Latest IC Design Articles and Videos

With a Legacy of 70 Years in Space, Renesas-Intersil Sends Rad-Hard ICs Aboard Perseverance

Renesas-Intersil continues its legacy of space-ready integrated circuitry with the successful landing of Perseverance on Mars.

About 15 hours ago by Adrian Gibbons

The Race Toward Room-temperature Superconductors Heats Up

This month alone, multiple research institutions have flooded the press with news of a singular goal: to create room-temperature superconductors.

4 days ago by Jake Hertz

Why Are Semiconductor Fabs Dotting Arizona, the “Silicon Desert?”

Forget Silicon Valley—here’s how Arizona could become the "Silicon Desert" with more semiconductor titans considering the move.

5 days ago by Luke James

Increased Funds Could Catalyze TSMC’s 3D IC Research

The world’s biggest contract chipmaker recently reported its best-ever quarterly financials along with its goals for delving into 3D IC research.

February 22, 2021 by Luke James

Since Three-Phase Motors Mean Triple the Components, TI Banks on Integration

Texas Instruments claims its highly-integrated BLDC motor driver can reduce PCB area by as much as 30%—a possible catalyst for speeding mild-hybrid EV adoption.

February 22, 2021 by Jake Hertz

Researchers Claim World’s First Terahertz IC May Leapfrog Past 5G to 6G

Working closely with ROHM Semiconductor, researchers at Osaka University have developed a device that operates in the terahertz spectrum to transmit large, uncompressed 8K videos uninterrupted within a 300 GHz bandwidth.

February 09, 2021 by Antonio Anzaldua Jr.

5G Plus GNSS? u-blox Aims for the Best of Both Worlds in a Small SiP

u-blox’s newest technology integrates both GNSS and 5G onto the same package. We had the chance to sit down with Senior Product Manager Samuele Falcomer to get the details.

January 26, 2021 by Jake Hertz

On a Single Chip, ST Integrates ESD Protection and Network Matching for GNSS

While impedance-matching and electrostatic-discharge protection usually fall on the shoulders of discrete components, a new chipset is said to integrate both features in the same IC package.

January 25, 2021 by Adrian Gibbons

Modeling Hysteresis in SPICE

Modeling hysteresis in SPICE can be difficult when you're dealing with a multivalued transfer function. In this article, we'll teach you a way to "cheat" to get around this issue.

January 22, 2021 by Kevin Aylward

Researchers Claim Record-Breaking Speeds in New Optical Neuromorphic Chip

According to the researchers, this new type of optical neuromorphic processor can operate more than 1,000 times faster than any previous type of processor.

January 17, 2021 by Luke James

DARPA “Toolbox” Lowers Barriers to Semiconductor IP for Researchers

Some challenges to EE research include tight budgets and limited access to reputable silicon IP. DARPA Toolbox hopes to open access to these resources to drive microelectronic innovation forward.

January 13, 2021 by Tyler Charboneau

How Junction-to-Ambient Thermal Resistance of an IC Package Affects Thermal Performance

Assessing the thermal performance of an IC package becomes easier if you understand this common, but often misapplied, parameter known as theta JA.

December 27, 2020 by Steve Arar

IEEE Awards TSMC for 7nm Leadership. Where Is TSMC Going Next?

TSMC has been formally recognized by the IEEE with the 2021 IEEE Corporate Innovation Award. The 7nm node is just the beginning of TSMC's plans, though.

December 17, 2020 by Luke James