IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Winter 2022 - 92

compact, energy-efficient, and reliable
electronic devices or apparatuses.
Prof. Wicht's wide-ranging and in-depth
experience and knowledge about analog
and power management IC design
made the talk informative and insightful.
Some interesting topics covered
were fast-switching high-Vin converters;
soft-switching, power stage deadtime
control; an on-chip mains adapter;
and a gallium nitride power transistor.
Prof. Wicht also discussed the importance
of power management in
complex ICs for artificial intelligence
applications. During the question
and answer session, Prof. Wicht responded
attentively to inquiries from
participants; it was indeed an interactive
and vibrant discussion. The lecture
concluded with closing remarks
from, moderator Ts. Lance Lai.
Corporate Social Responsibility:
Blood Donation Drive in Penang
The IEEE Penang Joint Chapter held
a blood donation drive in Penang on
12 September 2021 in collaboration
with the Lions Club. The blood donation
drive was spearheaded by committee
member Ts. Lance Lai Menn
Tatt. The IEEE Penang Joint Chapter
proactively called for volunteers to
participate in blood donation while
following standard operating procedures
to keep everyone safe from
COVID-19.
STEM Promotion-Path to
Success: The STEM Way
The IEEE Penang Joint Chapter organized
an online live stream event to
promote STEM in September 2021.
The event was coorganized by Tech
Dome Penang and Penang STEM to
encourage students to take STEM
courses. The target audience was
high school students and their parents.
Chapter Chair Ir. Dr. Lee Choo
Yong represented IEEE in a panel discussion
in the first session: " Moving
Forward Toward IR4.0. " Lee shared
his opinion that STEM courses, especially
mathematics, in high school are
very important, enabling students to
lay a strong foundation before going
to university. Lee shared his concerns
on the declining trend of students
studying science and encouraged
them to take STEM courses.
-Ir. Dr. Lee Choo Yong,
Dr. Syawani Kamarudin,
Dr. Cheab Sovuthy, and
Ts. Lance Lai Menn Tatt
T
Verma, Hollis, Shroff, Naffziger, and Das Sharma
Deliver Webinars for San Diego Chapter
The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society
San Diego Chapter hosted five online
webinars since April 2021, drawing
attendances of 42 to 205.
On 8 April 2021, Naveen Verma
from Princeton University presented
" Thinking About the Technology Platform
for Next-Generation AI. " He explored
how the statistically complex
processes of the real world can be
addressed by performing sensing in
ways that preserve the rich structure
of the real world. He evoked questions
like: What sorts of structures
are useful? What sorts of models can
exploit such structures? What sensing
technologies enable such structures?
What computational architectures are
required to harness such structures?
While the many eventual applications
of embedded artificial intelligence
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSSC.2021.3127068
Date of current version: 24 January 2022
92 WINTER 2022
(AI) are difficult to define, these foundational
questions can nonetheless
help us prepare the technology platform
for realizing those applications.
Finally, Prof. Verma investigated algorithmic
and technology implications,
spanning from machine-perception
models for sensor fusion, to largescale
form-fitting embedded sensors,
to mixed-signal architectures for inmemory
computing.
On 6 May 2021, Timothy Hollis
from Micron presented " An 8-Gb
GDDR6X DRAM Achieving 22 Gb/s/Pin
With Single-Ended PAM-4 Signaling. "
He highlighted several factors driving
the demand for dynamic randomaccess
memory (DRAM) bandwidth
scaling. In addition to established applications
in visualization, there has
been a proliferation of data-intensive
applications enabled by AI/machine
learning and advanced driver-assistance
systems. While high-bandwidth
IEEE SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS MAGAZINE
memory provides an alternative solution,
its high integration cost makes it
impractical for many applications. On
the other hand, extending the graphics
double data rate (GDDR) road
map beyond GDDR6 through per-pin
bandwidth scaling presents significant
obstacles, including a reduced
link-timing budget and slow DRAM
transistors. In the end, Dr. Hollis introduced
an 8-Gb DRAM with a singleended
pulse-amplitude modulation
(PAM4) interface to redirect and extend
the GDDR road map. The design
supports 22 Gb/s/pin in a conventional
1ynm DRAM process.
On 4 June 2021, Mehul Shroff presented
" Design-Technology Co-Optimization
for Reliability and Quality
in Advanced Nodes. " He provided an
overview of reliability and product
quality challenges in advanced
CMOS nodes comprising fin fieldeffect
transistors and fully depleted
IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Winter 2022

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