Prediction articles:
2020: A consumer electronics forecast for the year(s) ahead
AI Chips: What Will 2020 Bring?
CEO Outlook: 2020 Vision: 5G, China and AI are prominent, but big changes are coming everywhere
Top 10 Tech Failures From 2019 That Hint At 2020 Trends – Last year’s tech failures often turn into next year’s leading trends
Trends:
AMD’s 7nm Ryzen 4000 CPUs are here to take on Intel’s 10nm Ice Lake laptop chips
Top 9 challenges IT leaders will face in 2020: From skills shortages to privacy concerns
From the oil rig to the lake: a shift in perspective on data
In December 2020, the new IEC/EN 62368-1 will replace the existing safety standards EN 60950-1 and EN 60065-1
Use of technology money outside company IT department is the new normal
Tech to try:
12 Alternative Operating Systems You Can Use In 2020
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION: WHAT IT IS AND WHY YOU NEED IT
Research:
Universal memory coming? New type of non-volatile general purpose memory on research, some call it UltraRAM.
1,318 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/nvme-drives-ready-to-embrace-own-form-factors/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/06/02/suosittuihin-com-kortteihin-lisaa-tehoa-2/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analog Devices Profits From Spike in Medical Device Demand
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/analog/article/21132186/analog-devices-profits-from-spike-in-medical-device-demand?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200522024&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Analog Devices said business was also buoyed by demand for chips used in wireless networking gear as China restarts its rollout of 5G networks after a prolonged pause in investment and as the United States looks to offer 5G technology to more consumers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why the Electronics Industry is Being Regulated
https://www.eetimes.com/why-the-electronics-industry-is-being-regulated/
Where we are is in an increasingly regulated environment. Governments around the world are actively implementing and expanding regulations on
Energy use
Chemical substances in products
Recycling
Recyclability
Reparability
Reuse and reusability
Prior to the European Union’s passage of RoHS (Restriction of the use of Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directives in 2003 (replacing localized regulations that were being largely ignored), the supply chain and product design were regulated only by safety, electromagnetic interference and radio frequency spectrum use. While these have certainly been impactful to certain component, material and design aspects of products and the supply chain, RoHS was the first to address every single part and material that comprises an electrical or electronic finished good. Its pervasive nature threw down the gauntlet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers develop viable sodium battery
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-06-viable-sodium-battery.html
Washington State University (WSU) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have created a sodium-ion battery that holds as much energy and works as well as some commercial lithium-ion battery chemistries, making for a potentially viable battery technology out of abundant and cheap materials.
The team reports one of the best results to date for a sodium-ion battery. It is able to deliver a capacity similar to some lithium-ion batteries and to recharge successfully, keeping more than 80 percent of its charge after 1,000 cycles. The research, led by Yuehe Lin, professor in WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and Xiaolin Li, a senior research scientist at PNNL is published in the journal, ACS Energy Letters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony postpones a PlayStation 5 event scheduled for June 4 “to allow more important voices to be heard”, following similar moves by EA and Google amid protests
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/1/21277238/sony-ps5-playstation5-event-postponed-protests
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/gpu-market-provides-a-ray-tracing-of-hope/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How COVID-19 Has Impacted the Electronics Supply Chain
The pandemic is a global crisis that no one could have anticipated but everyone could have prepared for. The spread of the lethal illness has hammered companies across the electronics supply chain. But it has also presented itself as a golden opportunity.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/covid-19/article/21132922/how-covid19-has-impacted-the-electronics-supply-chain?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS200601039&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
EDA and the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap
https://www.3dincites.com/2020/06/eda-and-the-heterogeneous-integration-roadmap/
The Importance of a Roadmap
With this blog post, I want to encourage readers to contribute to the ongoing pre-competitive joint development efforts and contribute to one of the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap (HIR) Technical Working Groups (TWGs). They are identifying challenges to be addressed and discussing possible solutions. These TWGs lay the groundwork for best practices and eventually standards for planning, design, assembly, and test of homogeneous and heterogeneous building blocks and techniques to pack them into multi-die ICs (a.k.a. 2.5D/3D-ICs). In fact, you can tune into the Virtual Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap Workshop as part of ECTC 2020. Register and gain access here.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Real Winner in U.S.-China Chip War Won’t Be Either Side
The urge for independence could end up damaging the semiconductor industry in both countries
https://www.wsj.com/articles/real-winner-in-u-s-china-chip-war-wont-be-either-side-11591265619
Computer chips are the quintessential high-tech industry and a symbol of American scientific ingenuity. Chip makers have also found themselves at the heart of the U.S.-China rivalry: both nations want to dominate the industry of the future—and exclude the other.
