Upcoming Long Post, Summer of Protocols Talk, 2025 International Microwave Symposium
A few odds and ends that have been brewing...
Welcome to the weekday free-edition of this newsletter that is a small idea, an actionable tip, or a short insight that takes less than 5 minutes to read. On Sundays, I write in-depth technical deep-dives on many aspects of semiconductors and chip design for paid subscribers of this publication. See all the benefits of upgrading your subscription tier!
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I’ve got a few things brewing that are taking a sizable portion my time, all of which I am very excited for. I figured I’ll mention them on today’s short post instead of writing educational content as usual.
#1: Upcoming long post on Advanced Packaging
I have finished a draft of a long but comprehensive primer on advanced semiconductor packaging, which I have been working on for weeks now.
The reason for writing the post is simple. When I tried to get a feel for what packaging technologies look like today and how they evolved, I was more confused than ever. Between marketing terms, company branding and the sheer number of options when it came to packaging, the whole landscape was not easy to decipher. I figured I was not alone.
So this Sunday, I’ll be publishing a 6,000+ word fully-free article on the whole evolution of advanced packaging technologies — just the concepts, with minimal mentions of company specific marketing terms. I’m not paywalling any part of it because I want it to reach a broader audience who may benefit from it. In addition, a reader who is also an expert in advanced packaging is proof-reading my draft to ensure that the information contained is accurate! I’m grateful for the help.
The table of contents looks something like this for now:
I am excited for you to read it and let me know what you think!
#2: Summer of Protocols Talk
I have become increasingly interested in the field of protocol studies, primarily through the works of
and on the Substack. One of their earlier posts on tensions and the efficiency-thoroughness trade-off (Hollnagel’s ETTO principle) really grabbed my attention. You should read it for yourself if you can spare the time — and you might become protocol-pilled like me. If you want to delve deeper, SummerOfProtocols.com has you covered.
Engineers have been taught to work with trade-offs. It is as much a part of the design process as is the underlying physics. But a trade-off is a definitive stance on two or more contradicting design goals. When you back away from the certainty of choosing middle ground, the overarching concept, of which a trade-off is a subset, is tension.
A tension is an elevation of a trade-off in the sense that a definitive stance may not always exist, might be situation dependent, or is constantly changing. Tensions in engineering are everywhere; technology choices, product design, professional relations, and testing strategies all have moving goalposts that need to be constantly navigated. In my hour-long talk at the Protocol Townhall, I’ll explore these ideas and other protocols with specific examples from RF engineering, and also from the general world of chip design. Thanks to Venkat and Timber for the invitation to share my thoughts!
On June 4, 2025, Wednesday (10am PST, 12pm CST, 1pm EST, 10:30pm IST), you can tune into the YouTube live link below. I will also send out the link to the recording after the talk. Meanwhile, please do check out other talks on the Protocol Townhall YouTube channel. They have had some really interesting guests on — Bryan Johnson (health protocols), Chris Dixon (from a16z), just to name a few.
#3: 2025 International Microwave Symposium
I will be attending the 2025 International Microwave Symposium held in San Francisco, CA from June 15-20 this year. It has been a long time since I attended this conference in person, so I’m excited that I will be able to make it out there this year.
If you are a reader of this newsletter, and are also presenting your research at the conference, please let me know. I would like to attend your talk and hopefully meet you in person. I will likely be hanging out in the press room between sessions, or socializing in the hallways and exhibition halls. If you find me, stop by and say hello!
Feel free to reply to this email and let me know if you will be there. Or you can connect with me on LinkedIn and X, and send me a DM to let me know.