weixin
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August 28
- Understanding the Need for 14-bit Tags in PCIe 6.0
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➀ Tags in PCIe TLPs are identifiers for non-posted requests, ensuring consistency between requests and completions. ➁ As PCIe speeds increase, tag size has expanded from 8-bit to 14-bit to optimize performance. ➂ PCIe 6.0 mandates specific tag size capabilities for functions operating at higher speeds. ➃ Configuration registers for tag sizes are detailed, with 14-bit tags having unique settings in the Device 3 Extended Capability Structure. ➄ Combinations of tag size enablement determine the maximum tag size and permissible tag value ranges.
August 27
- BelGaN, a European Semiconductor Manufacturer, Files for Bankruptcy
半导体技术天地
➀ BelGaN, a Belgian GaN semiconductor foundry, has filed for bankruptcy, affecting approximately 440 employees. ➁ The company has over 30 years of experience in automotive semiconductor production and significant advancements in GaN technology. ➂ Despite technical successes, BelGaN faced financial difficulties, including a lack of sufficient cash flow and challenges in securing additional investments. ➃ The company has received bids from potential buyers, including a Swedish-Finnish consortium and former owner Guido Dumarey. - Apple's Fall Event: iPhone Gets Bigger, AirPods Diversify, and Apple Watch Celebrates a Decade
MacRumors
➀ iPhone 16 Pro models to feature larger screens and new color options. ➁ Standard iPhone 16 models to have vertically aligned cameras and improved camera lens coatings. ➂ All iPhone 16 models to include an 'Action Button' and a new 'Shoot Button' for photography. ➃ Exclusive AI features may debut on iPhone 16, enhancing Siri capabilities. ➄ iPhone 16 Pro models to use Samsung's high-performance M14 OLED panels and potentially redesigned Face ID. ➅ iPhone 16 to be powered by new A18 series chips with enhanced neural engines. - Founder 'Sells Out': The Rise and Fall of Character.AI
投中网
➀ Google acquires Character.AI's founder and core team in a non-traditional 'acqui-hire' deal, valuing the company at $2.5 billion. ➁ Character.AI struggled with funding and failed to secure new investments, leading to its acquisition by Google. ➂ The founders, who once left Google due to bureaucratic issues, return to the company, highlighting the cyclical nature of the tech industry. - Terence Tao on AI and Mathematics: A Revolutionary Future
量子位
➀ AI is transforming mathematical research by enabling the simultaneous processing of large sets of problems. ➁ Historical examples of machine-assisted proofs, such as the Pythagorean triples and Kepler's conjecture, highlight the evolution of computational methods in mathematics. ➂ Modern tools like GPT-4 and GitHub Copilot are being used by mathematicians for inspiration and proof assistance, with varying degrees of success. - Top 10 Motor Manufacturers in China
潮电智库
➀ Zhonglan Electronics remains the top VCM motor supplier in China; ➁ Haoze Electronics, backed by Xiaomi, is a leading VCM motor supplier and a hot candidate for the 'first share of VCM motors'; ➂ New Thinking is recognized as the 'Huangpu Military Academy' in the industry, leading in OIS optical image stabilization motors; ➃ Bilu Electronics is one of the few profitable motor manufacturers, closely tied with Huawei; ➄ Jiangxin Micro, based in Baotou, has significant cost advantages in the mid-to-low-end motor market due to its rare earth resources; ➅ Yuhua, with strong ties to camera module manufacturer Qtech, is expanding its high-end motor production in Xiamen. - Terahertz Beamforming Becomes a Reality with Topological Structures
IEEE电气电子工程师学会
➀ Scientists have developed an on-chip terahertz beamformer using topological photonics, enabling efficient beam steering in any direction. ➁ The device supports multiple high-speed data streams and wireless links, promising applications in future 6G networks. ➂ The new beamformer achieves over 72 Gbps wireless links with low power consumption, enhancing connectivity and reliability. - Hot Chips 2024: AI Innovation and Efficiency in Data Center Chips
芯东西
➀ IBM introduces the Telum II processor with AI acceleration capabilities, designed for large-scale machine learning and large language models. ➁ FuriosaAI unveils the RNGD, a Tensor Contraction Processor (TCP) optimized for high-performance, efficient large language model inference in data centers. ➂ RNGD features a 5nm process, 40 billion transistors, and supports up to 512TFLOPS (FP8) and 1024TOPS (INT4) with a TDP of only 150W, significantly lower than typical gaming GPUs. - Xiaomi's Upcoming SoC: N4P Process with UNISOC 5G Baseband, Performance on Par with Snapdragon 8 Gen1!