Ironically, that urge to separate may prove to be the biggest threat to the ambitions of both.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SaaS earnings rise as pandemic pushes companies more rapidly to the cloud
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/04/saas-earnings-rise-as-pandemic-pushes-companies-more-rapidly-to-the-cloud/?tpcc=ECFB2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Utilizing VDI and cloud technology for pandemic preparedness
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many employees to work from home, which can be an issue for companies that require high-end graphic design.
https://www.controleng.com/articles/utilizing-vdi-and-cloud-technology-for-pandemic-preparedness/?oly_enc_id=0462E3054934E2U
Tomi Engdahl says:
Graphene and 2-D materials could move electronics beyond ‘Moore’s law’
https://phys.org/news/2020-06-graphene-d-materials-electronics-law.html
A team of researchers based in Manchester, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. has published a new review on a field of computer device development known as spintronics, which could see graphene used as building block for next-generation electronics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SPACEX SENT NASA ASTRONAUTS INTO ORBIT USING LINUX
https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-nasa-astronauts-linux
This past weekend, Elon Musk-led private space company SpaceX made history by launching a pair of NASA astronauts into orbit, an accomplishment that could upset the balance of the international space industry.
According to a terrific breakdown by ZDNet, the historic launch also contributed to a shift in power from proprietary software to open source — by running the Falcon 9 rocket on a version of the open source operating system Linux.
From Earth to orbit with Linux and SpaceX
https://www.zdnet.com/article/from-earth-to-orbit-with-linux-and-spacex/
SpaceX’s workhouse Falcon 9 rocket, which flew NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, is powered by liquid oxygen, rocket-grade kerosene, and Linux.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony postpones PlayStation 5 event, in order for ‘more important voices to be heard’
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/01/sony-postpones-playstation-5-event-in-order-for-more-important-voices-to-be-heard/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://betanews.com/2020/05/31/linux-lite-5-five/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft helped me install Ubuntu Linux on my Windows 10 PC, and it’s actually pretty good
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-helped-me-install-ubuntu-linux-on-my-windows-10-pc-and-its-actually-pretty-good/
Anyone who’s ever read the comments here knows that the answer to every tech problem is “Switch to Linux.” If you’re curious about what Linux is and how it works, Microsoft can help.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google is really annoyed you’re using Microsoft Edge
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-is-really-annoyed-youre-using-microsoft-edge/
Ever since Microsoft’s new browser emerged, it’s made Google a little uncomfortable. So Google has created a new, slightly irritable message for those who log on to their Gmail accounts via Edge on a new device.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Parsing JSON is a Minefield
http://seriot.ch/parsing_json.php
JSON is the de facto standard when it comes to (un)serialising and exchanging data in web and mobile programming. But how well do you really know JSON? We’ll read the specifications and write test cases together. We’ll test common JSON libraries against our test cases. I’ll show that JSON is not the easy, idealised format as many do believe. Indeed, I did not find two libraries that exhibit the very same behaviour. Moreover, I found that edge cases and maliciously crafted payloads can cause bugs, crashes and denial of services, mainly because JSON libraries rely on specifications that have evolved over time and that left many details loosely specified or not specified at all.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two-dimensional layers of gold or silver become semiconductors
https://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news2/newsid=55301.phphttps://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news2/newsid=55301.php
(Nanowerk News) Metals are usually characterized by good electrical conductivity. This applies in particular to gold and silver. However, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, together with partners in Pisa and Lund, have now discovered that some precious metals lose this property if they are thin enough. The extreme of a layer only one atom thick thus behaves like a semiconductor
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe’s cloud platform similar to AWS is called Gaia-X — just a concept now, but this week more details became public, such as when will it launch: 2021.
Europe readies its ‘Gaia-X’ cloud platform to take on the US hyperscalers
https://www.telecomtv.com/content/news/europe-readies-its-gaia-x-cloud-platform-to-take-on-the-us-hyperscalers-38842/
If you can’t beat ‘em, join together and get some European backing
The European answer to AWS, Google and Azure should be launched in 2021
All the signs say European companies would like a Euro hyperscaler, can Gaia deliver?
