CDC standard; PDF-proteanTecs collaboration; TSMC 3nm ceremony; new chips for Apple and Dell

Catching up on some of the latest news after seasonal holidays – but skipping the CES announcements overload – let’s start by briefly mentioning the recent Risc-V Summit where a Google executive spoke about Google’s support for the porting of Android to Risc-V: here’s the video of the speech.

Accellera to develop a Clock Domain Crossing standard

Accellera has announced the formation of the Clock Domain Crossing (CDC) Working Group, with the goal of defining a standard CDC collateral specification to ease SoC integration. Currently, lack of standard means that different CDC verification tools generate incompatible IP-level CDC collateral. This scenario is causing a CDC verification problem when the SoC teams source IP from IP providers that use a different tool for their own CDC verification.

PDF Solutions and proteanTecs to collaborate on analytics-telemetry solutions

PDF Solutions, a provider of semiconductor data analytics, and proteanTecs, a specialist of on-chip telemetry, have announced a collaboration on combined solutions intended to provide deeper insights on semiconductor yield, quality and reliability. The collaboration includes PDF Solutions’ Exensio Analytics platform, advanced AI/ML models and DEX data exchange network, and proteanTecs’ agents with cloud/edge analytics based on ML-driven chip telemetry. According to the two companies, the combined solutions will deliver unique benefits, such as adaptive test capabilities to further improve test quality and reduce DPPM (defective parts per million), enhanced device quality grading for downstream testing, and more insights around RMAs (return material authorizations) from in-field degradation monitoring.

TSMC celebrating 3-nanometer volume production

On December 29, TSMC held a “3 nanometer Volume Production and Capacity Expansion Ceremony” at its Fab 18 new construction site in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The foundry announced that its 3-nanometer technology has successfully entered volume production with “good yields”. During the ceremony, company officers recapped the upcoming TSMC investments in Taiwan, which include a new global R&D center to be staffed by 8,000 personnel, and the future 2-nanometer fabs. “This 3nm Volume Production and Capacity Expansion Ceremony demonstrates that we are taking concrete action to develop advanced technology and expand capacity in Taiwan,” TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu said at the ceremony. The company’s plans for substantial Arizona investments have recently raised concerns in Taiwan.

Foxconn to manufacture Nvidia-based automotive ECUs

Nvidia and Foxconn have signed a strategic partnership centered on automated and autonomous vehicle platforms. As part of the agreement, Foxconn will be a tier-one manufacturer, producing electronic control units (ECUs) based on Nvidia Drive Orin for the global automotive market. Foxconn manufactured electric vehicles will feature Drive Orin ECUs and Drive Hyperion sensors for highly automated driving capabilities.

Established IC suppliers to be replaced?

Seeking to limit its reliance on other chipmakers, Apple is reportedly planning to replace a Broadcom Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip from its devices with an in-house design in 2025. According to the same report, the Cupertino giant is also looking to replace Qualcomm cellular modem chips with its own by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Reportedly, Apple is also planning to start using its own custom displays in its mobile devices from 2024 onwards, switching from OLED to microLED technology.

Dell is reportedly planning to stop using China-made chips by 2024 and has told suppliers to reduce the amount of other made-in-China components in its products amid concerns over U.S.-Beijing tensions. Dell has also asked product assemblers and suppliers of other components – such as electronic modules and print circuit boards – to help prepare capacity in countries other than China, such as Vietnam, the report said.

Nichia and Infineon unveil HD microLED-based car headlights

Nichia and Infineon have jointly launched a high-definition microLED matrix solution for car headlights. According to the two companies, the 16,384 pixel µPLS micro-Pixelated Light Solution provides four times wider field-of-view with significantly higher light output than any other current micro-mirror based HD matrix-light solution. The new HD light can warn drivers of hazards by highlighting people or objects, project markings on the road to guide the driver through a construction site or intersection, and offer glare-free high beam or bending light.

Credit: Infineon

Acquisitions

Network-on-Chip specialist Arteris has acquired Semifore (Palo Alto, CA), a provider of hardware/software interface technology. Semifore provides the CSRSpec CSR authoring language (where CSR stands for Control/Status Register) and CSRCompiler, a register design solution for hardware-software interface verification and documentation.

Intrinsic, a robotics company owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company) has acquired Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), the commercial subsidiary of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF).

Micross Components, a provider of mission-critical microelectronic components and services for high-reliability markets. has acquired the High-Reliability DC-DC converter business of Infineon. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the business has a facility in Copenhagen, Denmark.

NI (National Instruments) is looking for acquirors and has recently received a proposal from Emerson to acquire the company for $53 per share in cash.

Further reading

According to a post on John Cooley’s website, Empyrean’s Alps Spice simulator outperforms its Synopsys and Cadence counterparts by a factor ranging from 2.7 to 38.4. The post includes the details of the comparison, submitted by an anonymous user.

TechInsights has recently published three interesting blog posts: “Mobile RF Year in Review”, summarizing the noteworthy new RF ICs launched in 2022 and the findings from teardown analysis of smartphones; “Comparison: Latest 3D NAND Products from YMTC, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron”; and the second part of “A Trip Down TSMC Memory Lane”, an information-packed work with plenty of SEM images detailing the evolution of processes.

Upcoming events

Florida Semiconductor Week, January 23 to 27 in Gainesville, Florida.

Chiplet Summit, January 24 to 26 in San Jose, California.

SPIE Photonics West (co-located with SPIE AR/VR/MR), January 28 to February 2 in San Francisco.

DesignCon, January 31 to February 2 in Santa Clara, California.

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