Hardware Innovation on Display at SF Conference
The International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) is underway in San Francisco this week. The event is a major global forum for presenting advancements in solid-state circuits and systems-on-a-chip, showcasing new research in chip design and embedded systems from both industry and academia.
- This year's conference theme is "Advancing AI with IC & SoC Innovations," with a focus on the hardware that powers artificial intelligence systems. - Keynote speakers include executives from major tech companies such as Apple, IBM, Cadence, and MediaTek, who will be discussing topics ranging from semiconductor innovations for AI to quantum computing and empowering the next generation of silicon engineers. - For students and recent graduates, the conference features a "Next Gen Circuit Designer Workshop" aimed at career development, networking with industry leaders, and a competitive poster session. - The technical program includes tutorials on cutting-edge topics like "Fundamentals of Compute-in-Memory: From Circuits to Systems" and "Memory and Digital Circuit Design in Technologies Beyond FinFET," offering deep dives into advanced subjects. - Paper presentations will cover a wide range of topics highly relevant to careers in big tech and autonomous systems, including digital architectures for machine learning, processors for automotive applications, and silicon photonics for high-speed data links. - A significant number of papers are expected from China, which submitted nearly double the number of papers compared to the US and South Korea, indicating a shift in the geographic landscape of IC design research. - The conference's "Technology Directions" track explores emerging and novel solutions in areas like chip-scale autonomous microsystems, microrobots, and quantum devices. - Recruiters from leading semiconductor companies and research institutions will be present, offering networking opportunities and insights into the current hiring landscape for hardware and embedded systems roles.