This week should be seeing more detail applied to the bones of Europe’s plan for its own, European-flavoured cloud computing platform. Called ‘Gaia-X’ it’s been in preparation for some time, but this week the process of turning the concept into a legal entity is due to kick off.
It’s expected that the platform (or at least its first iterations) will be launched in early 2021. Amongst the backers is Deutsche Telekom, indicating that some large European telcos are likely to see an alternative to the Webscale cloud infrastructure providers as an attractive proposition – especially with the big Webscalers increasingly looking likely to converge on telco territory with plans to support the telco cloud (see – Microsoft affirms its telecoms intentions with Metaswitch acquisition).
The idea is to have an explicitly European cloud platform to act as an alternative to the US hyperscale model.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tanya Basu / MIT Technology Review:
Google Docs is a key tool for organizing protests, as activists anonymously edit public lists of funds, charities, books on racism, and letter-writing templates — Facebook and Twitter might have the bells and whistles, but the word processing doc’s simplicity and accessibility have made it a winning tool.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/06/1002546/google-docs-social-media-resistance/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jared Council / Wall Street Journal:
Black tech execs hope the current attention on racial disparities will help diversify tech workers, as black people account for only 7.8% of core US IT workers
Black Technologists Hope New Conversations About Race Spark Overdue Change
Despite yearslong efforts by companies to diversify their tech workforces, black people account for less than 8% of core IT workers in the U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/black-technologists-hope-new-conversations-about-race-spark-overdue-change-11591448400?mod=djemalertNEWS
Tomi Engdahl says:
Superhigh-voltage Gallium Oxide Transistors Could Transform Power Electronics
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/materials/gallium-oxide-transistors-can-handle-over-8000-volts
A new gallium oxide transistor can withstand voltages of over 8,000 volts (V), the highest ever reported for a device of comparable size. The advance opens up exciting possibilities for compact, energy-efficient power electronics systems based on a technology that is only eight years old: the first gallium oxide transistors were reported in 2012.
“Those are extraordinary numbers compared to what’s reported,” says Uttam Singisetti, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Buffalo who led the new device research published in IEEE Electron Device Letters. “Reaching 8kV in eight years is a big achievement.”
Silicon carbide has started to replace silicon in power electronics. Its advantage over silicon? Its bandgap, the energy needed to excite electrons into the conduction band, is 3.4eV, about three times higher than silicon’s 1.1eV. This lets silicon carbide transistors withstand far higher voltages and temperatures than silicon devices. But their commercial success has been limited by their high price.
Gallium oxide, it turns out, beats silicon carbide with its nearly 5eV bandgap. Researchers have been trying to make high-voltage gallium oxide transistors but the devices have so far had relatively modest breakdown voltages
The new gallium oxide transistors are 80 microns in length. By comparison, today’s silicon carbide transistors can carry 10,000 V in a device around 150 microns long.
But gallium oxide isn’t quite ready to break out of research laboratories yet. “One of the biggest challenges with gallium oxide is its low thermal conductivity,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10852-koodaajat-listasivat-pelatyimmat-ohjelmointikielet
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is planning to announce a shift to its own Arm-based processors in Mac computers, replacing chips from Intel, as early as this month at WWDC
Apple Plans to Announce Move to Its Own Mac Chips at WWDC
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-09/apple-plans-to-announce-move-to-its-own-mac-chips-at-wwdc
Apple Inc. is preparing to announce a shift to its own main processors in Mac computers, replacing chips from Intel Corp., as early as this month at its annual developer conference, according to people familiar with the plans.
The company is holding WWDC the week of June 22. Unveiling the initiative, codenamed Kalamata, at the event would give outside developers time to adjust before new Macs roll out in 2021, the people said. Since the hardware transition is still months away, the timing of the announcement could change, they added, while asking not to be identified discussing private plans.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 10 most dreaded programming languages, according to a survey of 65,000 developers
https://www.businessinsider.com/stack-overflow-developer-survey-10-most-dreaded-programming-languages-2020-5
Stack Overflow, a popular Q&A site for developers, surveyed 65,000 users about the programming languages they use, and which ones they have no interest in continuing to use.
Based on those responses, Stack Overflow compiled a list of the “most dreaded” programming languages.
