Semiconductor And Beyond Newsletter - #184

Author

Chetan Arvind Patil
December 10, 2023

In the fast-paced world of semiconductor product development, two metrics stand out as pivotal to the success and efficiency of manufacturing: yield and test time.

Yield, the percentage of functional chips in a production batch, directly influences the cost-effectiveness and viability of semiconductor products. Simultaneously, test time, the duration spent verifying the functionality and reliability of these chips, plays a crucial role in determining the throughput and overall efficiency of the production process.

Thus, it is essential to understand the intricacies of...

THREAD

In the December issue of Electronics For You magazine, I published my thoughts on how More-Than-Moore (MtM) strategies can drive next-gen SoC development, and can in turn benefit the AI ecosystem which is constantly looking for new type of silicon architecture.

After continuous effort of several years, I was granted IEEE Senior Membership by the IEEE Admission & Advancement (A&A) Committee. For student and professional In Electronics/Electrical/Related fields, it is always a good idea to document all the work one ha done and then opt for IEEE Senior Memberships, as never know how it can significantly help in the future.

Graduating students in 2023/2024 are going to face lot of challenges, with the market still recovering. On top of that the AI developments is creating another layer of fear that it might slowly take away many of the job opportunities. To tackle this, students will have to embrace and learn how to align their career aspirations. Learn more about on how to do so.

December issue of Electronic Product Design and Test magazine comes up with my thoughts in the form of an article on compound semiconductors. It is one of those material solution that is going to drive the power and performance requirement of several of the existing and also upcoming technological solutions. Read and learn what compound semiconductors are and how it will impact the market in near-future.  

The AI Alliance is a collaborative community of technology creators, developers, and adopters focused on advancing safe and responsible artificial intelligence (AI). Rooted in open innovation, the alliance emphasizes accelerating and disseminating AI technology improvements, including foundational capabilities, safety, security, and trust in AI. The AI alliance aids the semiconductor industry primarily through its focus on diversified ai hardware. By fostering a vibrant ecosystem for AI hardware accelerators, the alliance facilitates the development of more advanced and efficient semiconductor technologies. their collaborative efforts in benchmarking, optimizing, and adapting AI workloads contribute to advance semiconductor technology by focusing on scalability, platform adaptation, and advanced power and energy modeling. These initiatives are crucial for the semiconductor industry, as they drive innovation and efficiency in designing and utilizing semiconductor chips, which are fundamental to AI technology.

VLOG

Watch this insightful video on the roles, responsibilities and growth opportunity of a Component Engineer in a semiconductor industry.

A component engineer in the semiconductor industry plays a critical role in designing, developing, and maintaining electronic components used in various semiconductor applications. Their primary responsibilities include selecting and evaluating components based on performance criteria. Ensuring components meet industry standards and collaborating with design teams to integrate these components into semiconductor products. They must stay updated on the latest electronic components and semiconductor technology advancements to make informed decisions.

Component engineers can explore research and development opportunities, contributing to innovations in semiconductor technology. They can work on cutting-edge projects involving next-generation semiconductor materials and processes, positioning themselves as experts in the field. With the semiconductor industry constantly evolving, the role of a component engineer offers a dynamic and challenging career path with ample opportunities for professional growth and development.

GOVERNMENT

India's hope of become a chip-making hub could derail if the local production does not pick up significantly in the coming years. As the global semiconductor landscape undergoes a transformation following the pandemic, India has been beating the drum about its ambitious vision to turn the country into a chip-making hub in the world's stage. However, experts note that local production is still lagging behind, with "only 9% of the Indian semiconductor component consumption being met locally."

United States Patent And Trademark Office announces Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program in support of CHIPS for America Program. The pilot program is designed to accelerate improvements in the semiconductor industry by expediting examination of patent applications for certain semiconductor manufacturing innovations. Qualifying nonprovisional utility patent applications, directed to certain processes and apparatuses for manufacturing semiconductor devices, will be advanced out of turn for examination (accorded special status) until a first action. Applicants are not required to satisfy the current requirements of the accelerated examination program or the prioritized examination program to qualify. 

