Abstracts
GSA and IET are pleased to provide you with in depth abstracts for our upcoming conference discussions.
2 June 2009
14:45 - 16:00
Panel: "Analog/Mixed Signal: Driving Solutions to Leverage Expertise Throughout Europe"
A fundamental problem in the Analog/Mixed-Signal world is that semiconductor customers are looking to a key point of responsibility for the ecosystem, and no one in the foundry, IP or EDA industry currently bears this responsibility to shore up the linkages in the supply chain. This makes cooperative solutions difficult. GSA is undertaking an effort to further develop a global platform upon which the players in this ecosystem can be easily recognized and accessed for their expertise.
Areas under focus include a lack of models, managing power budgets, over customization (harder to have proven IP blocks), selecting the right process technology, lack of planning through the entire process including consideration of packaging very early in the process.
This panel focuses on the major challenges in the overall infrastructure and support for analog/mixed-signal designs. This panel will explore:
- Questions to ask when choosing the right process for analog, mixed signal and RF
- Need for more high-quality A/MS third-party IP options
- Need for more analog design automation tools
- How semiconductor companies can avoid unnecessary risk
16:00 - 16:45
Presentation: "Module Packaging Trends"
Technology shifts and advances in consumer electronics and, specifically, in wireless applications create a long list of challenges for chip and system design. The number of transistors required to enable new features and functionality - coupled with shrinking die sizes and higher clock speeds needed for improved levels of performance - are driving IC designers to use smaller process nodes. Additionally, IO counts are skyrocketing as more functionality is built into the die.
As more designs transition to mixed-mode modules consisting of analog and digital capabilities (e.g. an RF chip with a base band module, the addition of passive components such as an antennae and different memory technologies), more efficient and cost-effective means are required to combine these applications where including them may compromise the choice of process technology. In addition, as these technologies combine to form a system versus a full chip, changes in testing approaches must be accounted for.
This presentation will address digital chips and mixed-signal combinations in a single package, with emphasis on System-in-Package (SiP) applications. It is forecast that multi-die packaging applications will grow substantially over the next several years, so this presentation will shed light on this topic by illuminating case studies, providing best practices and general guidelines on how to evaluate the tradeoffs.
17:00 - 17:45
Keynote Address by Global Economist
- How much longer will this downturn last?
- Have we hit bottom yet?
- Which global economies will come back first, last?
- When will consumers begin to feel confident and increase their consumer spending?
- What should citizens of the world expect in the next several months, years?
3 June 2009
9:00 - 9:45
Keynote Address: "Redefining Mobility: Overcoming the Industry's Next Challenge"
The semiconductor industry continues to evolve, with smaller process geometries, new solutions to issues such as interference, and increasingly sophisticated packaging technologies allowing for more advanced products to come to market. However, nothing exists in a vacuum, and the industry does not have the luxury of developing technology for technology’s sake. The current macro-economic conditions have introduced some level of uncertainty, and players at all levels of the value chain must reassess the best way to not only ride out this downturn but build a path to strong, sustainable growth. This path will require companies to work together and collaborate more closely than ever before to bring a superior wireless experience into new market segments that hold great promise for the future.
9:45 - 11:00
Panel: “Town Hall Discussion: The Emerging Semiconductor Business Model – Sustainability and Future Growth”
The fabless business model was created as a vision of how companies could operate in a cost-efficient mode and utilize suppliers throughout the ecosystem as an integral part of their strategy to create, develop and deliver semiconductor products, thus fueling innovation and driving the entrepreneurial spirit of growth in the industry. Without a doubt, semiconductors have had a positive long-lasting impact on our world. Despite the many marvels of our industry, it is one that has become particularly challenging where the most complex products in the world have an average lifecycle of 18 months or less, followed by the next generation that requires double the performance at half the price. This pace of product development is unparalleled.
So if this industry is so challenging, why are there still so many chip companies — and new ones emerging all the time? There are three primary reasons. First, the dream to be the next success story is still alive in the hearts of entrepreneurs all over the world. This industry is fluid and dynamic. There is still an opportunity to build a great company and be a winner. Secondly, there are new opportunities emerging — economies modernizing and new product segments developing. Lastly, there is an unprecedented level of innovation needed to solve challenges and start-ups still remain the main source of this innovation.
Indeed, given the growth of the fabless model, one could speculate that semiconductor companies as we used to know then (IDMs) with a few notable exceptions barely exist anymore. One might even question whether companies are even semiconductor companies at all. They are arguably more about IP and systems and software than semiconductors.