Tomi Engdahl says:
If Transistors Can’t Get Smaller, Then Coders Must Get Smarter
In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors that could fit on a computer chip would grow exponentially and they did, doubling about every two years. For half a century, Moore’s Law has endured: Computers have gotten smaller, faster, cheaper, and more efficient, enabling the rapid worldwide adoption of PCs, smartphones, high-speed internet, and more. This …
MIT News
If transistors can’t get smaller, then coders have to get smarter
MIT CSAIL researchers say improving computing technology after Moore’s Law will require more efficient software, new algorithms, and specialized hardware.
http://news.mit.edu/2020/mit-csail-computing-technology-after-moores-law-0605
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can a startup repair the winner-takes-all talent economy? With $8.5M, Pando wants to find out
https://tcrn.ch/3h9Kxu7
It’s a winner-takes-all economy. More and more labor markets act as lotteries, where a couple of “superstar” workers make extremely outsized returns relative to their peers — who may well have started from the exact same starting line.
In the tech world, two JavaScript engineers can potentially earn billions of dollars in differential compensation by simply choosing different startups to join, and that massive income spectrum extends to professionals from law to finance to research careers to even my friends in journalism.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/edtech-is-surging-and-parents-have-some-notes/?tpcc=ECFB2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Silicon Is Dead…and Discrete Power Devices Are Dying
https://www.eetimes.com/silicon-is-deadand-discrete-power-devices-are-dying/
For over four decades, power management efficiency and cost have improved steadily as innovations in power MOSFET structures, technology, and circuit topologies have kept pace with the growing need for electrical power. In the new millennium, however, the rate of improvement has slowed dramatically as the silicon power MOSFET approaches its theoretical bounds. At the same time, a new material, gallium nitride (GaN) is steadily progressing on its journey toward a theoretical performance boundary that is 6,000 times better than the aging silicon MOSFET and 300 times better than the best GaN products on the market toda
Enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN) FETs from EPC have been in production for more than 10 years, and the fifth generation devices are half the size of their fourth generation predecessors, are twice as fast, and are priced comparably with MOSFETs. The early success of GaN-based power transistors and integrated circuits initially came from the speed advantage of GaN compared with silicon. GaN-on-Si transistors switch about 10 times faster than MOSFETs and 100 times faster than insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).
Applications such as RF envelope tracking for 4G/LTE base stations and light detection and ranging (lidar) systems for autonomous cars, robots, drones, and security systems were the first volume applications to take full advantage of GaN’s high-speed switching ability. With the success of these early applications, the production volumes of GaN power devices have grown, and now are at a point where the prices are equivalent to the slower switching and larger, equivalently-rated power MOSFET components
With this crossover in price competitiveness, more traditional, high volume applications have begun to adopt GaN solutions. Power supply designers realized that eGaN FETs could make a significant contribution to the higher power density and more efficient 48 V DC-DC power supplies that are needed in high-density computing applications for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and gaming applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DigiTimes:
TSMC says it is has begun the installation of 3nm process fabrication lines and is on track to begin volume chip production in H2 2022
Highlights of the day: TSMC 3nm fab project on track
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20200609VL200.html?mod=2
TSMC is fast advancing its manufacturing processes. The foundry maintains that its 3nm fab project remains on schedule, with the technology to be ready for risk production in 2021 followed by volume production in the second half of 2022. TSMC has already entered volume production for 5nm node, and it is reportedly developing variants for the 5nm process. Meanwhile, construction of 5G base stations is picking up momentum again, which is creating tight supply for optical filters.
TSMC 5nm technology said to be in more process variants: TSMC’s 5nm technology will be offered in more process variants, including a further enhanced 5nm node in addition to 5nm Plus, according to sources at IC inspection services companies and chipmaking materials suppliers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10863-yrityksia-uhkaa-softakaaos
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gross margins are part of why software companies are so valuable. Their incredibly strong gross margins make their revenues, and therefore their operations, attractive to investors; higher gross margins mean more money left over to cover expenses and redistribute to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. Lower gross margin businesses, in contrast, have less money once they are done paying for revenue costs, making it harder for those companies to cover operating costs, let alone give away leftover funds to their owners.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/the-rise-of-low-margin-no-margin-unicorns/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/10866-intel-esitteli-vihdoin-arm-piireille-kilpailijan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel’s 3D-stacked Lakefield chips are here to take on ARM in laptops, tablets, and foldables
Intel is ready to take on ARM and Qualcomm
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/21285821/intel-3d-stacked-lakefield-chips-hybrid-core-atom-arm-processor?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Intel’s 3D-stacked Lakefield processors are finally getting an official debut after months of previews, promising to bring a smaller, more versatile chipset option to hardware manufacturers for new ultraportable, foldable, and dual-screen devices in what might be Intel’s best answer yet to ARM.
