Semiconductors

This week, at the 2019 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, imec, a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, presents first standard cell simulation results of its forksheet device designed for sub-3nm logic technology nodes. Compared to nanosheet devices, the reduced n-to-p spacing results in a 10 percent performance increase. When combined with scaling boosters, the new device architecture will bring logic standard cell height down to 4.3 tracks, which combined with cell template optimization can result in more than 20 percent area reduction. The results value the forksheet architecture as a potential solution to extend the scalability of nanosheet structures beyond the 3nm logic technology node.

SmartDV™ Technologies today announced NSITEXE licensed its TileLink VIP to ensure complete verification of its high-efficiency and high-quality semiconductor IP adaptable to various applications using the RISC-V architecture. NSITEXE selected SmartDV because it is the only VIP solutions provider to offer a smart way to verify the TileLink fabric and reduce verification time. SmartDV’s VIP verifies the TileLink chip-scale interconnect standard, an open-source, high-performance and scalable cache-coherent fabric for RISC-V based or alternative architecture system-on-chip (SoC) designs.

Researchers in the Organic Photonics and Nano-optics goup at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed optical nanoantennas made from a conducting polymer. The antennas can be switched on and off, and will make possible a completely new type of controllable nano-optical components.

SiFive, the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP and silicon solutions, today announced it has been recognized for the second consecutive year as the Most Respected Private Semiconductor Company by the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) at the GSA Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 2019. This recognition tops a milestone year for the company, which announced more than 130 design wins, completed Series D investments to secure over $100M total funding to date and continued to attract the industry’s top talent.

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) is proud to announce the award recipients honored at the 2019 GSA Awards Dinner Celebration that took place last evening in Santa Clara, Calif. For a quarter century, the GSA Awards have recognized the achievements of top performing semiconductor companies in several categories ranging from outstanding leadership to financial accomplishments, as well as overall respect within the industry.

A research team has reported seeing, for the first time, atomic scale defects that dictate the properties of a new and powerful semiconductor. The study, published earlier this month in the journal Physical Review X, shows a fundamental aspect of how the semiconductor, beta gallium oxide, controls electricity. Scientists have known about beta gallium oxide for about 50 years, but only in the last several years has it become an intriguing option for engineers looking to build more reliable, more efficient high-powered technologies. The material is especially well-suited for devices used in extreme conditions, such as in the defense industry. The team has been studying beta gallium oxide for its potential to provide high-density power.