumers and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), is estimated to be in a range of 22 to 25 billion US Dollars. This level has been stable for more than five years and from an outsider’s point of view, could be perceived as a very static industry with very moderate growth index. This perception is amplified by a general feeling that the power supply industry reached such level of maturity, nothing will really happen, which in fact, is not the case. Despite the steady top number, the C-SMPS industry is extremely dynamic, adjusting to market changes, new regulations, emerging new technologies, and in permanent transformation. The market is developing products and power solutions for early stage new technologies (for example, 5G and Industry 4.0) or even power solutions not yet existing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 steps to select the right DBC / AMB substrates for your application
http://electronics-know-how.com/article/2474/3-steps-to-select-the-right-dbc-amb-substrates-for-your-application
Direct Bonded Copper (DBC) and Active Metal Brazed (AMB) ceramic substrates are the most popular substrates for the assembly and packaging of IGBT and MOSFET bare dies in power modules. As a designer of power modules, you will have to select the right substrate for your application.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Patterning 1nm features
The Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory has patterned features down to 1nm using a direct-write lithography technique.
Using a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), researchers have patterned thin films of the polymer poly(methyl methacrylate), or PMMA, down to 1nm with a spacing between features at 11nm.
Source: http://semiengineering.com/manufacturing-bits-may-2/
More: https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=112189
Tomi Engdahl says:
Photodetectors Shed Light on Optical Sensing
http://www.mwrf.com/defense/photodetectors-shed-light-optical-sensing?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170504_MWRF-001_900&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10905&utm_medium=email&elq2=7720229119e74690bd8819b6835d70a4
Light is a form of electromagnetic (EM) energy that plays an important role in battlefield activities. It is being used, for example, for directed-energy weapons using high-power lasers, and is the basis for a number of different detection methods used both for tracking lasers and munitions guidance. In support of such applications is the YAG series of silicon PIN quadrant photodetector diodes from Excelitas. They provide excellent sensitivity and responsivity over the infrared (IR) range of 400 to 1,100 nm, making them strong candidates for optical detection applications at 1,064 nm. The IR detectors employ a circular active area with four pie-shaped quadrants; to minimize noise, a guard ring collects current outside the circular active area.
The YAG series (Fig. 1) includes silicon P- and N-type devices with a breakdown voltage of 180 V dc, and is designed for use at voltages from 0 to 180 V dc.
For a 50-Ω load, the photodetectors exhibit 60-MHz bandwidth with 12-ns typical rise time. They operate with good linearity and without dead zones across the dynamic range, with an operating temperature range of –55 to +125ºC.
In support of automotive LIDAR, laser range finding and designation, and high-speed optical communications, the company has also introduced its C30659 Series of Si or InGaAs avalanche photodiodes (APDs), supplied in hermetic TO-8 packages with low-noise GaAs preamplifiers (Fig. 2). These APD-based detectors offer effective detection of wavelengths from UV to 1,550 nm with fast rise and fall times at all wavelengths and system bandwidths of typically 50 to 200 MHz. They are designed to handle high optical power levels without damage.
These high-responsivity photodetectors cover wide wavelength ranges for a variety of commercial, industrial, and military applications, including for munitions guidance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kelly Fiveash / Ars Technica UK:
Imagination Technologies starts formal dispute process with Apple, plans to sell core MIPS and Ensigma business units to focus on graphics chip division — British chip design firm to sell-off MIPS group to shore up beleaguered business. — Imagination Technologies has placed its patents row …
Imagination Technologies fails to fix Apple IP spat, opens formal dispute
British chip design firm to sell-off MIPS group to shore up beleaguered business.
https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2017/05/imagination-technologies-apple-ip-dispute-resolution-process/
Imagination Technologies has placed its patents row with Apple on a formal footing, confirming to the City that it has opened a dispute resolution process because—it says—attempts to settle a licence and royalty deal with the iPhone maker remain at a standstill.
In April, the British chip design company hinted that a IP row was brewing by claiming that Apple’s own chip designs might breach Imagination Technologies’ patents.
The company, which derives roughly half of its revenues from a licensing deal from Apple, learned last month that the Tim Cook-run multinational planned to ditch the UK-based semiconductor supplier by 2019.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Foil shunt resistors contain integrated RTD
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458350/Foil-shunt-resistors-contain-integrated-RTD
Measuring high current in circuits such as DC power supplies requires shunt resistors. Unfortunately, those resistors affect the circuit’s performance because of the voltage drop needed to make the measurement in the first place. Plus, shunt resistors generate heat that needs to be managed.
The Alpha Electronics FNP Series FNP series of metal-foil resistors from Vishay Precision Group contain an embedded Pt100 RTD sensor that you can connect to a temperature-measurement circuit
Tomi Engdahl says:
RISC-V Cores Get Support, Fees
Silicon IP offered as try-and-buy online
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331690&
Instruction sets may want to be free, but cores–maybe not so much. Startup SiFive announced a new embedded RISC-V core and a relatively simple way to access its processor cores on its Web site, however, they come with one-time licensing costs in the mid-six figures.
