By Richard Otte, President and CEO, Promex Industries

Richard Otte,

The Miniaturization Revolution in Electronics

Embracing the Tiny Giants: How Smaller Electronics Are Reshaping Our World

In the realm of electronics and semiconductors, a silent revolution is underway, one marked not by the grandeur of size, but by the subtlety of miniaturization. This long-term trend toward smaller, more compact devices is not just a technological feat; it’s a transformation that has profound implications for how we interact with technology and the world around us.

Unpacking the Benefits: More Than Just Size Reduction

The journey toward miniaturization brings a plethora of benefits. As devices shrink in size, advances in technology allow more functionality into each cubic centimeter, enhancing their capability while occupying less space with lower power utilization. This evolution is evident in everyday gadgets like cell phones, which have evolved from bulky, single-function devices to sleek, multi-functional powerhouses.

Cost-efficiency is another significant advantage. Making devices smaller – and the resulting reduction in the amount of material required for device construction, coupled with lower manufacturing overhead –translates into lower costs per function. This economy extends to shipping, handling, and storage, where smaller devices mean less expenditure and more efficient use of space.
Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Promex

By Sanjeev Aggarwal, Ph.D., President and CEO, Everspin

Sanjeev Aggarwal

• Technological Innovations: “What major technological advancements or innovations do you foresee occurring in your industry in 2024, and how do you plan to adapt or lead in these areas?”
• Market Trends: “How do you predict consumer behavior and market trends will evolve in 2024, and what strategies are you implementing to meet these changing demands?”
• Artificial Intelligence Integration: “How do you envision the role and impact of artificial intelligence in your industry in 2024, and what steps is your company taking to integrate AI into its operations or offerings?”

There has never been a more exciting time to be in the semiconductor memory business. Innovation is required more than ever as it becomes clear that advances in computing at all levels are limited by memory performance. At the extreme performance boundary of AI acceleration for high-performance computing there will be broader adoption of high-bandwidth memory structures that provide wider I/O data busses to increase throughput and provide data to the multiple cores starving for data. Bus width of 1,024 with up to 9GT/s will give way to 2,048, bringing challenges to high-density memory providers to reduce micro-bump pitch and increase the density of TSVs to maintain the footprint in 3D SiP modules. This tends to drive the news in the memory industry, several other trends drive innovation as well.

Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Everspin

By Marcel Beemster, CTO, Solid Sands

Expect the use of the C++ standard library to increase for safety-critical applications in 2024

Marcel Beemster

What major technological advancements or innovations do you foresee occurring in your industry in 2024, and how do you plan to adapt or lead in these areas? What key market trends do you expect to see?

We expect there will be many more companies focusing on the safety of critical C++ applications – especially in sectors such as industrial, automotive, rail, medical, robotics, and aviation. There has never been a greater requirement for a well-developed programming language that emulates the performance levels of C whilst offering a superior degree of abstraction. This is because increasing numbers of safety-critical applications in 2024 will involve working with real-time data that is generated by many different types of sensors.

To get the best out of C++, a qualified C++ library is absolutely essential in safety-critical applications. Library qualification is important because code from the library is connected to the application and installed on the target device.

There are a number of factors that combine to drive the technology and enable its wider usage.

Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Solid Sands

By Hassan Triqui, Co-Founder, CEO and President,  Secure-IC

Hassan Triqui

Securing Tomorrow: A Vision for 2024 by Hassan Triqui, CEO of Secure-IC

In the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape, Secure-IC is at the forefront of innovation and commitment to securing the digital future. As we step into the year 2024, it is imperative to reflect on the dynamic shifts in technology, market trends, and the profound integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the industry.

Technological Innovations: Leading the Charge in Embedded Cybersecurity

Secure-IC, founded in 2010, has been a stalwart in the embedded cybersecurity domain, leveraging 15 years of research from the esteemed “Télécom Paris” University. Our mission has been, and remains, to fortify the security of devices worldwide. Looking ahead to 2024, we foresee major technological advancements, particularly in the realms of automotive and smart mobility, defense and space, industry and factory automation, and many more.

The advent of the digital age has brought about a surge in connected devices, exposing us all to new and sophisticated threats. In response, Secure-IC has devised a unique approach called PESC—Protect, Evaluate, Service & Certify—supported by Supply, Deploy, and Manage, offering a comprehensive suite of security solutions. We are committed to adapting swiftly to these advancements, ensuring that our patented protection technologies continue to be embedded in millions of electronic chips across diverse sectors.

Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Secure-IC

By Charlie Hauck, CEO, Bluespec Inc.

Charlie Hauck

The demand for custom silicon continues to rise. To meet this demand for greater design flexibility, companies are adopting silicon based on the open standard RISC-V architecture.

RISC-V is popular with developers for many reasons. Most notably, RISC-V’s popularity stems from its design freedom – allowing developers to tailor applications to their liking, thanks to its simplified base instruction set – and enables developers to avoid vendor lock-in. The collaborative ecosystem encourages developers to innovate alongside each other, spurring friendly competition which also encourages companies to push the boundaries of innovation.

In 2024, we expect to see RISC-V adoption grow more across vertical markets. While traditionally used to support embedded applications, RISC-V is now being used in applications in automotive, aerospace, consumer devices. We expect RISC-V will be used to support AI applications in the coming year as industries increase their use and reliance on advanced technologies. Generative AI applications, for example, require lots of computing power. RISC-V not only helps reduce the cost associated with running these applications, but efficiently does so compared to other architectures on the market. With Google leveraging RISC-V to support Android applications, we also expect to see more companies launching RISC-V-enabled gadgets like smartwatches.

Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Bluespec

By Dr. Lucio Lanza, Managing Director, Lanza tech Ventures

2024 Ushers in the Democratization of Silicon

Dr. Lucio Lanza

The democratization of silicon will become a reality in 2024 as the pieces for its success fall into place. Availability of open-source resources such as the RISC-V ISA and an open-source community-based platform where free design tools and the methodology for a complete design flow are making silicon design more cost effective and readily accessible. And within reach to thousands and thousands of hardware designers or would be hardware designers, helping address the demand for new designs and the acute engineering shortage.

Design guides, how-to webinars and other support resources are also freely available to help train new recruits into the world of semiconductor design. The cost of prototyping in reasonably advanced silicon nodes will be cut down by a factor of 100. Being at a node that is not the absolute most advanced is not a big weakness any longer. And availability of U.S.-based fabs like GlobalFoundries and Skywater Technologies with viable process technologies offering the manufacturing of silicon far less expensive than the traditional silicon design and manufacturing route.
Read the rest of EDACafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Lanza