Colin McKellar

Another big milestone for Zero ASIC! Our Platypus family of open eFPGA just got a major upgrade in the relase of a set of heterogeneous eFPGAs with built in BRAM and DSP blocks. https://lnkd.in/e-HBARnG Platypus is the only eFPGA in the world guaranteeing: 100% open and standardized FPGA architectures 100% open source FPGA bitstream formats 100% open source FPGA development tools For the reasoning behind our open approach, check out the original Platypus announcement from earlier this year. https://lnkd.in/eyPxEUAX This awesome effort was led by Peter Grossmann, with tool chain contributions from Frederick Tombs, Wildebeest synthesis from Thierry Besson, and SiliconCompiler infrastructure from Peter Gadfort. With SoCs taking years to design and costing $100M - $1B to develop, I am always surprised more teams don't dedicate a portion of the silicon area to eFPGA logic. What's holding you back? Appreciate your thoughts and comments below.

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The cost-effective QFN package is popular in Analog ICs, but parasitics of the wirebonds can be a challenge in some applications. This is particularly true for RF ICs and DC/DC switching converters. For these applications, the FlipChip QFN package provides a logical solution. By bumping the die and flipping it onto the leadframe, FlipChip QFN combines the benefits of a standard QFN - affordability and standardization - with enhanced electrical performance and a smaller footprint. In automotive applications, FlipChip QFN also offers the option of plated-end leads, which aid in solder fillet formation, further enhancing reliability. Amkor QFN Homepage: https://bit.ly/4dAzAhS

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UK Must Act Now to Strengthen Semiconductor Industry, Says TechUK Report TechUK has released an updated Plan for Chips report, urging the UK government to take decisive action on its National Semiconductor Strategy. The report outlines nine key recommendations, including designating semiconductors as critical national infrastructure and establishing a National Semiconductor Centre. Despite the UK’s 2023 Semiconductor Strategy setting a strong vision, progress has been described as "incremental." Meanwhile, the global semiconductor market is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, and other regions, including the US and EU, are accelerating investments. Key industry leaders emphasize the need for competitive incentives and R&D infrastructure, particularly an open-access foundry with pilot lines to support emerging technologies like quantum, silicon photonics, and compound semiconductors. With Europe expanding pilot lines and the US adjusting trade policies, does the UK risk falling behind? Read the full report and share your thoughts on the UK’s next steps. ⬇️ Thanks again to eeNews Europe for the full article with more background and insights click the source link in the comments below. #Semiconductors #UKTech #Innovation #Manufacturing #ChipIndustry #ChipDesign, #SemiconductorManufacturing, #VLSI, #Lithography, #ICPackaging

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🤝 STMicroelectronics and Morse Micro will be hosting a live joint webinar on 17 September 2025 on how to unlock #IoT 2.0 with Wi-Fi #HaLow and #STM32. 💡 In this webinar, ST and Morse Micro will deep dive into the MM6108-EKH05-05US, a powerful Wi-Fi HaLow (IEEE 802.11ah) development board purpose-built for a wide range of IoT applications. Combining Morse Micro’s #MM6108 Wi-Fi HaLow chip with ST’s advanced components, including the #STM32U5 ultra-low-power MCU, BlueNRG-M2 Bluetooth® module, and the #IIS328DQ 3-axis accelerometer, this development board is ready to power smart cities, industrial monitoring, building automation, and more. Key topics/learnings: ----------------------- 🌟 What defines IoT 2.0 and, more importantly, why traditional wireless tech is no longer enough 🌟 Why Wi-Fi HaLow is the key to long-range, high-throughput IoT 2.0 applications 🌟 ST's role is supporting next gen IoT development and platforming 🌟 How to get started with the MM6108-EKH05-05US dev board for rapid prototyping (whether you’re designing a next-gen asset tracker or a connected environmental sensor) 🌟 Application examples across industrial, smart building, and urban IoT use cases (e.g. camera) Register today via https://lnkd.in/gDksyUxq

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Is There Still A Future For Hard Disk Drives? The cost of HDDs and SSDs will continue to fall, while capacity will continue to increase in both. The capacity for solid state drives (#SSDs) keeps going up while the price per terabyte keeps falling, sometimes raising questions about the future for hard disk drives (#HDDs). Will the cost of #SSDs per TB eventually become so low that they will totally displace HDDs? Barry Pangrle decided to ask a couple of experts in the field, Jim Handy from Objective Analysis and Thomas Coughlin of Coughlin Associates. He was looking for a comparison projection for HDDs and SSDs that would go about five years out into the future. Jim had performed such an exercise back in 2017, WDC: No SSD/HDD Crossover,but I needed something more recent. Jim had his SSD forecast data, shown in red in Figure 1 and Tom provided the HDD data shown in blue. The slope is steeper for the #SSD data, but it does not look like we’ll see a crossover in the next 5 years. The green $4.75/TB point was placed there by Barry to show readers where that falls on the plot and to use again later in another chart.... A very big thank you to Barry Pangrle , Jim Handy , Thomas Coughlin and Semiconductor Engineering for this very interesting full comparison/article with more background and insights via the link below 💡🙏👇 https://lnkd.in/eKTxfR7P #semiconductorindustry #semiconductor #technology #tech #chip #chips #it #datacenter #technology #memory #storage #computer #ssd #hdd

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Synopsys Speed Adapters enable real hardware interaction during emulation, exposing critical design bugs. High-fidelity in-circuit emulation (ICE) exposes low-level system behavior issues, improving pre-silicon bug detection. Adoption of Synopsys speed adapters streamlines pre-silicon testing and reduces PHY programming/training time from months to weeks. Check out this article : https://lnkd.in/gtvWQ2Xe

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The Dirac Home Audio team does it again, for the first time ever Dirac support Dirac Live on streamers. Partnering with Bluesound. You can now use Dirac on NODE(N132) and NODE ICON (N530), the first Bluesound streamers to support Dirac Live. To enable this feature, you’ll need a Dirac Live license and the Bluesound Room Calibration Kit, specifically designed to use with Dirac live. Later this year, Dirac Live will also be available for NODE X (N131), NODE (N130), POWERNODE (N330), and POWERNODE EDGE. https://lnkd.in/dn68XSH7

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Revenue was up 34% year-on-year for British chip designer Arm in Q4. Despite a cautious outlook due to the evolving trade environment, Arm’s performance emphasises one thing: the enduring demand for its designs, used by the likes of Apple and Nvidia, and the critical role UK innovation plays in powering the AI and smartphone revolutions. Trade dynamics may be shifting, but so is our capacity to adapt. The UK's tech sector continues to demonstrate resilience, and I believe Arm is a prime example of how British engineering can lead on the world stage even amid uncertainty. https://lnkd.in/eTt-JHaw #Semiconductors #UKTech #AI #Innovation

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