SiFive made its existing 32-bit E31 core and a new 64-bit E51 version available for one-time fees of about $300,000 and $600,000, respectively. An open source core called Rocket created by some of SiFive’s founders remains available for free online. It can be used to configure and generate 32- and 64-bit processor cores.
The SiFive news comes just before the sixth workshop of the RISC-V open instruction set group, its first in China.
SiFive will have to compete with a wide range of cores from Cadence, Cortus, Imagination, Synopsys and Andes–which rolls out its first 64-but core next week. The existing players have more mature ecosystems and cores that also sell for less than a million dollars, said Linley Gwennap, principal of the Linley Group (Mountain View, Calif.).
“A year ago there was quite a debate if people would license a core if there was a free version, [but now] we’ve seen significant demand for customers who don’t want an open-source version but one better documented with a company behind it,” said Jack Kang, vice president of product and business development at SiFive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Re-Thinking Supply Lines for Long-Overdue PCB Modernization
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331689&
By modernizing the supply chain, printed circuit board makers can improve efficiency, quickly adopt new technologies, and capture lower costs.
The printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication industry is older than most of us still working. It is overdue for modernization. We have not seen any transformational manufacturing changes in the PCB bare board boards industry during the last 15 years.
What we have seen is the installed capacity moved to China. (It has been reported that 91% of global board fabrication now comes from Asia, with the vast majority from China.) This China move created a forced shift in how boards are purchased, and consequently created new demands in communication and logistics. Specifically, language, time zone, and cultural considerations. Bigger companies with China based feet on the ground could adapt easily, the rest of us had to learn new skills.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verification And The IoT
http://semiengineering.com/verification-and-the-iot/
Experts at the Table, part 1: Application-specific verification, and why quality may vary from one market to the next; why different models are ready at different times.
SE: How big is your verification problem and how is it changing?
Lacey: It depends on the project. Some of our chips are very large node-controller chips that go into our high-end servers. Those take years to develop, and the challenges are very unique. And then we have much more power-conscious designs that may go into a media controller. Those bring their own set of requirements. We adapt for each of our projects the specific requirements of those particular chips we’re working on. Schedule and resources are other constraints that we pull in. But as we look at all of those pieces, we do try to keep consistent verification methodologies. That enables us to re-use our IP or VIP across projects. We have a substantial infrastructure that enables us to share code across projects. Our verification problem is large. The cost of silicon is increasing dramatically as you go to smaller nodes.
Lawless: Our verification problem is compounded by the schedule pressures we’re under and the expectations of getting out these processors on a faster cadence.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Putting A Hardware Root-of-Trust To Work In An Anti-Counterfeiting IC
http://semiengineering.com/putting-a-hardware-root-of-trust-to-work-in-an-anti-counterfeiting-ic/
Going beyond a software-based approach to chip authentication.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Market research
If memory market prices continue to hold or increase through the second quarter and the balance of this year, Samsung could charge into the top spot and displace Intel, which has held the #1 ranking since 1993, according to IC Insights.
Source: http://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-manufacturing-162/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Ramps up 3D NAND, NVMe SSDs
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331701&
Intel’s latest “cloud inspired” SSDs for data centers are part of the company’s efforts to push forward the 3D NAND option and the the NVMe standard.
Jonmichael Hands, a product marketing manager at Intel, said the company’s two new 3D NAND SSDs were specifically designed for cloud data center scenarios, but that those conditions apply to more than cloud service providers.
Intel’s 3D NAND SSDs are aimed at converged infrastructure deployments where capacity is important, but also flexibility so that enterprises can easily re-task systems for new workloads, as well as improved both CAPEX and OPEX, said Hands.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Whatever Happened To High-Level Synthesis?
http://semiengineering.com/whatever-happened-to-high-level-synthesis/
Experts at the table, part 1: What progress has been made in High Level Synthesis and what can we expect in the near future?
A few years ago, High Level Synthesis (HLS) was probably the most talked about emerging technology. It was to be the heart of a new Electronic System Level (ESL) flow. Today, we hear much less about the progress being made in this area.
SE: Ever since Mentor brought Calypto back in-house and Cadence acquired Forte, there has been little news about what is happening with High Level Synthesis. Why is that?
Bowyer: Information is driven by the tool vendors, and we have been busy over the past year. We have doubled the number of users, we have doubled the revenue, we broke into interesting new markets such as automotive and MEMS for controlling mirrors in 3D goggles, etc. A new technology gets less exciting when most people are ready to adopt it.
Pursley: It is a good sign that it has become more boring. You don’t hear the discussions with customers and prospects. They are no longer asking if it really works, can you do this, is there a methodology that surrounds this? That is now accepted. You still have the question, ‘Will this work for me? How do I apply it to my design?’
