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Texas Power Outages Illustrate the State’s Importance to the Semi Industry

Texas Power Outages Illustrate the State’s Importance to the Semi Industry

The outages last month marked yet another setback to an industry that was already having serious trouble with meeting demand from automakers.


News Mar 28, 2021 by Luke James
MIT Researchers Strike the Sweet Spot Between Fiber Optic and Copper Cabling

MIT Researchers Strike the Sweet Spot Between Fiber Optic and Copper Cabling

At just the width of a human hair, a new type of cable from MIT and Raytheon is said to be ten times faster than USB.


News Mar 03, 2021 by Jake Hertz
The Race Toward Room-temperature Superconductors Heats Up

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.


News Feb 25, 2021 by Jake Hertz
Increased Funds Could Catalyze TSMC’s 3D IC Research

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.


News Feb 22, 2021 by Luke James
iRel40: The European Initiative Determined to Improve Component Reliability

iRel40: The European Initiative Determined to Improve Component Reliability

Europe-wide research initiative Intelligent Reliability 4.0 (iRel40), coordinated by Infineon, brings together 75 science, tech, and engineering partners from across 13 countries who are sharing resources to achieve this goal.


News Feb 17, 2021 by Luke James
As GaN Adoption Accelerates, an Industry Expert Offers Three Design Tips

As GaN Adoption Accelerates, an Industry Expert Offers Three Design Tips

GaN FETs aren't a perfect drop-in for their silicon counterparts—without board-level modifications, that is. We spoke with Alex Lidow, CEO of Efficient Power Conversion, to get his advice on how to make the transition.


News Feb 01, 2021 by Jake Hertz
PCB Design Considerations When Using Bi-Directional Translators

PCB Design Considerations When Using Bi-Directional Translators

In the past, we touched on the theoretical underpinnings of voltage-level translators. Now, we'll discuss some practical design tips for using these increasingly-common devices in your design.


News Dec 11, 2020 by Nicholas St. John
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
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.


TI Turns to GaN FETs to Cut Board Space and Boost Power Density in EVs

TI Turns to GaN FETs to Cut Board Space and Boost Power Density in EVs

The new GaN FET family, which includes an integrated gate driver, is said to double power density in onboard chargers and industrial power supplies.


News Nov 10, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Applied Materials and BE Semiconductor Partner to Develop Chip Integration Technology

Applied Materials and BE Semiconductor Partner to Develop Chip Integration Technology

Applied Materials and BE Semiconductor Industries announce that they are to develop the "industry’s first complete and proven equipment solution for die-based hybrid bonding."


News Oct 31, 2020 by Luke James
Decision Feedback Equalization: the Technique Driving DDR5’s Blazing-Fast Transfer Rates

Decision Feedback Equalization: the Technique Driving DDR5’s Blazing-Fast Transfer Rates

As an EE, you might wonder how DDR5 can support blazing-fast transfer rates. One factor is an equalization technique called decision feedback equalization (DFE).


News Oct 29, 2020 by Dr. Steve Arar
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
How “Master” and “Slave” Terminology is Being Reexamined in Electrical Engineering

How “Master” and “Slave” Terminology is Being Reexamined in Electrical Engineering

"Master” and “slave” have been used for decades in engineering vernacular. Now, many tech companies are pushing for more neutral terms.


News Oct 06, 2020 by Tyler Charboneau
How Will 5G’s High-Frequency Band Affect Signal Integrity?

How Will 5G’s High-Frequency Band Affect Signal Integrity?

5G will operate at frequencies significantly faster than those of 4G, forcing PCB designers to rethink how their boards are designed and manufactured.


News Oct 05, 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
Double the Protocols, Cut the Board Space: How Multi-Protocol SoCs are Simplifying IoT Design

Double the Protocols, Cut the Board Space: How Multi-Protocol SoCs are Simplifying IoT Design

Silicon Labs and STRATIS announced a collaboration to connect smart apartment complexes. What tech underlies this news?


News Sep 29, 2020 by Jake Hertz
Electronic Face Masks are a Fashionable High-Tech Trend

Electronic Face Masks are a Fashionable High-Tech Trend

Engineers are finding ways to innovate face masks with electronics—whether for air filtration, an LED smile, or language translation.


News Sep 26, 2020 by Adrian Gibbons
Eye Mask Prototype With Bimodal Sensors and Hydrogel Electrodes Measures Biometrics

Eye Mask Prototype With Bimodal Sensors and Hydrogel Electrodes Measures Biometrics

The researchers met the challenges of fabric-based sensors, combining the signal quality benefits of wet electrodes and the comfort benefits of dry electrodes.


News Sep 21, 2020 by Luke James
Clinical Trials Suggest New X-Ray Photon-Counting Detector May Improve Diagnoses

Clinical Trials Suggest New X-Ray Photon-Counting Detector May Improve Diagnoses

Researchers at CEA-Leti have developed a novel X-ray photon-counting detector that has been integrated into an X-ray scanner with promising initial trial results.


News Sep 19, 2020 by Luke James