芯智讯
➀ Xiaomi is set to launch its proprietary smartphone SoC in the first half of 2025, utilizing the N4P process and aiming for performance comparable to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen1 or Gen2. ➁ The chip will likely be produced by TSMC or Samsung, despite U.S. limitations on advanced process technologies. ➂ For the 5G baseband, Xiaomi may opt for an external solution from MediaTek or UNISOC, with UNISOC being the preferred choice due to supply chain safety and cost efficiency. - Hot Chips 2024: Cutting-Edge Semiconductor Innovations Unveiled
半导体行业观察
➀ NVIDIA showcases its upcoming Blackwell platform, focusing on AI cluster-level capabilities. ➁ Tenstorrent reveals details about its Blackhole chip, featuring 140 Tensix++ cores and 16 CPU cores. ➂ Qualcomm provides an in-depth look at its Oryon CPU used in the Snapdragon X Elite. ➃ Intel introduces Lunar Lake and Granite Rapids-D, targeting AI PCs and data centers respectively. ➄ AMD discusses the architecture of its Instinct MI300X, emphasizing its role in AI and HPC. - The Chip Race in China's New Energy Vehicle Industry
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➀ Tesla has developed its own FSD (Full Self-Driving) chip and Dojo supercomputer to enhance its autonomous driving capabilities. ➁ NIO has announced the successful tape-out of its 5nm process self-driving chip, the Shenqi NX9031, highlighting its commitment to technological innovation in the automotive sector. - Benchmarking 43 GPUs for Black Myth: Wukong
半导体行业观察
➀ Black Myth: Wukong, a new action RPG inspired by Chinese mythology, uses Unreal Engine 5 for stunning visuals and intense combat. ➁ The game offers a free benchmark tool on Steam, allowing users to test their system's performance. ➂ A comprehensive benchmark test was conducted on 41 GPUs across five configurations and three resolutions, providing detailed performance data for potential upgrades.
August 26
- NVIDIA's Acquisition Spree: A Strategic Leap in AI and Data Centers
智东西
➀ NVIDIA has accelerated its acquisition pace, buying one AI and data center-related company per month over the past four months. ➁ Key acquisitions include Run:ai for $700 million, Deci for $300 million, and Shoreline and Brev.dev whose prices were not disclosed. ➁ These acquisitions align with NVIDIA's strategy since 2019, focusing on end-to-end solutions and expanding into new business areas like model miniaturization and autonomous driving. ➂ NVIDIA's approach involves deep integration of acquired companies, enhancing their technology stack and developer ecosystem. - Booming CMOS Industry: Chinese Companies Lead the Charge
潮电智库
➀ Smartphones market rebound boosts CMOS sensor suppliers' performance. ➁ Chinese CMOS companies like OV, GalaxyCore, and Smartsens report significant revenue and profit growth. ➂ Huawei and Xiaomi adopting domestic CMOS sensors in high-end models, aiding in narrowing the gap with international competitors. - Top Chip Categories in High Demand Over the Past Two Years
智猩猩
➀ The 2023 Top 10 Most Searched Chips include MCU, storage, power IC, interface IC, and communication chips, dominated by international brands like STMicroelectronics and NXP. ➁ In the first half of 2024, power management chips continue to lead in search rankings, with UC3842, LM358, and TL431 among the top. ➂ Power management chips have seen a significant rebound in 2024, with market demand gradually recovering and leading companies like Texas Instruments and Analog Devices reporting positive signals. ➃ MCU market is transitioning from a de-stocking cycle to a demand cycle, with prices showing signs of recovery. ➄ Storage chips have also seen a significant turnaround, driven by the surge in demand for AI and the recovery of the consumer electronics market, with major players like SK Hynix and Samsung reporting strong financial results. - Micron's Acquisition of AUO's Factories for Advanced Packaging Expansion
