In the microelectronics industry, the term “semiconductor fabrication plant” (a.k.a. “semiconductor fab”; sometimes called a “foundry”) is a factory for semiconductor device fabrication. In layman’s terms, this is where they build the silicon chips that power our modern world. Even a small fab can easily cost $1 billion. Spending $3 to $5 billion is not uncommon, and you can splash a lot … Read More → "Boosting Semiconductor Fab Productivity by up to 20 Percent!"
Do you remember the song Blinded by the Light? This composition, which was originally written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, first appeared on his 1973 debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Bruce is, of course, a legend. As awesome as his rendition is, however, I will always associate Blinded by the Light with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, who released … Read More → "Blinded by the Light"
I’ve made mention of this before, but it bears repeating; when I was a little lad growing up in England, it seemed to me that, as soon as two or more adults huddled together, they had only three main topics of conversation. They started with the weather—how it was today, how this compared to the past 50 years, and what we might expect in the … Read More → "What Is Time, What Time Is It, and Why Do We Care?"
As is usually the case, I’m astonished and astounded by the leaps in technology that are occurring all around me. Things are now moving so fast that there will probably be yet another mindboggling development before I’ve finished this column (so I’d better write it as quickly as I can).
The generation of electronics engineers that came before your humble … Read More → "Are You Ready for the Chiplet Age?"
Everywhere I turn these days I discover more instances of the need for precision timing. I’m also learning about various amazingly clever solutions engineers have come up with to address some exceedingly complicated problems.
Consider packet-based networks, for example. Let’s suppose you have a master clock somewhere. How would you set about ensuring that any lowly remote nodes … Read More → "MEMS Oscillators Address Precision Timing Problems"
