Vik's Newsletter | Vikram Sekar | Substack

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Jun 4 •

A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging

Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.

Jun 1 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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In-Depth Tutorials

A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging

Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.

Jun 1 •

The Joy of Semiconductor Devices

A first principles based, continuously evolving, beginners guide to solid state physics and transistor devices.

Jan 26 •

Vik's Newsletter

Vik's Newsletter

Understand semiconductors. Stay ahead of the curve.

Semiconductor Devices and Fabrication

NVIDIA CuLitho and the Future of Inverse Lithography

How GPU-scale compute is reshaping mask synthesis for advanced nodes.

Mar 30 •

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 •

and

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 •

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 •

Packaging

A Comprehensive Primer on Advanced Semiconductor Packaging

Almost everything you will ever need to know about semiconductor packaging.

Jun 1 •

Analog, Wireless and RF

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

Optics and Photonics

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

Power Electronics

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 •

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

News and Insights

Secrecy in the Sistine Chapel

Ancient rituals and new tech collide in the Vatican’s most important private vote.

May 7 •

First Impressions from 2025 ISSCC

"The Silicon Engine Driving the AI revolution," plenary talks and overall thoughts about the conference.

Feb 23 •

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

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 •

Tools and EDA

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 •

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 •

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 •

The Engineer’s Guide to Measurement Precision

A field-tested checklist to ensure lab accuracy, repeatability, and regulatory readiness.

Apr 6 •

Career Advice

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 •

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 •

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 •

8 Strategies to Speed-Run Graduate School

Stuff I wish I knew, but no-one told me.

Jul 14, 2024 •

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