-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueTechnology Roadmaps
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we discuss technology roadmaps and what they mean for our businesses, providing context to the all-important question: What is my company’s technology roadmap?
Wet Process Control
In this issue, we examine wet processes and how to obtain a better degree of control that allows usable data to guide our decisions and produce consistently higher-quality products.
Don’t Just Survive, Thrive
If we are to be relevant and prosper during these next critical decades in electronics, we must do more than survive. As an industry, we can and must thrive. In this issue, our contributors explore these concepts meant to help you take your business to the next level.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
From Silicon to Systems
September 10, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
For the past few years, IPC has been championing the term “silicon to systems.” More than a buzzword, it has become a slogan—and even a kind of roadmap—for the organization. The term comes in especially handy when IPC is advocating for this industry in Washington, D.C., often addressing politicians who have little understanding of electronics technology.
But what does silicon to systems mean to PCB designers? We asked this and more of a trio of IPC staffers: CTO Matt Kelly, Chief Strategist for Advanced Packaging Devan Iyer, and design instructor Kris Moyer, CID+. Does your company take a silicon-to-systems approach to design?
Andy Shaughnessy: Matt, what do you mean by silicon to systems?
Matt Kelly: The term silicon to systems was born in our IPC Advanced Packaging report in the fall of 2021. It was a notion that I used to try to simplify the breadth and the scope of everything that was going on at the time, and is still going on today, of course. A lot of the focus with the CHIPS Act in the United States, Europe, and other geographies has really revolved around the step function changes that are occurring with semiconductors and electronics packaging. This comes out in terms of the U.S. CHIPS Act in the design of those chips, the architectures, and the fact that Moore's Law has been running out of economic steam for quite some time.
Silicon to systems was really a way for us to go beyond the discussion of just the semiconductor and the packaging of that chip. It's very important because everything follows silicon. We are at the beginning of a 10-plus-year period of significant disruption because of this technology change and adoption. Silicon to systems is basically a way of saying, “You don't hold a chip in your hand.” You don't even hold a component in your hand; you hold a cellphone in your hand, and for that system to work, while these components and changes are absolutely important, it's really just one part among many more that makes up the system you are using.
It’s basically about having a very circumspect view, not just looking at your own silo. From a design perspective, all these new systems can be across any application while they're being dreamt up by the OEMs, with increased functionality and density, and all these great things that we're trying to do all in single devices. This is really being powered by these chip technologies. I know Devan has a lot to say in this area as well.
Devan Iyer: Thanks, Matt. I think that's a good start. Speaking of silicon to systems, this also includes the non-silicon devices like gallium nitride. If you really look at high-speed devices or high-power devices like silicon carbide or EV automotive applications, they’re outside the domain of silicon, but you can call that chip to systems or silicon to systems. Semiconductor to systems might be a more accurate term.
To read the entire article, which originally published in the September 2024 Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
GlobalFoundries, Silicon Catalyst Partner to Accelerate Differentiated Technology Solutions for Semiconductor Startups
09/17/2024 | GlobalFoundriesGlobalFoundries (GF) and Silicon Catalyst, the world’s only incubator+accelerator focused exclusively on semiconductor solutions, today announced that GF has joined the incubator’s semiconductor startup ecosystem as a Strategic Partner and an In-Kind Partner (IKP).
Infineon Pioneers World’s First 300 mm Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) Technology
09/16/2024 | InfineonInfineon Technologies AG announced that the company has succeeded in developing the world’s first 300 mm power gallium nitride (GaN) wafer technology.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/13/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineAt the top of my list is “Silicon to Systems,” an interview with technology experts from IPC: Matt Kelly, Devan Iyer, and Kris Moyer. Also, this week, we hear from I-Connect007 Managing Editor Nolan Johnson, who’s been in Mexico for SMTA Guadalajara. Speaking of Mexico, I want to highlight an interview that appeared in IPC Community between Lorena Villanueva and Barjouth Aguilar of Flex, who talk about the importance of sustainability. I wrap up my recommendations with articles about solder printing and wet process control.
Polymatech, ECM Group Forge Strategic Joint Venture for Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication in Grenoble, France
09/12/2024 | PRNewswirePolymatech, a multinational corporation (MNC), a leading player in semiconductor manufacturing with a strong presence in India and global business operations in USA, Singapore, Bahrain, UK and UAE announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ECM Group, a globally recognised leader in advanced microelectronics and semiconductor technologies to establish a Joint Venture Company in Grenoble, France.
The Shaughnessy Report: Silicon to Systems—The Walls Are Coming Down
09/10/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportTraditionally, most designers of PCBs and ICs have operated in separate silos, unaware of much of what’s happening upstream or downstream. IC designers did their thing, and PCB designers did theirs, and everything worked. Until recently, that is.