This challenge is the most significant issue that the semiconductor industry has faced for more than 40 years. This panel will discuss the future thrust of innovation, how to continue to encourage and build it. The panel will also address the fate of these small companies, both those now in existence and those who may wish to emerge later and their role in the semiconductor industry as we move forward.
11:15 – 12:00
Presentation: “Are ASIC's Really on the Decline? The ASIC Model: Future Directions”
Is there a future for the ASIC Model? Much has been much debated regarding the future of the ASIC model in the semiconductor industry. Many suggest that ASIC design starts are declining, yet little concrete data is available to support this. Toshiba, arguably one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world, is actively engaged in the ASIC model. Toshiba reports recent evidence that it is seeing a trend towards greater adoption of the ASIC model by consumer electronics manufacturers.
This presentation will highlight the following:
- ASIC model applicability for CE companies
- Future of the ASIC model globally
- ASIC model impact on Europe
- The role fabless companies play in the chip development process
13:00 – 13:45
Presentation:
"Portable Device Power Management: Evolution from Discretes to Configurable System Power Management Platform IC’s"
■ Early portable devices were introduced without any recognizable power management. The devices were simply either on or off with board power supplies provided by rudimentary zener diode-referenced voltage regulators. Board space was large and too much power was dissipated. Over time the regulators became more precise by integrating more control transistors for enhanced loop feedback. Eventually switching topologies were utilized to bring about significant power dissipation reductions especially at increased peak output currents. The use of discrete “off the shelf” power management components became prevalent. ■ Today, power management solutions have progressed to dedicated power management ICs (PMICs) typically comprising over one million transistors, unique resistors and capacitors to provide system power management. It’s no longer simply a question of providing a regulated power supply rail of a given voltage and current capacity. A Smartphone today may have in excess of 30 distinct power domains, all to be derived from a single battery. Added to this, the same power management circuit can be responsible for monitoring, protecting and charging the system’s main battery. ■ Going forward, a new generation of “Platform” PMICs has just been introduced that offer greater integration and flexibility and are significantly more complex than even todays solutions– an example is Dialog’s recently introduced DA9052. These platform-PMICs add configurability to programmability, enabling a single device to support multiple applications and mobile graphics processors. They completely manage the energy flow into and out of the battery and all major board components. With increased autonomous regulation, on-chip LDOs may be cascaded to DC/DC converters to further improve system efficiency. What’s more, you can connect outputs in series or parallel with each other, adding further flexibility. These platform PMICs are programmable, so they can be used across complete families of end products, thereby supporting a platform approach to mobile system power management design.
13:45 – 15:00
Panel: “MEMS: The New Dimension of the Advanced Analog World”
MEMS devices have proven their usability in high-volume consumer market applications as diverse as microphones and gaming consoles. While Moore's Law describes the progression of transistor density and computing power, the integration of MEMS will act as a multiplication factor and integrate most of the functions required in hybrid implementation directly on the chip. We are reaching a point where no system will be complete without the integration of MEMS functionality. In this way, MEMS is the new dimension of the advanced analog world, the element every system needs to make it functional, flexible and able to interface with the outside world.
MEMS is no longer an emerging technology but rather a thriving, flourishing and potentially high-volume, high-growth industry with a large customer base providing the means to grow the semiconductor space, particularly in Europe. This panel will focus on a broad overview of MEMS, trends, key statistics and activities driving its growth. The panel will give multiple perspectives on diverse applications and usage in very diverse sectors such as medical and healthcare as well as automotive, cell phone and consumer electronics applications. It will explore the drivers to commercializing MEMS on a global scale.
15:00 – 16:00
Keynote: “IC Design: Rethink Everything for Recovery Readiness!”
Semiconductor and systems companies have always been concerned about the cost of doing business. But in today’s economy, this concern ranges from anxiety to flat-out panic. Design teams today must be able to meet two huge challenges simultaneously: getting their chips out the door on time with no sacrifice in quality of results or capabilities, and doing so while attacking the ballooning growth in total cost of design. But what possibilities exist for attaining such grand-scale efficiencies, both now and in the near future? In this presentation, Dr. de Geus will present his perspective on what’s driving the current economic and technological realities for companies doing IC design, what looming challenges are waiting just down the road and what solutions will be necessary to equip them to be recovery ready.