International Conference on Design and Technology in the IC Industry
Today, the mutual optimization of design and technology provide key
advantage in the highly competitive semiconductor market. Traditionally, when
developing integrated circuits (IC), their design and technology were considered
and developed separately. Looking to the future, this is no longer appropriate.
Experienced IC designers need a deeper understanding of the interactions
between design and technology options to ensure maximum product
optimization. For the 18th time, the "International Conference on IC Design and
Technology (ICICDT)" provides a forum for engineers, researchers, graduate
students and professors to cross the boundary between design and technology.
The trend in the IC industry is toward specialized system designs and manufacturing
outsourcing, such as fabless design house and wafer foundries. This also increases the
need for individuals with multidisciplinary technical skills for cross-sector collaboration.
In addition, advanced IC technology no longer provides the same level of control over
many parameters that negatively impact circuit behavior. At the same time, today's IC
designs are reaching technological limits and in some cases require special fine-tuning
of specific process modules in manufacturing. As a result, the traditionally separate
areas of design and technology are increasingly intertwined.
Close, multidisciplinary collaboration in the semiconductor industry favors the
implementation of new designs and new technologies. This allows products to be
optimized for higher performance as well as lower energy consumption and accelerates
their time-to-market. To break down the traditional boundaries between design and
technology, the ICICDT conference was launched in 2004. It provides an important
international forum for interaction and collaboration of IC design and technology and
is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The organizer of this year's ICICDT, which will be held in virtual format from September
15 to 17, is the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden,
Germany. "We are proud to host this year's ICICDT," says Fraunhofer IPMS deputy
institute director and conference co-chair Dr. Wenke Weinreich. "Even though we
cannot welcome our international guests in person due to the pandemic situation,
participants can expect inspiring lectures and workshops that offer plenty of room for interaction and exchange." Engineers, researchers, scientists, professors and students
will be offered a platform to cross the boundary between design and process
technology in product development and manufacturing.
"The unique workshop style of the conference offers technologists and product
designers the opportunity to share breakthrough ideas and collaborate effectively,"
continues Dr. Wenke Weinreich. The one-day tutorial program on plasma-induced
damage, GaN power devices, neuromorphic computing for edge AI, and large-scale
silicon photonic MEMS switches will be followed by two days of technical presentations
and workshops. "This will cover topics that require close interaction and collaboration
through all fields of design, device, and process to achieve improvement in product
development and manufacturing." Examples include optimizations in problematic
leakage currents, energy efficiency, noise issues in mixed signals, large scale IC devices,
process- and plasma-induced damage, or device and process parameter fluctuation.
The incorporation of new materials or the implementation of new technologies, such
as PDSOI, FDSOI or MRAM, will also be addressed in the conference.
"We are excited about the unique format of this year’s ICICDT as a virtual event. A
recorded short presentation will be available for each talk, there will be live workshops,
Q&As, networking and an entertaining social program. The latter includes a virtual city
tour to introduce our location in the beautiful city of Dresden," concludes Dr. Wenke
Weinreich.
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About Fraunhofer IPMS
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS stands for applied research
and development in the fields of intelligent industrial solutions, medical technology and
improved quality of life. Our research focuses on miniaturized sensors and actuators,
integrated circuits, wireless and wired data communication, and customized MEMS
systems.
With the Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT), Fraunhofer IPMS contributes
applied research on 300 mm wafers for microchip producers, suppliers, equipment
manufacturers and R&D partners.