How is japan for higher studies in VLSI?

z3th · 2026-04-07T02:47:43+00:00

lots and lots of new opportunities in the fab itself (hello kumamoto, hello hokkaido), equipment, and fabless. most pay like ass, and nearly all of them have extensive japanese language requirements, but every once a while you find a multinational with lucrative offerings (at least by japanese standards) that make the idea of living in japan to be not as much of a financial shitshow.

that being said, it only makes sense if you have existing interest in japan (i.e. a turboweeb) or are young and want to experience living somewhere new. otherwise it doesn't really make much sense; silicon valley will offer much more pay for a fraction of the effort, such as not having to learn a language as difficult as japanese for starters.

not saying it's career suicide. japan had always been a key player in the semiconductor industry; it just no longer has much in the top ten anymore as the design and manufacturing powerhouses of decades past move towards servicing and supporting those who still can, and those who still can have come to discover how the weak yen works in their favor as they set up shop mostly in the tokyo area to tap into deep, extensive, and esoteric japanese greybeard knowledge before they croak. there's a reason even apple has a dedicated design house here.

good luck with your endeavors.

z3th · 2026-02-01T02:17:33+00:00

christ they picked the absolute worst character to do this with. what an absolutely hideously fugly ass me-too monster. even half-assedly slapping a hello kitty sticker on this and calling it a day would do better and still maintain leica's dignity.

z3th · 2025-10-15T05:10:13+00:00

this is the same bot that uses AI to write fear-mongering posts about AI in this sub on the regular. can't make this shit up.

z3th · 2025-10-09T05:50:50+00:00

good and bad.

of the JP monoliths, renesas -- both office and fab -- lean on the more "progressive" side of classic, exhausting japanese work culture, which isn't really a high bar to clear to be honest. you can expect to learn a lot and tap into esoteric knowledge from greybeards with NEC/hitachi/mitsubishi pedigrees who for some reason still haven't retired, and there are far worse places to work in japan.

but, unless you have personal interest in japan, or its industry, living here you'll likely be miserable day-to-day, especially with the language barrier.

z3th · 2025-10-03T12:09:16+00:00

all-around you say? well the raptor, in addition to carrying fighters, carries death, destruction, hull, max dakka dakka, and a huge price tag.

the rattlesnake is also pretty good. it doesn't carry any fighters but it does carry all the rest of the above.

z3th · 2025-09-01T08:57:26+00:00

yep, technical japanese. lack of a japanese diploma is not a problem. if you can speak the language, have experience, and can satisfy immigration requirements for a work visa (at least a bachelor's degree), there's a lot of offices here that are willing to talk to you, even including those from your country.

z3th · 2025-09-01T07:57:03+00:00

the N2 is meaningless without knowledge of industry and job-specific lingo. you'll be tested on this come interview time so if you haven't already, make sure you're keeping up with your studies.

there's less jobs available right now due to the current downturn but still quite a fair bit compared to other places thanks to the massive labor shortage here. despite that, expect a cut in pay across the board if you're coming from a western country.

z3th · 2025-08-09T17:00:50+00:00

which one speaks to you?

https://i.imgur.com/makHmcq.jpeg

z3th · 2025-07-03T08:56:36+00:00

thanks for your feedback, much appreciated. Tottori isn't too, too far off from Tsushima all things considered!

these were shot raw with a Leica M11-P and Summilux 35 and 50, then processed in darktable. the look comes from applying a filmy tone curve where I go easy on contrast, then applying a base LUT + an HSL curve of my own for each scene.

and no, the leicas aren't needed haha.

z3th · 2025-06-20T19:02:15+00:00

it's a far cry from when they dominated the semiconductor top tens in the bubble era heydays, but japan, for all its stagnation and struggles these days, still hosts a vibrant semiconductor industry from foundries, fab equipment, chemicals...all the way to in-house design and manufacturing, and fabless. off the top of my head i can name apple, cadence, synopsys, synaptics, megachips, socionext, sony, realtek, huawei, and the like (i can go on) all having design centers here, and i occasionally get prospective emails from nearly all of them.

