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Jun 4 • 
Vikram Sekar
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New? Start Here.
A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.
Jun 1 • 
Vikram Sekar
82

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A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
9
How Cracked Engineers Recreated World-Class RF Research in 30 Hours on Social Media
This is what happens when an esoteric RF circuit is revolutionized and becomes all the rage on X.
10 hrs ago • 
Vikram Sekar
14

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How Cracked Engineers Recreated World-Class RF Research in 30 Hours on Social Media
2
IMS 2025: AI for RF, Heterogenous Integration, 100 GHz+ Systems, RF GaN
Conference highlights and key takeaways from the 2025 International Microwave Symposium held in San Francisco - the world's premier conference for…
Jun 29 • 
Vikram Sekar
14

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IMS 2025: AI for RF, Heterogenous Integration, 100 GHz+ Systems, RF GaN
Has RF Lost Its Spark? Rethinking Innovation in the AI Era
A field report from the 2025 International Microwave Symposium on RF’s identity crisis.
Jun 25 • 
Vikram Sekar
10

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Has RF Lost Its Spark? Rethinking Innovation in the AI Era
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A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology
Nov 24, 2024
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A Short Introduction to Automotive Lidar Technology
2
How to Learn Chip Design With Open-Source EDA Tools
Apr 27 • Vikram Sekar
31

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How to Learn Chip Design With Open-Source EDA Tools
4
A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
Jun 1 • Vikram Sekar
82

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A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
9
7 Unwritten Rules for High-Impact Engineering Careers
Jun 8 • Vikram Sekar
27

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7 Unwritten Rules for High-Impact Engineering Careers
Recommendations
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Global Technology Research
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AYZ
SEMI VISION
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The Chip Letter
The Chip Letter
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Venkatesh Rao
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Always Be Curious
Sander at ABC

In-Depth Tutorials

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A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.
Jun 1 • 
Vikram Sekar
82

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A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
9
The Joy of Semiconductor Devices
A first principles based, continuously evolving, beginners guide to solid state physics and transistor devices.
Jan 26 • 
Vikram Sekar
48

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The Joy of Semiconductor Devices
1
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Understand semiconductors. Stay ahead of the curve.

Semiconductor Devices and Fabrication

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NVIDIA CuLitho and the Future of Inverse Lithography
How GPU-scale compute is reshaping mask synthesis for advanced nodes.
Mar 30 • 
Vikram Sekar
23

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NVIDIA CuLitho and the Future of Inverse Lithography
1
Why Citing Yield Without Die Area is Meaningless
Pat Gelsinger's field notes, and how defect density is a more meaningful metric for yield.
Feb 16 • 
Vikram Sekar
 and 
amphilomath
17

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Why Citing Yield Without Die Area is Meaningless
5
How Dennard Scaling Allowed Transistors to Shrink
A detailed explanation of Robert Dennard's exact rules to scale a MOS-transistor's dimensions that resulted in more transistors on a single chip without…
Jan 12 • 
Vikram Sekar
51

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How Dennard Scaling Allowed Transistors to Shrink
7
Ruthenium: The Next Step in Interconnects for Advanced Logic Nodes?
Why ruthenium is emerging as an alternative to copper for low-level metal interconnects as pitch drops below 20-nm in sub 2-nm class advanced technology…
Jan 5 • 
Vikram Sekar
14

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Ruthenium: The Next Step in Interconnects for Advanced Logic Nodes?

Packaging

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A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.
Jun 1 • 
Vikram Sekar
82

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Vik's Newsletter
A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
9

Analog, Wireless and RF

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How Cracked Engineers Recreated World-Class RF Research in 30 Hours on Social Media
This is what happens when an esoteric RF circuit is revolutionized and becomes all the rage on X.
10 hrs ago • 
Vikram Sekar
13

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Vik's Newsletter
How Cracked Engineers Recreated World-Class RF Research in 30 Hours on Social Media
2
IMS 2025: AI for RF, Heterogenous Integration, 100 GHz+ Systems, RF GaN
Conference highlights and key takeaways from the 2025 International Microwave Symposium held in San Francisco - the world's premier conference for…
Jun 29 • 
Vikram Sekar
13

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Vik's Newsletter
IMS 2025: AI for RF, Heterogenous Integration, 100 GHz+ Systems, RF GaN
Has RF Lost Its Spark? Rethinking Innovation in the AI Era
A field report from the 2025 International Microwave Symposium on RF’s identity crisis.
Jun 25 • 
Vikram Sekar
10

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Vik's Newsletter
Has RF Lost Its Spark? Rethinking Innovation in the AI Era
IMS 2025: Why LEO Satellite Markets Are Brutally Exclusive and What to Do About It
With $10 billion dollars of investment required, are we really revolutionizing low-earth orbit (LEO) communication technology or merely adding to space…
Jun 17 • 
Vikram Sekar
10

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IMS 2025: Why LEO Satellite Markets Are Brutally Exclusive and What to Do About It