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design Complexity Drives New Automation
http://semiengineering.com/design-complexity-drives-new-automation/
It now takes an entire ecosystem to build a chip—and lots of expensive tools.
As design complexity grows, so does the need for every piece in the design flow—hardware, software, IP, as well as the ecosystem — to be tied together more closely.
At one level, design flow capacity is simply getting bigger to accommodate massive finFET-class designs. But beyond sheer size, there are new interactions in the design flow that place much more emphasis on collaboration than in the past because it is viewed as the best way to realize efficiencies and optimize designs.
“The ability to share data between the end customer, the ASIC provider and key members of the supply chain (IP, foundry, packaging) is critical,” said Mike Gianfagna, vice president of marketing at eSilicon. “
Tomi Engdahl says:
Speeding Up Neural Networks
http://semiengineering.com/speeding-up-neural-networks/
Adding more dimensions creates more data, all of which needs to be processed using new architectural approaches.
Neural networking is gaining traction as the best way of collecting and moving critical data from the physical world and processing it in the digital world. Now the question is how to speed up this whole process.
But it isn’t a straightforward engineering challenge. Neural networking itself is in a state of almost constant flux and development, which makes it something of a moving target. There are more than 20 different types of neural networks today. Some are more in favor one month than the next.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thermoset laminates outperform FR-4
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4458346/Thermoset-laminates-outperform-FR-4
Kappa 438 glass-reinforced, hydrocarbon thermoset laminates from Rogers serve as a more reliable alternative to FR-4 laminates in wireless circuit designs, especially in small cells and carrier-grade WiFi/LAA (Licensed Assisted Access). According to the manufacturer, Kappa 438 offers the performance of mid-tier circuit materials that extend beyond the performance limitations of FR-4, providing an optimum blend of price, performance, and durability.
http://www.rogerscorp.com/acs/producttypes/38/Kappa-438-Laminates.aspx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finally, Realizing The Full Benefits Of Parallel Site-To-Site (S2S) Testing
http://semiengineering.com/finally-realizing-the-full-benefits-of-parallel-site-to-site-s2s-testing/
How to quickly identify and solve issues that arise during testing, even when multiple sites are involved.
A very common and well-known practice by manufacturers during the IC test process is to test as many of the device die or packaged parts as possible in parallel (i.e. sites) during wafer sort and final test in order to increase test time efficiency and lower overall test costs. The constraints that typically restrict how many test sites can be used at any given time are the design I/O and capacity specifications of the specific chip under test and the limitations of the designated ATE used.
However, one of the difficulties in a multi-site approach is the ability to quickly identify and triage issues that may arise during testing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Future of Testing
System-level testing and other technologies are on deck.
http://semiengineering.com/the-future-of-testing/
In our previous test blog posts, we looked at the history of automated test equipment for semiconductors and for printed circuit boards. This month, we look ahead to the test technologies that are emerging.
The chip ATE field has essentially boiled down to Advantest, Teradyne, and Xcerra (LTX-Credence), while the board test market is dominated by Teradyne and Keysight Technologies (formerly Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies). Those companies will continue to innovate and to improve the capabilities of their products.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wirebond Technology Rolls On
Technology still being used for new applications, years after it was predicted to be phased out.
http://semiengineering.com/wirebond-technology-rolls-on/
Several years ago, many predicted the demise of an older interconnect packaging technology called wire bonding, prompting the need for more advanced packaging types.
Those predictions were wrong. The semiconductor industry today uses several advanced packaging types, but wire bonding has been reinvented over the years and remains the workhorse in packaging. For example, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), the world’s largest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) vendor, currently has an installed base of nearly 16,000 wire bonders that are churning out several package types.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Inside The Package
http://semiengineering.com/intel-inside-the-package/
Mark Bohr opens up on the company’s push into multi-chip solutions, and upcoming issues at 7nm and 5nm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Changing Work Environment for Engineers Today
http://www.powerelectronics.com/power-management/changing-work-environment-engineers-today?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170508_ED-003_166&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10949&utm_medium=email&elq2=7abf6995d730425f84df9b80b5a56cfb
IEEE Engineering360’s third annual “Pulse of the Engineer” report asked engineers and technical professionals in the industrial sector questions related to their jobs.
The Pulse of the Engineer research report presents the answers obtained from 1,581 survey respondents. In the information below parentheses show the percentage of respondents for that statement. The job functions included:
Design engineers (35%)
Engineering consultants (14%)
Individual contributors (30%)
Managers or senior managers (24%)
Figure 1 provides a good indication of today’s engineering community. Three items stand out that indicate how engineers are surviving in a competitive environment.