The new “Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology” (an official name that almost guarantees that people will continue to refer to them as Lakefield chips) debuts two major technologies on its chipsets for the first time: hybrid cores and a more compact stacked Foveros 3D design.
The new chips are designed to power smaller, ultralight devices, the first three of which have already been announced: the Intel version of the Galaxy Book S (which previously had an ARM model powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx), the foldable Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, and the dual-screen Surface Neo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Discovering Online IDEs During the Pandemic
Online IDEs and collaboration tools are one way to address the stay-at-home COVID-19 orders.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded-revolution/article/21133675/discovering-online-ides-during-the-pandemic
Most developers are already using collaborative tools and shared repositories like GitHub, but these often require a significant amount of effort to set up and manage—especially for more complex environments. This makes working at home a bit easier as we contend with the effects of COVID-19. Many also have more time and are looking for training and learning opportunities.
Luckily, a plethora of online services provide web-based integrated development environments (IDEs) that can be used almost immediately (see table).
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Harness product lets engineering teams monitor cloud spending in real time
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/new-harness-product-lets-engineering-teams-monitor-cloud-spending-in-real-time/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony reveals new hardware design for it upcoming PlayStation 5, which ships in two versions, one with a 4K Blu-ray drive and a Digital Edition without — Sony’s next-gen console is here — Sony is finally revealing what the PlayStation 5 looks like. After nearly an hour of PS5 game announcements …
This is the PlayStation 5
Sony’s next-gen console is here
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/11/21212989/ps5-playstation-5-console-announcement-design-hardware-specs-sony?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Sony is finally revealing what the PlayStation 5 looks like. After nearly an hour of PS5 game announcements, Sony revealed the hardware design after teasing it for the duration of its PS5 live event today. The PS5 console includes a white-and-black design to match the new controller that will be included in the box.
The PS5 stands vertically, like the Xbox Series X is primarily designed to be placed, and will include two versions: one with a 4K Blu-ray drive and a pure Digital Edition.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AWS flexes more cloudy Arm CPUs – and suggests they’ll outpace competition over time
Adds memory-optimised and compute-optimised instance types powered by homegrown silicon
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/12/aws_adds_more_graviton_instances/
Amazon Web Services has fired up two new EC2 instance types running its homegrown Arm-based Graviton2 processors, repeated the claims that they significantly out-perform the x86 silicon on which it built its business, and reckoned Arm will outpace other architectures.
In May 2020, AWS unleashed Graviton2 in the EC2 M6g instance type it recommends for “application servers, microservices, gaming servers, mid-size data stores, and caching fleets.” Plenty of users need that sort of application, though AWS classifies the M6g instance type as a general-purpose option.
Now the cloud colossus has added Graviton2-powered instances to its compute-optimized and memory-optimized server menu.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft unshackles WSL2 Linux kernel from Windows 10 image for future fettling via Windows Update
Chipping away at that OS image one component at a time
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/11/linux_comes_to_windows_update/
Microsoft has broken its long-running record of tedium with Windows 10 Insider builds by shunting the newly added Linux kernel into Windows Update.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) is a highlight in the May 2020 Update, ditching the translation layer of old in favour of something more virtualized.
WSL2 is the latest in a line of what were once core Windows components sidling away from the base image. Microsoft’s whizzy new Chromium Edge browser was made available outside of the OS and can now be found lurking in Windows Update while the likes of PowerShell 7 and Windows Terminal do not rock up in the box.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NXP to Jump to TSMC’s 5nm for Next-Gen Auto SoC Platform
https://www.eetimes.com/nxp-to-jump-to-tsmcs-5nm-for-next-gen-auto-soc-platform/
NXP Semiconductors announced Friday that it will become the first automotive chip company to jump to TSMC’s 5nm process technology for the next generation “high-performance safe compute” automotive platform. NXP and TSMC expect to deliver the first sample devices to NXP’s key customers toward the fall of 2021.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pandemic Silver Lining: Pent-Up Chip Demand?
https://www.eetimes.com/pandemic-silver-lining-pent-up-chip-demand/
A consistent theme is emerging among semiconductor analysts regarding the pandemic’s impact on IC supply, demand, downturns and recovery.
