As semiconductor scaling continues, the microelectronics industry faces a new inflection point, building upon the heterogeneous integration of leading-edge and mature technologies, and driving ‘smart’ system level applications which will transform the industry.
As an international conference on semiconductor technology that defines the pace, progress and evolution of microelectronics, the annual Symposia on VLSI Technology & Circuits (June 13 – 17, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, HI, USA) have made this industry transition its focal point, with the conference theme ‘Inflections for a Smart Society’ serving as the thread connecting keynote presentations, panel discussions, focus sessions and short courses, reflecting the robust and diverse innovation taking place in the microelectronics industry.
“The Internet of Things, ‘Big Data’ and smart cars have put the centre of gravity around heterogeneous integration, with RF, mixed signal, digital and packaging technologies in the first row,” said Raj Jammy, Symposium on VLSI Technology general chair. “As we reach the limits of geometric scaling, we must add a critical functional scaling dimension to our technology innovation through 3D, embedded emerging memories, system-in-package.”
“To investigate innovative system directions for a smart society, the conference will focus on areas where the ‘Internet of Things’ is transforming industrial electronics, ‘Big Data’ management, biomedical applications, robotics and smart cars,” explained Jeffrey Gealow, Symposium on VLSI Circuits general chair. “To achieve this transformation, the Symposia continue to focus strongly on design/technology co-optimisation.”
Both plenary sessions reinforce the inflection theme, with the Symposium on VLSI Technology opening with an address on “Future Automotive Technology” by Takao Asami, Nissan’s senior vice president; and followed by a review of “How MEMS Sensors Will Enable the Next Wave of New Products,” by Stephen Lloyd, VP of engineering and new product development at InvenSense, Inc.
The Symposium on VLSI Circuits will highlight the industry’s “More-than-Moore” drivers with a plenary presentation on “Accelerating the Sensing World Through Imaging Evolution” by Tetsuo Nomoto, Sony’s vice-president and senior general manager.
As part of the unique Symposia program, there will be joint Technology and Circuits focus sessions, including a joint panel discussion on examining “More Moore, More than Moore or Mo(o)re Slowly,” a topic that underlines the industry’s current soul searching.
In addition, an executive panel will discuss “Semi Business beyond Scaling,” formed by industry executives addressing the question on how inflections that go beyond traditional scaling impact microelectronics business and future industry drivers.
This year, the annual Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits will be held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii from June 13-16, 2016 (Technology) and June 14-17, 2016 (Circuits). This year marks the 36th anniversary for the Symposium on VLSI Technology, and the 30th anniversary for the Symposium on VLSI Circuits.
The two conferences have been held together since 1987, providing an opportunity for the world’s top device technologists, circuit and system designers to exchange leading edge research on microelectronics technology, with alternating venues between Hawaii and Japan.
Sponsoring organisations
The Symposium on VLSI Technology is sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices Society and the Japan Society of Applied Physics, in cooperation with the IEEE Solid State Circuits Society.
The Symposium on VLSI Circuits is sponsored by the IEEE Solid State Circuits Society and the Japan Society of Applied Physics, in cooperation with the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.
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