Engineers are required to do more with less (55%)
Pace of engineering is constantly increasing (51%)
Technology is improving productivity (43%)
Engineers are under several pressures that impact their ability to perform their jobs because product development is going through some changes
Designs are more complex/sophisticated (47%)
Design cycles are shrinking (46%)
There are more time-to-market pressures (42%)
Workload in most cases depends on company size and the amount of work they have in-house. An indicator of this is the number of projects an engineer is working on
The highest percentage is for 3-5 projects (42%)
More than 20 projects was rare (2%)
1-2 projects (29%)
6-10 projects (22%)
ngineering evaluation factors for team/department performance:
Customer service/satisfaction (61%)
Product quality (57%)
Meeting launch dates (42%)
Product unit costs (35%)
the constraints that an engineer feels are jeopardizing a company’s productivity, innovation, and/or product quality.
Resources/people constraints/shortage (48%)
Talent/specialized knowledge shortage (46%)
Budgetary constraints/shortage (44%)
Project/product deadline/time constraints (45%)
Tomi Engdahl says:
After Moore’s Law — What?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331698
The semiconductor industry must, at last, outgrow its obsession with pitch shrinkage, and go creative with the “heterogeneous integration of different technologies” to push economic growth.
The Intel people might as well keep insisting that Moore’s Law isn’t dead, and that their 14-nm chip can pack more transistors than their rivals. That’s Intel being Intel, with a narrative that serves its purpose.
But this story doesn’t necessarily apply to other chip companies looking for a better valuation.
The semiconductor industry must, at last, outgrow its obsession with pitch shrinkage, and go creative with the “heterogeneous integration of different technologies” to push economic growth, according to Nicky Lu, chairman, CEO and founder of Etron Technology.
In short, it’s time to stop using Moore’s Law as a security blanket.
Lu suspects that Intel wouldn’t appreciate him calling Moore’s Law “virtual.” But Moore’s Law, in his opinion, long ago stopped serving chip engineers as a technology guide. Instead, Moore’s Law has been serving the investment community as “an economic law that justifies return on investment,” he explained.
As long as investors use it as a yardstick for the semiconductor industry’s growth, chip vendors feel they can’t afford to acknowledge the obsolescence of Moore’s Law. Even Lu doesn’t exactly declare Moore’s repeal.
But it’s important for the semiconductor industry to acknowledge that the industry “changed the rules of the game” when Intel — followed by TSMC and Samsung — opted for a tri-gate structure [known as FinFET], Lu noted. “The semiconductor industry replaced line scaling (transistor size) with area scaling (miniaturizing the unit area),” thus fundamentally changing the very nature of Moore’s Law, Lu said.
In Lu’s view, it’s critical to recognize that the semiconductor industry is no longer following the original template. Moore’s Law survived not by the shrinkage of the traditional transistor, but by riding variety of techniques — including advancements in packaging.
Shift to area, volume scaling
The FinFET structure, by standing taller, created a 3D space that allows a unit area to accommodate two transistors, thus triggering semiconductor engineers to transition their focus from “transistor size to the unit area.”
Lu calls such an era of area scaling “Silicon 2.0.” In the Silicon 2.0 era, chip designers replaced the conventional planar transistor with a new 3D tri-gate transistor structure. This allowed each die area to continue to increase the number of transistors by 2X.
Memory chip companies also took up the idea of area scaling. Toshiba built 3D NAND in 48 layer. Samsung pushed further, creating a 64-layer flash memory device. By going 3D, chip makers achieved the virtual equivalent of 13nm, although the technology level they used was only 32nm, Lu explained.
Silicon 2.0 was made possible by either 3D transistors or 3D cell structures.
While area scaling became prevalent for process nodes from 22/20nm to 7nm process in the Silicon 2.0 age, the semiconductor industry also developed new ideas such as SiP (system in package), MCM (multi-chip module) and 3D stacked dice. Lu describes this as a period of “volume scaling” (as opposed to “area scaling”), and calls it “Silicon 3.0.”
The concept of heterogeneous integration, especially “a stack of chips built using different technologies,” makes Silicon 3.0 promising.
Making Lu confident of the eventual arrival of Silicon 4.0 is the integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level packaging technology recently achieved by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Traditionally, chip designers placed a bond pad onto a die for external communication. In contrast, TSMC’s InFO put bonding pads outside the die to create a fan-shaped structure, eliminating the need for an interconnecting substrate.
In short, TSMC’s InFO is what enabled Apple to offer a very thin package-on-package, with a high number of I/O pads and better thermal management in the A10 applications processor in the iPhone 7. As Lu put it, TSMC’s InFO is the reason the Taiwan foundry behemoth has been able to lock Apple in as its customer for nearly all A10 processors.
How to bring back value to chips
The eternal question facing the semiconductor industry is how to regain the system and application ends’ value. Lu hopes the industry will find the answer in the age of Silicon 4.0 by pursuing heterogeneous integration technologies that work together with non-semiconductor-based applications systems.