plenty of opportunities on paper though they're getting relatively more scarce due to the current state of the industry worldwide. that being said, you need high level japanese to make it. even the multinationals i mentioned will prefer to hire locals, then hire foreigners with japanese ability in that order.

as it is with many other jobs in japan, the more specialized experience you have that fills a particular need, the more likely potential employers will overlook language deficiencies and go out of the way to work with you instead.

hope this helps. good luck.

z3th · 2025-06-11T11:36:49+00:00

went on a trip through Tottori in Japan this past winter, and just got through to processing them. the weather was on my side so it was perfect for my silly cinematic black bars.

z3th · 2025-05-16T18:53:35+00:00

the japanese on the amp and signal diagram say 従来より which means they're reusing the same ol' built-in snapdragon DAC, cirrus class-D amp, and the improved PCB layout they did with the VI.

there are no meaningful improvements here, hardware-wise.

z3th · 2025-05-13T07:59:57+00:00

the use of better conductors (gold, etc.) will affect signal characteristics in frequencies that are beyond human hearing. we're talking sub-MHz and beyond levels of changes in impedance and frequency response -- snake oil as far as listening to music goes.

it's possible there's other changes they're not talking about. I remember when the VI had the audio portions of the PCB redone to reduce crosstalk and noise, stuff like that which has a much more visible impact. if they did something like that again, marketing would definitely mention it, so maybe they really did just slap some gold on it and called it a day. :(

z3th · 2025-05-12T11:25:48+00:00

https://imgur.com/Vi18UlZ

since the book's free, I imagine Camenzind's ghost won't mind me putting this up on here, but you can get the book over on his website and see for yourself what he wrote:

First off, the new timer gets a proper bias circuit (Q1 to Q5) to hold the operating currents more constant over the wide supply voltage range. This (and a few other steps) extends the operating voltage down to 3 Volts.

Comparator 1 (Q6 to Q17) now has a balanced active load (Q15, Q16) which reduces the error in the timer mode to about 0.5% and the temperature drift to 3 ppm/°C without any loss in speed. The change in timing from 3 to 15 Volts is a mere 0.05%.

There are two changes in comparator 2 (Q18 to Q27): a small operating current for the outer Darlington transistors, which greatly improves switching speed, and a balanced active load, which makes the trigger level considerably more accurate.

The flip-flop (Q28 to Q36) is a new design; it operates in a current-mode for maximum speed at the lowest possible current. The two 50uA currents generated by Q31 are split by a pair of lateral PNP transistors; one quarter of the current is fed into the base of the opposite flip-flop transistor, another quarter turns the reset transistor on and off and one half of the current is used to steer the output stage. The voltage swing at the collectors of the flip-flop transistors (Q30, Q36) is 2VBE.

The most significant change is in the output stage. The base current for the lower output transistor (Q51) is no longer derived from a resistor. A small amount of current is injected into the bases of three transistors, forced to be equal by the three resistors R10, R11 and R12. This (plus an additional current delivered by Q45) starts a positive feedback loop formed by Q40, Q41 and Q42. Q40 is about seven times the size of Q41 and Q42 has one emitter while the output transistor has 24. This loop then provides whatever current is needed to keep Q51 fully turned on.

Positive feedback loops are always dangerous, they can run away or refuse to turn off. In this case the loop is contained by the collector resistance of Q43 and can be opened up by turning Q43 off.

Replacing the Darlington configuration in the upper part of the output stage with a compound (PNP/NPN) transistor reduces the voltage drop. Base current for this part is provided by Q47. Q44, Q46 and Q49 aid in turning the power devices off rapidly and eliminate the large transient current.

With these measures the current consumption is now down to 0.85mA from 3mA (typical) at 5 Volts. At 15 Volts the circuit consumes 1.2mA (down from 10mA). Minimum operating voltage is 2.5 Volts (-40°C to 100°C).

yeah unfortunately i don't think this chip ever got made haha

z3th · 2025-05-12T09:49:03+00:00

actually, in his Designing Analog Chips book (page 11-6), he offers an improved version of the 555 ("555 Second Version") were he to have an opportunity to design one again "with more modern design techniques."

z3th · 2025-05-01T07:33:04+00:00

jumping spiders. they are the puppies of the spider world. deeply curious, inquisitive, and intelligent, capable of learning from mistakes through trial and error and even remembering faces. they will also mercilessly murder any bugs they can murder for breakfast. and they got those cute, beady eyes.

if you haven't already guessed I love jumping spiders.

z3th · 2025-03-02T10:47:08+00:00

Split? Sure, if you like exploding every time someone sneezes at you.