Optics and Photonics

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Why Earth's Best Optical Fiber Can Only Be Made in Space
The incredible benefits of ZBLAN optical fiber and why it needs microgravity, and which companies are building in-space manufacturing and offering…
May 25 • 
Vikram Sekar
17

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Why Earth's Best Optical Fiber Can Only Be Made in Space
The Silicon Photonics Moonshot: Group IV Integrated Lasers
An exploration of how group IV materials could solve the longstanding problem of silicon’s indirect bandgap, enabling monolithic photonic circuits with…
Mar 16 • 
Vikram Sekar
8

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The Silicon Photonics Moonshot: Group IV Integrated Lasers
Why Fathom Light uses LiDAR in Long Range Airborne Applications
Why it makes sense to use LiDAR technology instead of radar in unmanned drones.
Mar 9 • 
Vikram Sekar
12

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Why Fathom Light uses LiDAR in Long Range Airborne Applications
January 2025: Margin Notes on Optics
Broken undersea cables, imaging electrons with attosecond pulses, affordable lidar for automotive, peacock-inspired semiconductor lasers that cut steel…
Jan 19 • 
Vikram Sekar
11

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January 2025: Margin Notes on Optics

Power Electronics

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The Rise of 800V Electric Vehicles and Role of Silicon Carbide
Exploring the engineering merits of higher voltage battery systems for next-generation EVs, and the benefits and challenges involved in using high…
Feb 9 • 
Vikram Sekar
12

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The Rise of 800V Electric Vehicles and Role of Silicon Carbide
1
Understanding How Electric Vehicles Convert Battery Power Into Propulsion
How IGBT and SiC based traction inverters use power from the lithium ion battery pack to drive the motors using sinusoidal pulse width modulation.
Dec 15, 2024
24

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Understanding How Electric Vehicles Convert Battery Power Into Propulsion
4

News and Insights

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Secrecy in the Sistine Chapel
Ancient rituals and new tech collide in the Vatican’s most important private vote.
May 7 • 
Vikram Sekar
6

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Secrecy in the Sistine Chapel
First Impressions from 2025 ISSCC
"The Silicon Engine Driving the AI revolution," plenary talks and overall thoughts about the conference.
Feb 23 • 
Vikram Sekar
28

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First Impressions from 2025 ISSCC
4
Holiday Reading Guide, Annual Survey
Your feedback is much appreciated; Curious bits and bobs that inspired, entertained, informed or amused me in 2024.
Dec 22, 2024
12

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Holiday Reading Guide, Annual Survey
2
Starlink D2C, Tower Si-Pho, LLMs for Chip Design, Ionosphere Maps with Cellphones, Symmetry in IC Design
FCC gives Starlink a green light; 300 mm silicon photonics from Tower; AI driven chip design; using cellphones as earth sensors; tools to ensure…
Dec 1, 2024 • 
Vikram Sekar
17

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Starlink D2C, Tower Si-Pho, LLMs for Chip Design, Ionosphere Maps with Cellphones, Symmetry in IC Design
5

Tools and EDA

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A Comprehensive Guide To Installing Open Source Tools For Integrated Circuit Design
Plus two suggested projects you can work on using your newly acquired toolkit.
May 11 • 
Vikram Sekar
14

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A Comprehensive Guide To Installing Open Source Tools For Integrated Circuit Design
How to Learn Chip Design With Open-Source EDA Tools
A step-by-step guide to building, simulating, documenting, and publishing your own IC designs with free and open EDA tools.
Apr 27 • 
Vikram Sekar
31

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How to Learn Chip Design With Open-Source EDA Tools
4
Can You Vibe Your Way Through Chip Design?
Reinforcement learning, inverse design, and the cultural shift in electronic design automation; a look at how AI is breaking design conventions in…
Apr 13 • 
Vikram Sekar
21

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Can You Vibe Your Way Through Chip Design?
1
The Engineer’s Guide to Measurement Precision
A field-tested checklist to ensure lab accuracy, repeatability, and regulatory readiness.
Apr 6 • 
Vikram Sekar
7

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The Engineer’s Guide to Measurement Precision

Career Advice

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7 Unwritten Rules for High-Impact Engineering Careers
What they don’t teach you about thriving in technical organizations, but will define your success.
Jun 8 • 
Vikram Sekar
27

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7 Unwritten Rules for High-Impact Engineering Careers
Why Getting a Semiconductor Job Is Harder Than It Should Be
Understanding the structural bottlenecks behind hiring, education, and outdated industry practices, and some helpful suggestions to navigate the career…
May 18 • 
Vikram Sekar
19

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Why Getting a Semiconductor Job Is Harder Than It Should Be
Why the Chip Industry Is Struggling to Attract the Next Generation
Six hard truths about how engineers enter, survive, and often get stuck in the chip industry — and what needs to change.
Apr 20 • 
Vikram Sekar
37

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Why the Chip Industry Is Struggling to Attract the Next Generation
16
8 Strategies to Speed-Run Graduate School
Stuff I wish I knew, but no-one told me.
Jul 14, 2024 • 
Vikram Sekar
11

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8 Strategies to Speed-Run Graduate School
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© 2025 Vikram Sekar
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