Etron Technology is in a way already practicing what Lu preaches.
While running Etron, a leading manufacturer of buffer memories and SoCs including USB 3.0 host controller ICs, Lu has been obsessed with developing a spherical 360-degree video capture device called “Lyfie.”
The human field of view — typically limited to about 160-degrees — can be extended to a spherical 360 degrees, capturing everything around the user. With a new app, one can also record “VR-3D scenery,” thus allowing AR/VR content to be easily shared on YouTube and Facebook.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oscilloscope Portfolio Highlights at PCIM 2017
https://www.eeweb.com/news/oscilloscope-portfolio-highlights-at-pcim-2017
Rohde & Schwarz will exhibit its extensive oscilloscope portfolio at PCIM 2017 in Nuremberg. Visitors to hall 6, booth 224 will be treated to numerous highlights, from the portable R&S Scope Rider and the new entry-level R&S RTB2000 oscilloscope to the R&S RTO2000 high-performance oscilloscope with 6 GHz bandwidth. Other innovations include new accessories specifically targeted at power integrity measurements.
One of the highlights at the Rohde & Schwarz booth at PCIM 2017 in Nuremberg will be the new entry-level R&S RTB2000 oscilloscope for education, R&D and production. Starting at EUR 1,250, the R&S RTB2000 offers functionality previously available only in oscilloscopes with a significantly higher price tag.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Infineon Strengthens Position in Automotive
First SiC products received well by market
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331710&
Infineon revealed revenue of 1.77 billion euro (about $1.93 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, representing growth of 7 percent compared to the previous quarter, and an increase of 10 percent year on year. Growth was largely fueled by increased sales in the automotive semiconductor segment, with industrial and power products also growing.
“Business at present is running extremely well, in the first quarter the market for Infineon developed very encouragingly and the trend continued from January to March,” said Infineon’s CEO, Reinhard Ploss. “The order situation is excellent and exceeds our early expectations. Against this backdrop, at the end of March we raised our forecast for earnings and revenue.”
As in previous quarters, Infineon’s automotive segment was the strongest, growing 11 percent over last quarter to 783 million euro (about $855 million) in revenue. “The increase was due to good demand for products in driver assistance systems and for hybrid and electric vehicles. In Europe and China in particular, many microcontrollers, power semiconductors and sensors were sold,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Radar Expands Automotive Senses to Power Active Safety
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331679&
Car OEMs and Tier One companies are learning to use sensor technologies for active safety systems that act on behalf of and in unison with the driver. What’s the role of radar?
Of the many dramatic advances taking place in the automotive industry, the most far-reaching is the development of sensor technologies that allow cars to “see.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Testing for IoT Power Concerns
http://www.electronicdesign.com/power/testing-iot-power-concerns?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170508_ED-003_166&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10949&utm_medium=email&elq2=7abf6995d730425f84df9b80b5a56cfb
To achieve efficient digital power management for the IoT, voltage/power-rail sequence testing and scrutiny of dc-dc converter voltages are essential.
Like all embedded systems, those considered part of the Internet of Things (IoT) require power, and that power needs precise management for the system to function as designed. A typical IoT-related system will comprise a number of elements that generate and/or process analog, digital, and serial-data signals.
An IoT system’s power comes from a 12-V supply initially, which feeds one or more power rails at different voltages (3.3, 1.8, 1.5, and 1.1 V). These rails in turn supply power to the CPU and other on-board devices. For efficiency’s sake, each dc-dc supply typically comprises several dc-dc converters in parallel. These four converters are known as “phases” or “channels.” For example, the 1.1-V rail might actually be supplied by four 1.1-V converters in parallel, each supplying 25% of the total output current to the rail.
The phases of a given dc-dc converter, such as the 1.1-V example above, are switched on and off by a PMIC in concert with the load’s changing power requirements. The PMIC time-interleaves the PWM outputs into a single output.
Ideally, each PMIC phase is balanced when under a steady-state load condition.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GaN Technology Stretches Mixer Performance
http://www.mwrf.com/semiconductors/gan-technology-stretches-mixer-performance?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170509_MWRF-001_413&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10973&utm_medium=email&elq2=7db3586a20284d798e86965886722860
This tech brief explains why GaN technology offers the potential to create a new class of mixers with improved performance.
Gallium-nitride (GaN) technology is generally associated with power amplifiers (PAs). However, GaN technology may now be a viable option to realize high-linearity passive mixers. In the tech brief, “Reach New Levels of Linearity in Passive Mixers with GaN Technology,” Custom MMIC explains why GaN technology possesses the capability to usher in a new breed of mixers. Three different GaN-based mixers are then presented.