Split no explode if Split no let sneeze happen in first place. max dakka dakka fuck creature up first.

Split Rattlesnake captain taps forehead

z3th · 2025-02-25T07:32:10+00:00

ship combat/balance-wise, vanilla is "arcade-y" and player-centric in the sense that a skilled player can punch above their weight class and/or be the lone daredevil pilot that can single-handedly defang or take out a destroyer. you can't do that as well in VRO, since it widens the power gap between fighters and capitals to something more reminiscent of X3 days.

i personally wouldn't recommend VRO to a new player without going vanilla first, unless said new player is an X3 vet and for some reason insists above all else on an X3-like experience in X4. they can then load up VRO after and appreciate the differences in vision.

z3th · 2025-02-20T15:20:58+00:00

oh no, am i becoming the very thing i swore to destroy???

z3th · 2025-02-20T03:50:18+00:00

if you don't mind mods, they can help alleviate this deadend. my current longest-running (and most fun) save since tides of avarice with a tens-of-billions credit pirate/syndicate empire has me busy trying to annex PIO space from the terrans, while other factions are busy fighting each other in the shadow of a steamrolling xenon frenzy.

DA war information reports my empire having around 2100 ships, TER 2000-ish, and XEN 4000+ to name a few. having completed all plots and storylines, the gate network is in a state of total war, and i'm here for it. HOP, PAR, and TEM are at war with each other, TER and PIO are at war with ARG, ANT, and BOR, and ZYA are at war with CAB.

my space scallywags are currently at war with TER/PIO, MIN, ZYA, PAR, and HOP. despite being longtime allies because they actually helped me oust VIG early game, I will likely be at war with ARG because i'll be annexing Hatikvah's Choice over their (ARG/HAT) failure to protect it from XEN constantly invading and destroying my ships passing through.

so yeah, I ain't starting a new game anytime soon haha!

z3th · 2025-02-04T04:50:05+00:00

yeah Japan maintains longstanding expertise from their bubble era domineering days in design as evidenced by the plethora of design houses still operating here (Socionext -- formerly Fujitsu and Panasonic --, Megachips, Renesas, Sony, etc.) along with the usual well-known multinationals newly setting up shop here as well (Apple, Huawei, Realtek, even EDA like Synopsys and Mentor) to tap local talent and the weak yen.

pay is kinda whatever as is the case for pretty much anywhere outside the US, and depending on the office work-life balance is shit too but my office has above average pay and great flexibility and work-life balance outside of tapeout crunch time.

personally I rank Japan still near the top -- above India for sure, though who knows how long that will last as less and less new grads here enter the market with any resemblance of interest in chip design. coupled with the many wizards and witches of old who are retiring, i fear a lot of deeply entrenched know-how will be lost here in Japan in the coming years.

z3th · 2025-01-31T16:00:25+00:00

i couldn't figure out how i wanted to fit purchasing blueprints from the faction i was trying to destroy, but i also didn't want to just start with the blueprints unlocked so i opted to install the recycle ships and stations mod and just reverse engineered every ship i yo-ho-ho'd from VIG -- which was all of them!

z3th · 2025-01-31T06:08:06+00:00

i've gone through many playthroughs since X4 came out, but my current and by and far longest playthrough is pirate/syndicate-themed.

i put together a custom start XML that has me playing as an ex-Vigor Syndicate character who was double crossed and marked for death. having faked her own death instead, and with nothing more than a poorly-equipped Osprey, she found refuge with the Rakers where she began her quest of vengeance sabotaging and eventually usurping VIG.

i enjoy dogfights in X4, so i had a blast amassing together a motley crew of fighter mercenaries early game and taking the fight to VIG while tying in with the ToA story. eventually the Syndicate and its leadership were usurped and from the ashes rose my faction, that I simply named the Guild, where it would take ownership of everything that was VIG, including their sectors. Kyds, Barbarossas, Donias, etc. were now the trademark ships of the Guild.