With the exception of chip foundries like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which may be facing an inventory glut, other chip sectors may actually benefit in the long run from pent-up demand for electronics as the global economy emerges from the pandemic. Jon Peddie, who tracks the GPU market, made that assertion last week, adding he was revising upward his semiconductor revenue forecast range in anticipation of the graphics chip market turning the corner.
So, too, are other analysts monitoring segments like CMOS image sensors. IC Insights, for example, reports this week the sensor market’s decade-old run of success has been ended by the impact of the novel coronavirus. After surging 30 percent last year, 2020 sales are expected to decline for the first time since 2009 to an estimated $17.8 billion.
Nevertheless, the chip market tracker sees a silver lining to the current downturn.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Semiconductor Fabs to Log Record Spending of Nearly $68 Billion in 2021 After 2020 Lull, SEMI Reports
https://www.semi.org/en/news-resources/press/world-fab-forecast-june-2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aging Problems At 5nm And Below
https://semiengineering.com/aging-problems-at-5nm-and-below/
Semiconductor aging has moved from being a foundry issue to a user problem. As we get to 5nm and below, vectorless methodologies become too inaccurate.
The mechanisms that cause aging in semiconductors have been known for a long time, but the concept did not concern most people because the expected lifetime of parts was far longer than their intended deployment in the field. In a short period of time, all of that has changed.
As device geometries have become smaller, the issue has become more significant. At 5nm, it becomes an essential part of the development flow with tools and flows evolving rapidly as new problems are discovered, understood and modeled.
“We have seen it move from being a boutique technology, used by specific design groups, into something that’s much more of a regular part of the sign-off process,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSMC Discloses ‘Secret’ 4nm Node
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) lifted the veil on a previously unannounced manufacturing process between the 5nm and 3nm nodes that are already on the company’s roadmap. It’s 4nm. TSMC discloses ‘secret’ 4nm node. “N4 is an evolution from N5,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu told EE Times at a press event in Hsinchu, Taiwan. “We’re already in business negotiations with customers on N4.” …
https://www.eetimes.com/tsmc-discloses-secret-4nm-node/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pentagon programs that claim they’re ‘agile’ rarely are, GAO data shows. But how well does a Silicon Valley software strategy translate to #DOD weapons programs?
DoD ‘Agile’ Software Development Still Too Slow: GAO
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/dod-agile-software-development-still-too-slow-gao/
Pentagon programs that claim they’re ‘agile’ rarely are, GAO data shows. But how well does a Silicon Valley software strategy translate to weapons programs?
WASHNGTON: As the Pentagon struggles to catch up to Silicon Valley, top officials have loudly embraced the private-sector software development strategy known as “agile.” But in the GAO’s annual survey of 42 major weapons programs, while 22 claimed to be using agile methods, only six actually met the private-sector standard of delivering software updates to users every six weeks — at most.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft details efforts to increase Azure durability amid pandemic by increasing submarine cable bandwidth, server scaling changes, capacity forecasting, more
Microsoft goes public with more of its Azure capacity improvement plans
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-goes-public-with-more-of-its-azure-capacity-improvement-plans/
Microsoft has been making lots of under-the-covers changes to how it runs its cloud services, including Azure-based Teams, to meet demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the details.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/intels-10nm-node-past-present-and-future/
https://www.eetimes.com/intels-10nm-node-past-present-and-future-part-2/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bigger than big: Linux kernel colonel Torvalds claims 5.8 is ‘one of our biggest releases of all time’
‘We have modified about 20 per cent of all the files’
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/15/torvalds_linux_kernel_58_one/
Linus Torvalds has said that version 5.8 of the Linux kernel is “one of our biggest releases of all time”.
All going well, the stable release should appear sometime in August.
Introducing the release candidate, Torvalds said it was “right up there with v4.9, which has long been our biggest release by quite a bit in number of commits.” That said, the 4.9 kernel was “artificially big” because of a couple of special factors, whereas 5.8 is a “more comprehensive release.”