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New Chip Modularizes Both Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser and MOSFET

New Chip Modularizes Both Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser and MOSFET

VCSEL usually requires an external MOSFET driver, which causes parasitic impedances. Now, ROHM has announced new R&D that puts VCSEL and MOSFET elements on the same chip.


News Dec 05, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Figures of Merit in Power Design: A Reliable Benchmark or an Evolving Standard?

Figures of Merit in Power Design: A Reliable Benchmark or an Evolving Standard?

Design teams, especially in the power sector, may be increasingly asked to benchmark performance with Figures of Merit. What is this standard and how might it be evolving alongside component innovation?


New Test Chip Analyzing 3D Thin Film Structures Hits the Market

New Test Chip Analyzing 3D Thin Film Structures Hits the Market

Chipmetrics Oy, a Finnish company, has begun to commercialize a test chip for analyzing thin-film structures in 3D chips.


News Dec 01, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Department of Defense Backs New Secure Electron Beam Lithography Initiative

Department of Defense Backs New Secure Electron Beam Lithography Initiative

U.S. Department of Defense-backed secure fab SkyWater is set to adopt Multibeam’s Multicolumn Electron-Beam Lithography system in its 45 nm process.


News Nov 28, 2020 by Luke James
Researchers Create Low-Power Method to Control Magnetism With Voltage

Researchers Create Low-Power Method to Control Magnetism With Voltage

New research has unveiled that it’s possible to switch states of magnetism between ON and OFF in a new class of easy-to-fabricate materials containing nitrogen.


News Nov 26, 2020 by Luke James
How Ethernet Switches are Branching Into Industries Far Beyond IT

How Ethernet Switches are Branching Into Industries Far Beyond IT

While Ethernet switches were once solely associated with IT applications, today they are staples in industries from military to rail communications.


News Nov 25, 2020 by Luke James
Classical CAN vs. CAN FD Protocols: the Differences that Matter for Designers

Classical CAN vs. CAN FD Protocols: the Differences that Matter for Designers

While CAN FD has been around since 2011, this protocol is still, in many cases, the preferable option to Classical CAN for many designers. Here's why.


Capacitive Sensors Are Changing the Way We Interact With Cars

Capacitive Sensors Are Changing the Way We Interact With Cars

This week, Austrian company ams released a new capacitive sensor to perform hands-on detection. This announcement reflects a trend in capacitive sensors leading the charge in automotive HMIs.


News Nov 23, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Synopsys Acquires In-Chip Monitoring Solutions Leader Moortec

Synopsys Acquires In-Chip Monitoring Solutions Leader Moortec

Synopsys has announced its acquisition of UK-based in-chip monitoring leader Moortec, whose technology forms a core part of Synopsys’ Silicon Lifecycle Management platform.


News Nov 21, 2020 by Luke James
How Bad Cabling Cost a Spanish Engineering Team 200 Million Euros

How Bad Cabling Cost a Spanish Engineering Team 200 Million Euros

This past week, Spain’s attempted launch of its first optical imaging satellite ended in tragic failure—and the reason was frustratingly avoidable.


News Nov 20, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Apple Brings LiDAR to the iPhone 12 Pro for Augmented Reality Applications

Apple Brings LiDAR to the iPhone 12 Pro for Augmented Reality Applications

Apple's inclusion of a LiDAR-capable sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro opened doors for augmented reality applications. But using LiDAR with AR is not without its design challenges.


News Nov 16, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Security IC Solutions: Build or Buy?

Security IC Solutions: Build or Buy?

Depending on the project, designers have a number of options to either etch security at the silicon level or buy a pre-fabricated and pre-programmed security IC.


Maxim Doubles Down on Factory Automation With IO-Link Chips and Reference Design

Maxim Doubles Down on Factory Automation With IO-Link Chips and Reference Design

In modernized factories, time efficiency is paramount. New designs from Maxim Integrated aim to streamline efficiency by using configurable digital and analog IO.


News Oct 28, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Teaming Up with Arm, NXP Ups Its Place in the Machine Learning Industry

Teaming Up with Arm, NXP Ups Its Place in the Machine Learning Industry

This week, NXP Semiconductors announced two strategic partnerships that help solidify its place in the ML industry. We interviewed experts at NXP to get the inside scoop.


News Oct 19, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Synopsys, Cadence, and Agnisys Release Major Platform Updates to EDA Tools

Synopsys, Cadence, and Agnisys Release Major Platform Updates to EDA Tools

This summer, three major EDA companies have ramped up their software tools to better assist IC designers.


News Oct 19, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Silicone Sensor Allows Device to Stretch While Measuring Strain and Pressure

Silicone Sensor Allows Device to Stretch While Measuring Strain and Pressure

Researchers in Japan have turned to heterogeneous silicone to "bounce back" stretchable sensors that have been stretched a touch too far.


News Oct 15, 2020 by Luke James
QFLN Packages and Automated Optical Inspections are Incompatible. Side-Wettable Flanks Bridge the Gap

QFLN Packages and Automated Optical Inspections are Incompatible. Side-Wettable Flanks Bridge the Gap

Automated optical inspections can only be so thorough with QFLN packages. Pairing QFLN packages with side-wettable flanks facilitate the PCB assembly process.


News Oct 15, 2020 by Jake Hertz
NXP Pushes 5G With New Arizona Fab Focused on GaN Power Amplifiers

NXP Pushes 5G With New Arizona Fab Focused on GaN Power Amplifiers

NXP Semiconductors has announced the opening of its new high-volume RF GaN fab in Chandler, Arizona, representing the United States’ most advanced fab dedicated to 5G RF power amplifiers.


News Oct 02, 2020 by Luke James
New and Upgraded Oscilloscopes May Be Useful Options in Lab and at Home

New and Upgraded Oscilloscopes May Be Useful Options in Lab and at Home

New oscilloscopes with larger bandwidths, faster sampling rates, and quicker rise times prove that T&M doesn't have to slow down amidst the pandemic.


From Laser to Workbench: New Tech Speeds Up PCB Solder Mask Production

From Laser to Workbench: New Tech Speeds Up PCB Solder Mask Production

A new laser direct imaging technology may significantly increase the speed of solder mask production at a low cost.


News Aug 10, 2020 by Jake Hertz