But the manufacturing process (silicon and packaging)
and how the devices are tested often have distinct,
defined flows: one for commercial and one for military.
Whether a product is targeted for commercial or military
applications, all engineers face similar problems: meeting
customers' specifications. Commercial applications
might have some lesser requirements (i.e., commercial
temperatures), but must be more stringent on others
(i.e., costs). Military product specifications often require
more rugged builds and functionality, due to the harsh
environments in which the products are used and the
fact that these products often must remain serviceable for
decades.
Due to these constraints, many MIL-xxx documents
specify how designs must be created and manufactured.
These additional MIL specifications require more expensive
testing and should encourage military development
organizations to adopt PF methods and tools to help
reduce/eliminate errors. Further, PF can perform design
analysis, examining sensitivity to a number of variables.
Any methods and tools that can help optimize and
"center" a design within a process will help to improve
and stabilize manufacturing yields, thereby decreasing
costs and supply issues.
Effective Exploration For All
Runaway costs are rapidly changing today's design
environment, causing many engineers to reevaluate
older technologies that were once considered esoteric
and expensive. Still, old and proven methodologies and
tools can be inadequate. Adding a PF methodology and
tool to your arsenal can open up many options that may
not have been otherwise considered due to time and
manpower restraints. n
References
1. 10nm Versus 7nm. Mark Lapedus, April 25, 2016. http://semiengineering.com/10nm-
versus-7nm/.
2. Are we at an Inflection Point with Silicon Scaling and Homogeneous ICs? Bill Martin, Oct.
15, 2014. http://semimd.com/blog/2014/10/15/are-we-at-an-inflection-point-with-silicon-
scaling-and-homogeneous-ics/.
Trends
38
Electronic Military & Defense Annual Resource, 6th Edition
Bill Martin is president and VP of engineering at E-System Design,
Inc. He has over 35 years of experience in consulting, product
design, and project management with semiconductor and EDA
companies. For the first 15 years of his career, Bill created and
manufactured 5u down to 0.35um silicon designs at Mostek and
VLSI Technology. He then switched to EDA and joined Synopsys,
after which he moved to Mentor to run its WW Consulting
organization and was assigned its silicon IP Division in 2005. Bill
joined E-System Design in 2009. He earned an MBA from the
University of Texas at Dallas, and a BS in Computer Engineering
from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He has been granted five
patents and has others pending.
PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT
AMPLIFIERS
AR Modular RF ............................39
CABLES & CONNECTORS
Fischer Connectors, Inc. ...............39
MegaPhase .................................39
INSTRUMENTATION/TEST EQUIPMENT
Anritsu Company .........................39
OPTICAL COMPONENTS &
MATERIALS
DEPOSITION SCIENCES ................40
RF/MICROWAVE COMPONENTS
Corry Micronics, Inc. ....................40
Evans Capacitor Company ............40
Mini-Systems, Inc. .......................40
Qorvo .........................................41
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. ...............41
Teledyne Microwave Solutions .......41
RF POWER AMPLIFIERS
dB Control ..................................41
SENSORS/IMAGING
PHOTRON, INC. ...........................42
Raptor Photonics Ltd ....................42
Vision Research ...........................42
SOFTWARE
Altair Engineering Inc (Pty) Ltd ......42
LISTING INDEX
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