Kandou, an innovative leader in high-speed, energy efficient, chip-to-chip link solutions, will demonstrate a working prototype of the industry’s first USB-C® multiprotocol retimer solution with USB4™ support at CES January 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nev. The prototype will showcase the benefits of Kandou’s Matterhorn USB Type-C® 40 GB/s multiprotocol switch and bidirectional bit-level retimer solution for faster video processing and data transfer connections to drive next-generation USB-enabled devices. It follows the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) specification for USB4 and targets a wide range of applications that include mobile, tablet and desktop PCs, active cables, monitors, docking stations, external hard solid-state drives, and gaming consoles.
Weebit Moving Towards Commercialisation Ahead of Schedule, with External Technology Verification by XTX
Weebit Nano (ASX: WBT), a developer of next generation memory technology for the global semiconductor industry, is pleased to advise that it is now working with XTX Technology – a Chinese provider of high quality memory solutions for consumer electronics, industrial embedded systems, telecom and networking markets – to enable the adoption of Weebit’s silicon oxide ReRAM technology by XTX.
CEA-Leti and Partners Demonstrate Potentially Scalable Readout System for Large Arrays of Quantum Dots
Leti, a technology research institute of CEA Tech, and its research partners have demonstrated a potentially scalable readout technique that could be fast enough for high-fidelity measurements in large arrays of quantum dots. In a paper presented at IEDM 2019, the international research team reported its work on developing a toolkit on a SOI MOSFET-based prototyping platform that enables fast reading of the states of charge and spin. The study explored two gate-based reflectometry readout systems for probing charge and spin states in linear arrangements of MOS split-gate-defined arrays of quantum dots.
SEMI and VLSI Research Unveil End-to-End Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry Report
SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, and VLSI Research, the leading semiconductor manufacturing market research firm, today unveiled theSemiconductor Manufacturing Monitor, a report covering the semiconductor manufacturing industry from materials to electronic systems. The inaugural report includes comprehensive 2018 and 2019 quarterly data for the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, a one-quarter outlook, and semiconductor equipment forecast scenarios to 2020.
CEA-Leti Builds Fully Integrated Bio-Inspired Neural Network with RRAM-Based Synapses and Analogue Spiking Neurons
Leti, a technology research institute of CEA Tech, has fabricated a fully integrated bio-inspired neural network, combining resistive-RAM-based synapses and analog spiking neurons. The functionality of this proof-of-concept circuit was demonstrated thanks to handwritten digits classification. Resistive-RAM (RRAM) is a type of non-volatile random-access computer memory that works by changing the resistance across a dielectric solid-state material. The research work presented at IEDM 2019 measured a 5x reduction in energy use compared to an equivalent chip using formal coding. The neural network implementation is made such that synapses are placed close to neurons, which enables direct synaptic current integration.
Lattice Announces New Low Power FPGA Platform
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable leader, today announced its new low power FPGA platform, Lattice Nexus™. The platform is architected to deliver power-efficient performance that will benefit developers of a wide range of applications, including AI for IoT, video, hardware security, embedded vision, 5G infrastructure and industrial/automotive automation. Lattice Nexus is built with innovations at every level of design, from solutions, to architecture, to circuit, and delivers higher system performance at significantly reduced power consumption.
Artilux Unveils World’s First GeSi Wide Spectrum 3D Sensor at CES
At CES 2020, Artilux, an innovator in photonics and electronics technology, will be unveiling its Explore Series, the world’s first wide spectrum 3D ToF (time-of-flight) sensor based on GeSi (germanium-on-silicon) photonic innovation. Operating at longer NIR (near infared) wavelengths, the sensor can be used in the area of the spectrum that is more than 10 times safer than the currently-used 940nm wavelength, as well as improving sensing accuracy and performance under sunlight. The demo, being shown live for the first time, will include a RGB-D camera for logistics applications and robot vision, and a 3D camera system that can operate at a longer wavelength. The sensor is projected to enter mass production in Q1 2020 and targets applications that will benefit from the improved 3D sensing performance such as mobile devices, automotive LiDAR, and machine vision.
CEA-Leti Thin-Film Batteries Target Extended Applications and Improved Performance in Medical Implants
In a research result that potentially could expand the market for tiny energy-storage units in medical implantable, injectable and wearable solutions, CEA-Leti has fabricated all-solid, inorganic thin-film batteries (TFBs) that demonstrate better performance than existing devices. During its presentation at IEDM 2019, a CEA-Leti team reported that, “Thin-film batteries provide some of the highest energy densities of electrochemical energy storage devices, but the inability to increase the electrodes’ thicknesses and control the geometry on the micrometer scale has thus far hindered their effective areal energy density and integration in miniaturized devices.”
Global Semiconductor Equipment Sales Forecast – 2020 Rebound, 2021 Record High
Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will drop 10.5 percent to $57.6 billion in 2019 from last year’s historic peak of $64.4 billion but stage a 2020 recovery and set a new high in 2021, SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, reported today in its Year-End Total Equipment Forecast. Released at SEMICON Japan 2019, the forecast shows equipment sales registering a 5.5 percent increase to $60.8 billion in 2020 and continued expansion into 2021, with record revenues of $66.8 billion as leading device manufactures invest in sub-10nm equipment, especially for foundry and logic.
MIPT Researchers Close In On New Nonvolatile Memory
Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, along with their colleagues from Germany and the U.S., have achieved a breakthrough on the way to new types of nonvolatile memory devices. The team came up with a unique method for measuring the electric potential distribution across a ferroelectric capacitor — the device underlying the memory of the future, which would be orders of magnitude faster than the current flash and solid-state drives, withstanding 1 million times as many rewrite cycles. The paper was published in Nanoscale.
