Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. The ability to measure things helps in locating and identifying problems and weak spots in production lines and processes. I was just introduced to a new molecular sensor for semiconductor metrology that may be poised to take the chip fabrication process by storm, but first…
When we look around, it’s easy to … Read More → "Metrology Maketh the Man (and Woman, and Silicon Chip)"
It’s no secret that we are drowning in data. Today’s applications and algorithms require almost incomprehensible amounts of data, and that means the bandwidth requirements are exploding faster than networking and memory technologies can handle. Even with the most advanced accelerators we can build with our FPGAs, we can be choked trying to get data on and off the chip and finding places to … Read More → "Xilinx Launches Versal HBM"
Another day, another new microprocessor architecture. There was a time in the Nineties when everyone and his dog was designing a new processor. They were all going to revolutionize the world, crush Intel, enable new cutting-edge devices, and show us how it’s really supposed to be done. The nerd journals were filled with new CPU acronyms like RISC, VLIW, IPC, EPIC, ROB, ILP, SSE2, TLB, … Read More → "Quadric CPU Combines AI with Conventional Code"
It’s computers all the way down. We know about recursion in software, but it’s surprising to find it occurring in hardware. How many computers are really inside your computer? One? A couple? Maybe a dozen? In reality, it’s probably hundreds.
Normal people count the average PC, Mac, or Linux box as one computer. But, as engineers, we … Read More → "How Many Computers Are in Your Computer?"
What comes to mind when you think of an automotive energy source? I’m guessing of all the things you could possibly imagine tamarind shells wouldn’t be one of them… but maybe they should be. To start things off in this week’s Fish Fry podcast, I take a closer look at a new multi-national research study that could pave ways to supply energy to cars. (Spoiler Alert: … Read More → "The Hidden Security Risks of Automotive Electronic Systems"
If you are a hardware design engineer, you are doubtless familiar with the concept of formal verification as it applies to hardware design, but have you ever considered how formal verification might relate to software and the developers thereof (bless their little cotton socks)?
Life can be a rum old thing, and no mistake. When it comes to formal verification, … Read More → "If You Can’t Trust TrustInSoft, Who Can You Trust?"
 Configure the charge and discharge current separately in a reversible buck/boost regulatorSponsored by Maxim Integrated The design of a front-end converter can be made less complicated when minimal extra current overhead is required for charging the supercapacitor. This application note explains how to configure the reversible buck/boost converter to achieve a lighter impact on the system during the charging phase. Setting the charge current requirement to the minimum amount keeps the discharge current availability intact. |