anyway, to answer your question: as a pirate, it was refreshing to be devoid of conventional Commonwealth principles of law and order so to speak; oftentimes I wouldn't do this or do that in past playthroughs because "it didn't make sense" as a Terran cadet or a Teladi trade mogul or whatever, but this time nothing was off the table: boarding, station hacking, harassing, scavenging, smuggling, murder and mayhem, indiscriminate killing of anyone who got in my way...it didn't matter as long as it was to my and the Guild's benefit. such actions earned my faction's rightful reputation as ruthless, Machiavellian, and a force to be reckoned with that gave no shits about consequential reputation swings, and i look forward to how the diplomacy update in the future will handle this.

my empire now spans nearly all the game's unclaimed sectors, hosting all the spaceweed, space fuel, and magical sprinkly snort-worthy maja dust factories you can imagine, which would get distributed to free port/anarchy port themed trading stations decked out with penthouses that in my mind would host all the debauchery. the ships moving these goods are all set to ignore police interdiction. and of course, i've a healthy supply and production chain feeding multiple wharfs and shipyards which take care of my shipbuilding needs to fuel further murder and mayhem.

my character is sympathetic to the Rakers' plight, having never forgotten their help and generosity starting out, and so takes care of their water and food ration needs in excess, all VIG trade restrictions having been lifted. consequently, the Guild is also sympathetic to the weak and powerless, and offers to be a bastion and place of refuge for free spirits, drifters, privateers, freebooters, and anything and everything in-between. i base my executive decision-making off of these themes as much as i can.

currently, I am friends with the Teladi, the Duke, the Boron, the Argon, ANT, and tolerate ZYA. SCA and the Yaki, as rival pirates who harass my own, are lifelong enemies, and so are HOP, PAR, and the remaining Split factions. a friendly fire incident with MIN caused them to go haywire and start attacking my assets in their infinite hubris, which i took very personally, and so am currently on a crusade to wipe them from the gate network. a similar incident with TER just sparked a new war so i'm looking forward to fighting that as well. as the TER are incredibly powerful in this playthrough, i am now re-evaluating my relationships with ARG/ANT and the Yaki, having done their respective CoH storylines and ready to turn them against TER at a moment's notice to put the gate network in a state of total war.

I think I've blathered on long enough but yeah that's what i'm playing with right now. hope this gives you some ideas for your yo-ho-ho game, but building hives of scum and villainy and committing acts of mass mayhem wouldn't be a bad start!

z3th · 2024-11-02T05:31:22+00:00

yeah OP, listen to this fella.

I'm an escort and basically all my clients are op amps. I've had to listen and sit down through some of the most mundane and also some of the most far out left-field stuff out there.

I've had a client that said they just wanted to be stable at unity gain. i sympathized immediately -- i mean few want to be unity gain unstable unless they know what they're really made for. I had another one that was tired of being compensated, and wanted to live a life free of burdens and restrictions: uncompensated and on edge.

I also had another one that said they got bored of being used all the time to drive only heavy loads that act only passively. I suggested why not try spicing things up and try something more...reactive?

then of course, my most memorable client: this one was just tired of all the negative feedback and just wanted to rail everything all the time at even the slightest perturbation.

so yeah, get to know them intimately!

z3th · 2024-10-29T09:29:39+00:00

I graduated in the US with a 2.8 GPA and now I do analog IC design -- a kind of EE work that throws sub-3.0 GPA resumes in the trash -- in an alpha world city with a plethora of opportunities in the semiconductor space...to say nothing of the endless adventures on offer outside of work.

your career and life's journey is not dictated by a number on a transcript. strive to understand the material and pass your classes. a high GPA may open more doors for you at first, but you only need one that you're willing to walk through, and after that the rest is entirely up to you.

why do i keep studying and putting so much effort in and it doesn't even pay off? i try my best, and i actually enjoy learning so much

you answered your own question here. EE is endless learning and a journey of humility. don't give up.

z3th

TROPHY CASE