The tech brief begins by explaining how many of today’s mixers are based on various gallium-arsenide (GaAs) processes, such as MESFET, pseudomorphic-high-electron-mobility-transistor (pHEMT), and heterojunction-bipolar-transistor (HBT) technologies. Moreover, third-order intercept point (IP3) is a parameter commonly used to classify mixers. Local-oscillator (LO) drive level is a key factor in terms of IP3 performance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
VNAs Deliver S-Parameters Without Breaking the Bank
http://www.mwrf.com/test-measurement/vnas-deliver-s-parameters-without-breaking-bank?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20170509_MWRF-001_413&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=10973&utm_medium=email&elq2=7db3586a20284d798e86965886722860
By leveraging the computing power of a PC, these easy-to-use VNAs make it possible to bring S-parameter measurement capability to every engineering workstation—to 3 or 6 GHz.
Vector network analyzers (VNAs) are test instruments considered almost synonymous with the RF/microwave industry. They are vital to the 50-Ω impedance matching of components through their scattering-parameter (S-parameter) measurements, and are rarely used outside of companies and laboratories working with RF/microwave equipment. Nonetheless, they have traditionally been “high-end” instruments, in terms of both performance and cost.
Many high-frequency designers can probably volunteer a story or two about waiting for their company’s VNA to be available for testing. Well, the wait is over, with the introduction of the quite affordable, yet precise, TTR500 two-port VNAs from Tektronix.
Priced at $12,000 USD for a 6-GHz VNA and $9,000 for a 3-GHz instrument
Tomi Engdahl says:
Robert Hof / SiliconANGLE:
Nvidia beats with Q1 revenue of $1.94B, up 48% YoY, net income of $507M, up 144%, gaming revenue up 49% to $1.03B, thanks to Switch; stock up 14%+ after hours — Artificial intelligence and gaming once again boosted the fortunes of Nvidia Corp. as the maker of graphics chips reported better …
Nvidia’s shares jump as AI and gaming drive graphics chip demand
https://siliconangle.com/blog/2017/05/09/nvidia-shares-jump-ai-gaming-drive-graphics-chip-demand/
Artificial intelligence and gaming once again boosted the fortunes of Nvidia Corp. as the maker of graphics chips reported better-than-expected results for the eighth quarter in a row.
In its first fiscal quarter reported today, the company earned a profit of $507 million, or $533 million before certain expenses such as stock compensation, equaling 85 cents a share. That’s more than double a year ago. Revenue jumped 48 percent, to $1.94 billion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coventor Touts Unified MEMS Platform
Design/Sim/Test Combined
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1331719&
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) chips cannot be virtually fabricated using conventional electronic design automation (EDA) tools because their three-dimensional structures cannot be represented well there. Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools are closer to the mark, but usually work on millimeter- instead of micron-size scales.
To bridge the gap, Coventor Inc. (Cary, North Carolina) has created its Coventor and MEMS+ tools, which have now been merged into a single unified platform perfect for Internet of Things (IoT) makers, according to Steve Breit, vice president of MEMS business for Coventor.
CoventorMP sports compact finite analysis tools that look like PDKs for semiconductors, but for MEMS devices. A library of generic MEMS parts that cover the spectrum of devices today, can be assembled into a particular MEMS structure.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Poised to Become MCU Sales Leader?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1331721&
Unprecedented consolidation continues to redraw the semiconductor industry’s vendor rankings, and nowhere is that more evident than the microcontroller segment.
Dutch chip vendor NXP Semiconductor NV became the world’s leader in microcontroller sales in 2016 by virtue of its acquisition of rival Freescale Semiconductor Inc. That mantle could well belong to Qualcomm Inc. next year, assuming its $39 billion acquisition of NXP is finalized by the end of this year as planned.
Following the December 2015 close of its $12 billion Freescale acquisition, NXP saw its 2016 microcontroller sales total increase by 116 percent to $2.91 billion, good for about 19 percent of the total market, according to market research firm IC Insights Inc.
That Qualcomm—a fabless chip giant best known for its cellular chips that has never marketed a microcontroller—could claim the microcontroller lead next year illustrates the degree to which the semiconductor industry’s unprecedented level of large-scale consolidation in recent years is reshaping the industry and vendor ranking lists.
The microcontroller segment in particular has undergone tremendous upheaval, with the ranks of the top three vendors being redrawn already several times in the past two years.
But with so many market dynamics in flux, Qualcomm’s reign as top MCU vendor might well be short, Lineback added. “We’ll see,” he said. “The competition is fairly intense and other acquisitions are likely.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Spray Can Turn Any Surface Into A Touch Screen
http://www.iflscience.com/technology/this-spray-can-turn-any-surface-into-a-touch-screen/
Tired of pesky small touch pads? Well, this spray might be your savior, allowing a wide variety of surfaces to become touch sensitive.
The technology, called Electrick, was developed by scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, with the findings published in an open access paper.
The spray consists of an electrically conductive carbon-based material. When applied to an object, it allows it to conduct electricity. By applying electrodes to the object, and then measuring the voltage at different points, the position of a person’s finger can be tracked.