经济日报
➀ Micron is reportedly acquiring two factories from AUO in the Tainan Science Park Industrial Zone for an estimated price of one to two billion New Taiwan dollars. ➁ The acquisition aims to expand Micron's advanced packaging and high bandwidth memory (HBM) production lines. ➂ AUO has confirmed adjustments in production scale at its Tainan site and plans to activate the use of existing facilities at an appropriate time. - The Dual Nature of Emerging Storage Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges
半导体行业观察
➀ Emerging storage technologies like FeRAM, ReRAM, MRAM, and PCM aim to address the limitations of traditional storage solutions such as DRAM and NAND Flash. ➁ Each technology offers unique advantages like non-volatility, high speed, low power consumption, and high durability, but also faces challenges including manufacturing costs, scalability, and reliability issues. ➂ The commercialization of these technologies is progressing, with some already being integrated into various applications like automotive, IoT, and AI, but widespread adoption is still contingent on overcoming technical and economic hurdles. - AI Revolution in Smartphones: The New Battle Begins
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➀ The smartphone industry has stagnated post-5G, with AI now seen as a potential game-changer. ➁ Apple plans a major AI-focused product launch in September 2024, aiming to redefine AI in smartphones. ➂ The industry faces significant challenges with stagnant growth and over-reliance on minor innovations, leading to a saturated market. ➃ AI integration in smartphones could revolutionize user interaction and potentially revitalize the market, but the competitive landscape remains uncertain. - TCL Zhonghuan's Leadership Change Amid Financial Challenges
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➀ Shen Haoping resigns as CEO of TCL Zhonghuan due to heavy losses from overproduction strategy, with Li Dongsheng taking over to strengthen overseas control and reduce losses. ➁ TCL Zhonghuan's revenue for the first half of 2024 dropped by 53.54% to 16.213 billion RMB, with a net loss of -3.064 billion RMB, highlighting challenges from industry price wars and market demand changes. ➂ TCL Zhonghuan is enhancing cost control, optimizing business structure, and expanding overseas markets to reverse the situation, while also advancing industrial 4.0 transformation to improve智能制造能力. - Jinghe Integrated and Smartsens Unveil Industry's First 180MP Full-Frame CIS, Breaking Sony's Monopoly
IT之家
➀ Jinghe Integrated Circuit and Smartsens have jointly developed the industry's first 180-megapixel full-frame CIS, breaking Sony's long-standing monopoly in the ultra-high-pixel full-frame CIS market. ➁ This breakthrough marks the successful application of photomask stitching technology in large-format sensor fields and sets the stage for future development of larger sensors. ➂ The collaboration between Jinghe Integrated and Smartsens represents a significant step forward for domestic manufacturers in the high-end camera technology sector.