US state of New York will implement semiconductor curricula. The American Federation of Teachers, New York State United Teachers, United Federation of Teachers, Micron, and Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul worked together on the project. The framework was developed by teachers and Micron to incorporate industry-based career work to draw students into deeper learning like analyzing information, thinking critically and applying knowledge while also giving them real-life and real-world skills.

INDUSTRY

NVIDIA is reportedly eyeing Vietnam for future chip production as chipmakers look for China alternatives. Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, will discuss potential semiconductor collaboration with the Vietnamese government and companies in Hanoi on Monday. Vietnam is not known for chip manufacturing, but the first name that comes to mind when discussing this country in the semiconductor context is Intel, which has an extensive test and assembly facility near Ho Shin Minh City. This facility plays a crucial role in Intel's global supply chain, yet the company scrapped plans to make additional investments in the facility.

ASM semiconductor company announces $300 million Scottsdale (Arizona) expansion. ASM is investing $300 million over a period of up to five years to design and construct the new state-of-the-art site on more than 20 acres (8.5 hectares) in Scottsdale, Arizona. This total investment is a combination of capital expenditures related to infrastructure and lab equipment, and includes operational expenses such as the additional research and engineering jobs created with the expansion.

Automotive semiconductor market set to top $150bn by 2032. The automotive semiconductor market was estimated at $59.9bn in 2022 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% from 2023 to 2032 to reach $153.11bn. This is being driven by the growing popularity of in-car infotainment and connectivity features, the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the increasing integration of electronic systems in vehicles, and the advancements in autonomous driving technologies says the report.

ACADEMIA

Purdue University's Mechanical Engineering department discusses the research on polaritons and their potential to enhance heat transfer in semiconductors. Polaritons are hybrid quasiparticles that emerge from the interaction of photons and phonons. They carry energy distinctively, differing from both photons and phonons. In the context of semiconductors, especially at the nanoscale, phonons are insufficient for effective heat removal. Polaritons, however, can significantly contribute to thermal conductivity at these small scales. This discovery is crucial as semiconductors are becoming increasingly smaller and more complex, necessitating more efficient heat dispersion methods. The researchers aim to demonstrate how chip manufacturers can incorporate polariton-based heat transfer principles into the physical design of semiconductors, which involves understanding the interaction of various materials involved in chipmaking. Currently, the work is theoretical, but practical experimentation is anticipated, supported by Purdue's robust heat transfer community and facilities.

RESEARCH

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) researchers have developed a diamond-based diode with high breakdown voltage and low leakage currents. This device shows promise for the future of the grid as devices operate at higher voltages. Although silicon continues to serve faithfully as a low-cost solution for low-power digital and analog circuits, it exhibits weaknesses compared to other semiconductors for high-power applications. In power electronics, where thermal performance is equally important, diamond-based devices prove to be highly efficient switching devices for the future of power transmission.

TOOLS

Charon is an open-source semiconductor device modeling code, widely referred to as a TCAD (technology computer-aided design) code, developed at Sandia National Laboratories. It is written in C++ and relies on another Sandia open-source project, Trilinos, for supporting code, such as nonlinear and linear solvers, finite-element and finite-volume libraries, I/O, etc. In addition to running on most Linux-based computers Charon also supports simulation of extremely large problems on massively parallel computing systems that support the MPI standard.

Learn more about Charon here.

What is TCAD: Technology computer-aided design is a branch of electronic design automation that models semiconductor fabrication and semiconductor device operation. The modeling of the fabrication is termed Process TCAD, while the modeling of the device operation is termed Device TCAD. 

JOBS

GlobalFoundries has an interesting position for Senior Process Integration Engineer at India center at Bangalore, supporting 200 and 300mm wafer fabs in US, Singapore, and Germany. The candidate will be responsible for electrical characterization, yield analysis, and production lot disposition to drive product and line yield and support various and manufacturing operations. [LINK]

CONNECT

Whether you are a student with the goal to enter semiconductor industry (or even academia) or a semiconductor professional or someone looking to learn more about the ins and outs of the semiconductor industry, please do reach out to me.

Let us together explore the world of semiconductor and the endless opportunities:

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