“For the first time, we’ve been able to take a can of spray paint and put a touch screen on almost anything,”
The effect is known as shunting, where electric current is “shunted” to the ground when a finger touches a particular location. The electrodes can localize where this shunting is occurring, using a process known as electric field tomography.
In their paper, the researchers note that modern touch screen technology is not suited to large applications, such as a table or desk. Using Electrick, however, things as large as a wall can be made touch sensitive, with a tap of a finger turning a light on or off for example.
Electrick: Low-CostTouch SensingUsing Electric Field Tomography
http://yang-zhang.me/research/Electrick/Electrick.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Product How-to: What’s in your portable product?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4458330/Product-How-to–What-s-in-your-portable-product-
We are all familiar with batteries these days; they are virtually ubiquitous in a myriad of products and applications. Commonplace examples include your cell phone and notebook computer; however, they are also commonly found in flashlights, cordless tools, MP3 players, portable video gaming devices, hand-held multi-meters, as well as, scientific instruments and a rapidly expanding plethora of healthcare devices.
Accordingly, it will come as no surprise to learn that the global market for portable battery-powered products was valued at an estimated $480B in 2011 and is expected to reach more than $611B in 2016. [Source: BCC Research]. Furthermore, this market is expected to continue its growth expansion through to 2020.
This market can be roughly segmented as follows:
29% for communication products
29% for the computer related products
19% for medical products
23% for cameras, toys, entertainment, timepieces, lighting, navigation and military products
This diversity has been accomplished because of a unique synergy between the product themselves, the batteries they employ, and the battery chargers and power-management systems that recharge the batteries.
It is clear that the market for battery powered products is significant but what about the battery chemistry used inside them? Well, the predominant battery chemistry being utilized in this diverse product offering is Lithium-based, which was estimated to be valued at $22.5B in 2016.
A typical Lithium-ion battery has a discharge profile from a high of 4.2V when fully charged, down to as low as 2.7V when fully discharged. While this is an excellent choice for smart phones and MP3 players, it may not be suitable for portable scientific instruments, power tools and medical healthcare devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says Toyota will use Nvidia’s Drive PX supercomputers for autonomous vehicles
https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/10/toyota-will-use-nvidias-drive-px-supercomputer-for-autonomous-vehicles/
Tomi Engdahl says:
65V LDMOS transistor outputs 1800W, with simpler RF power design
http://www.eedesignnewseurope.com/news/65v-ldmos-transistor-outputs-1800w-simpler-rf-power-design
NXP Semiconductors, from its RF power arm, has disclosed a laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) technology for RF power transistors designed for operation up to 65V.
NXP says this extra-high voltage LDMOS process will give rise to a new generation of products: the MRFX series and its flagship 1800W transistor focus on ease of use
The first product in the MRFX series is the MRFX1K80, presented as the most powerful continuous wave (CW) RF transistor available. It is designed to deliver 1800W CW at 65V for applications from 1 to 470MHz and is capable of handling 65:1 VSWR.
“The drop-in compatibility between our 1250, 1500 and our new 1800W transistors enables our customers to create a single scalable platform for multiple end products,”
The MRFX1K80 is targeted for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) applications such as laser generation, plasma etching, magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI), skin treatment and diathermy, as well as particle accelerators and other scientific applications. The MRFX1K80 is also designed for radio and very high frequency (VHF) TV broadcast transmitters. Industrial heating, welding, curing or drying machines currently using vacuum tubes will also benefit from the higher level of control that solid state enables.
MRFX1K80H: 1800 W CW over 1.8-470 MHz, 65 V Wideband RF Power LDMOS Transistor
http://www.nxp.com/products/rf/rf-power-transistors/rf-broadcast-and-ism/1-600-mhz-broadcast-and-ism/1800-w-cw-over-1.8-470-mhz-65-v-wideband-rf-power-ldmos-transistor:MRFX1K80H?&tid=vanMRFX1K80H
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industry Needs to Rethink its Approach to MCU Technology
http://intelligentsystemssource.com/industry-needs-to-rethink-its-approach-to-mcu-technology/
The objective of this article is to look at the gap that has opened up between what embedded engineers are getting from modern microcontrollers and what their designs now require. It will show that the generic platform approach taken by semiconductor manufacturers is, in a growing number of cases, not up to the job As a result, many engineers are at serious risk of being marginalized.
Microcontroller units (MCUs) effectively form the foundation upon which the vast majority of modern embedded system designs are constructed – providing engineers with a combination of flexibility, cost effectiveness and reasonable strong performance. Thanks to such attributes they have been able to achieve staggering unit sales (with nearly 23 billion devices being shipped last year, according to IC Insights). As the MCU market has matured, it has become increasingly dependent on a small number of widely used generic architectures. However, this is in almost complete opposition to the demands that are now emerging within certain parts of the embedded market, where markedly increased data throughputs are being witnessed. There is a current overabundance of multi-functional ‘one size fits all’ solutions, when what is actually needed instead is more application-optimized devices. Something therefore needs to be done rapidly to redress the balance before the situation gets worse.