August 25
- ARM MCU with On-Chip ReRAM Storage
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➀ Nuvoton's 32-bit NuMicro M2L31 microcontroller features a single-core, 72MHz Arm Cortex-M23 processor without Ethernet support, targeting embedded applications. ➁ The M2L31 series includes up to 0.5MB of on-chip ReRAM for non-volatile storage and up to 168KB of SRAM. ➂ Nuvoton claims advantages of ReRAM over Flash EEPROM include faster write speeds, better durability, and lower power consumption. - UCIe 2.0: An Overview of the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express Architecture
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➀ UCIe is an open, multi-protocol interconnect standard for connecting multiple chips within the same package, aiming to support a vibrant ecosystem for disaggregated chip architectures. ➁ It supports various protocols including PCIe, CXL, and Streaming, and allows for the mapping of any chosen protocol as long as both ends support it. ➂ UCIe includes elements necessary for SoC construction and package-related features such as bump placement and thermal solutions. ➃ The UCIe manageability architecture provides a standardized test and debugging infrastructure for UCIe-based SiPs. ➄ UCIe supports three packaging options: standard (2D), advanced (2.5D), and UCIe-3D, catering to a range of performance and cost requirements. - PCIe's New Revolution: The Rise of Optical Interconnects
半导体行业观察
➀ PCIe technology is undergoing a significant transformation with the adoption of optical interconnects, driven by the increasing demand for high-speed data transmission and computing. ➁ The development of optical interconnect technology is gaining momentum, with multiple vendors introducing solutions related to PCIe, accelerating its application in data centers. ➂ Copper-based PCIe is facing challenges, and optical interconnects are poised to become the backbone of data transmission, offering longer distances and higher data rates. ➃ PCIe-SIG is actively exploring optical connections, establishing an optical working group to standardize optical PCIe, aiming to enhance AI model performance and GPU utilization. ➄ Various industry players, including connection technology companies, IP vendors, and chip manufacturers, are contributing to the advancement of PCIe optical interconnects, ensuring its practical implementation and scalability. - IBM to Shut Down China R&D Departments?
芯智讯
➀ IBM has reportedly closed access to internal networks for its China R&D and testing staff, affecting over a thousand employees. ➁ The move comes without prior notice, and employees have been removed from communication groups and VPN access. ➂ The company has scheduled meetings with affected employees, suggesting potential layoffs and the possible closure of the CDL and CSL departments. - GPU Development and Limitations: Challenges and Applications
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➀ GPU is widely used in early AI projects due to its maturity compared to other options. ➁ Google's TPU is a competitive alternative to GPU, optimized for TensorFlow and offering significant energy efficiency improvements. ➂ GPU's future applications are likely to focus on VR/AR, cloud gaming, and cloud server acceleration for specific big data analysis.
August 24
- Navigating the Narrow Gate of Chips: China's EDA Industry Outlook
星船知造
➀ The Chinese EDA industry is optimistic about its future despite current challenges. ➁ China's industrial software, particularly EDA, faces significant 'neck-pinch' risks. ➂ The EDA market is dominated by American companies, with Chinese firms lagging significantly in market share and technology. - 9.5 Billion Revenue, Turning Loss into Profit
潮电智库
➀ O-Film Tech's revenue reached 9.536 billion yuan, up 51.02% year-on-year, with a net profit of 39.14 million yuan, turning from loss to profit. ➁ The growth was driven by increased order volumes and higher revenue from high-value-added products. ➂ The company has made significant technological breakthroughs in smartphone optics, including advanced camera modules and lenses. - From LLM to Personal Career: Insights from Li Mu's Speech
机器之心
➀ Li Mu discusses the evolution of language models, emphasizing the importance of compute power, data, and algorithms. ➁ He highlights the challenges in scaling models due to memory limitations and the increasing cost of compute power. ➂ Li Mu shares his insights on the transition from large-scale pre-training to post-training as a technical problem, emphasizing the role of high-quality data and improved algorithms. - The Impact of AMD Ryzen Threadripper on 'Black Myth: WuKong' Development Efficiency
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➀ 'Black Myth: WuKong' achieved significant sales and high player engagement on Steam, with over 300 million RMB in revenue. ➁ The game's development team faced efficiency bottlenecks in C++ compilation and resource cooking, which are CPU-intensive tasks. ➂ AMD's Ryzen Threadripper processors significantly improved compilation and cooking times, enhancing overall development efficiency by up to 100%. - US Adds 39 Chinese Entities to Entity List and 42 to SDN List
芯智讯
➀ The US Department of Commerce plans to add 39 Chinese entities to the Entity List, accusing them of supplying components to Russian entities under sanction. ➁ Simultaneously, the US Treasury and State Department have added 42 Chinese entities to the SDN List under Russian sanctions. ➂ Both actions are based on allegations of violating US export regulations and threatening national security and foreign policy interests.