A case in point is in system designs where there are large amounts of multimedia data need to be dealt with. Modern general purpose MCUs are poorly equipped for such tasks and can often struggle to cope.
Providing sufficient I/Os on MCUs is another area that is often not adequately attended to, despite the wide variety of different interface technologies that are now present in embedded designs. For example, USB implementation on MCUs is not normally that easy to carry out, as the software development aspect tends to be insufficiently covered. Consequently, embedded engineers often don’t have the support they need. Also MCUs will usually only have USB device (not USB host) functionality incorporated.
It should be recognized that, in general, the I/O capabilities of most MCUs currently on the market do not extent far enough. Offering a great breadth of connectivity will become increasingly important in the future. In particular, there is likely to be a need for groupings of I/Os that will make the MCU more suited to dealing with specific application types.
MCUs are the only route available to engineers of course – there is the system-on-chip (SoC) option to consider. In contrast to MCUs, these offer a more optimized solution, with elevated performance parameters, plus smaller footprint and long term cost advantages. There are, however, a multitude of other issues that substantially impact on their appeal. The upfront financial investment, the engineering effort and the time involved in SoC development all need to be factored in. To justify taking this course of action either there needs to be absolutely confidence about demand for high unit volumes, or that no change to the design will be required for an extended period of time. Even then, there are associated risks. If a bug is found, then it could take time to rectify with this, leading to holds up in the release of the end product. For such reasons, going for an off-the-shelf device is still likely to be favorable.
Tomi Engdahl says:
2.5D, Fan-Out Inspection Issues Grow
http://semiengineering.com/2-5d-fan-out-inspection-issues-grow/
Advanced packaging is now mainstream, but making sure these devices work properly while also cutting costs is getting harder.
As advanced packaging moves into the mainstream, packaging houses and equipment makers are ratcheting up efforts to solve persistent metrology and inspection issues. The goal is to lower the cost of fan-outs, 2.5D and 3D-IC, along with a number of other packaging variants consistent with the kinds of gains that are normally associated with Moore’s Law.
Many of these technologies have been under development for more than a decade, but much of that time was spent in researching the viability of these approaches and figuring out how various parts of the supply chain would need to coalesce. Until about two years ago, advanced packaging was seen as just one of several possible options by most chipmakers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Take a Flier on the Flyback for Your High-Voltage Circuit Design
http://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/take-flier-flyback-your-high-voltage-circuit-design?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20170510_ED-003_229&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=11005&utm_medium=email&elq2=d3d12c0d778448adbab8e290bf724021
Combining a flyback unit configuration with an innovative programmable technology helps facilitate the design of circuits intended for high-voltage applications in the analog/mixed-signal fields.
Applications ranging from consumer electronics to high-power energy-conversion systems leverage the benefits of dc-dc power converters in their designs. Among these, flyback converters are popular for low-power applications such as backlighting for LCD monitors and TVs, micropumps (i.e., microbiological experiments), piezoelectronics, and Geiger counter tubes. This kind of flyback converter is highly scalable and reusable for applications ranging from 30 V to 450 V by simply varying configuration parameters of a Silego GreenPAK programmable device, a configurable mixed-signal IC (CMIC).
For instance, high-voltage LEDs offer the optimum solution for indoor retrofit lamps. High-voltage LEDs usually have a higher turn-on voltage, greater than 20 V, than conventional LEDs (white LEDs), which is typically 3 V. This low-current, high-voltage architecture enables simpler, smaller, cheaper, and higher-efficiency driver topologies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How New DAC Technologies are Changing Signal Generation For Test
http://www.electronicdesign.com/test-measurement/how-new-dac-technologies-are-changing-signal-generation-testhttp://www.electronicdesign.com/test-measurement/how-new-dac-technologies-are-changing-signal-generation-test
DACs have been widely used in test and measurement, but advances in their design have pushed them to the forefront of high-end applications, from RF and electronic warfare to quantum computing.
Digital-to-analog converters (DACs) have been widely used since the 1980s in arbitrary function generators (AFGs) and arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) to produce signals for verification, characterization, and stress/margin testing. However, advances in DAC technologies and techniques enabled them to directly generate highly detailed RF and electronic-warfare (EW) signals or the complex pulse trains used in advanced research, making them very suitable for high-end applications such as quantum computing.
These high-end applications include wideband RF systems, validation of high-speed silicon, coherent optical research, and leading-edge research in electronics, physics, and chemistry. If a waveform can be defined or captured, chances are a modern AWG with high sample rates can generate the signals of interest.