Silicon To Software

About Silicon To Software

Welcome to Silicon to Software, the podcast covering PCB manufacturing, AI infrastructure, hardware, and cybersecurity. Hosted by Imran Valiani, an industry insider with 20+ years of experience in PCB electronics manufacturing and technical sales serving major Bay Area and global tech clients. This show explores the deep hardware layer that makes AI, autonomous systems, and modern technology actually work—the circuit boards, chips, and supply chains that most tech writers never see up close. Subscribe for expert technical teardowns on everything from autonomous vehicle vulnerabilities to the future of silicon compute. 🌐 Read our latest articles and get in touch at https://silicontosoftware.com (https://silicontosoftware.com)

Publisher

Imran Valiani

Category

technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Jul 2026

Latest episode

19 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

32 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Face ID vs Fingerprint Sensors: How They Really Work

   How does Face ID recognize your face, and how do fingerprint sensors actually work? Discover the infrared, ultrasonic, optical, and capacitive technology behind smartphone biometric authentication. From Apple's Face ID and Touch ID to Google's Pixel 8, we examine the engineering behind biometric security—and why these systems sometimes fail. In this episode of Silicon to Software, host Imran Valiani, with more than 20 years of experience in PCB electronics manufacturing, breaks down the hardware and physics behind the smartphone technologies we use every day. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN 1. How Fingerprint Sensors Work Discover the differences between capacitive, optical, and ultrasonic fingerprint sensors. Learn how capacitive sensors detect changes caused by fingerprint ridges and valleys, how optical sensors use display illumination and reflected light, and how ultrasonic sensors measure acoustic echoes through the display stack. 2. Why Samsung's Fingerprint Sensor Failed In 2019, Samsung acknowledged an unlocking issue affecting certain Galaxy smartphones using ultrasonic fingerprint recognition. We examine how textured silicone screen protectors created an unexpected security problem—and what the incident teaches engineers about sensor integration and accessory compatibility. 3. How Apple's Face ID Works Apple's TrueDepth camera system projects invisible infrared dots to capture facial depth information. Learn how facial data is converted into mathematical representations and protected through the iPhone's Secure Enclave. We also explain why Face ID can operate in complete darkness. 4. Apple Face ID vs. Google Pixel 8 Google's Pixel 4 used dedicated infrared facial recognition hardware. The Pixel 8 took a different approach, using its conventional front camera and machine learning to achieve Android Class 3 biometric security. What does that mean for security, low-light performance, and hardware design? 5. Can Biometric Authentication Be Fooled? Apple reports a random-person Face ID false-match probability of less than one in a million under its stated conditions. But random false matches and deliberate spoofing attacks are different security measurements. We explain why that distinction matters, how physical presentation attacks are evaluated, and why your passcode remains the ultimate fallback. VIDEO CHAPTERS [Insert Timestamps here] READ THE FULL ENGINEERING ANALYSIS For detailed technical explanations, engineering diagrams, and supporting research, visit: https://www.silicontosoftware.com (https://www.silicontosoftware.com) ABOUT SILICON TO SOFTWARE Silicon to Software explores the engineering behind modern technology—from semiconductor devices and PCB manufacturing to embedded systems, automotive electronics, and AI hardware. Hosted by Imran Valiani, a technology professional with more than 20 years of experience in PCB electronics manufacturing and technical sales. CONNECT WITH SILICON TO SOFTWARE Website: https://www.silicontosoftware.com (https://www.silicontosoftware.com) X: https://x.com/SiToSoftware (https://x.com/SiToSoftware) Subscribe to the channel for engineering-focused technology explanations, hardware analysis, and semiconductor insights. #FaceID #FingerprintSensor #BiometricSecurity

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   SSD Lifespan Explained: Why Every Write Wears Out Your Drive

   Your SSD wears out every time you save a file. But how long do SSDs actually last, and what happens when they reach their write endurance limit? In this episode of Silicon to Software, Imran Valiani explains the engineering behind SSD lifespan, NAND flash wear, write amplification, and the controller technology that keeps modern solid-state drives working for years. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • Why NAND flash cells wear out during program/erase cycles • How SLC, MLC, TLC, and QLC differ in endurance • Why SSDs write more data internally than your computer requests • How wear leveling, spare blocks, and LDPC error correction protect your data • What TBW (Terabytes Written) and DWPD actually mean • Why a 600 TBW rating is not an automatic SSD failure point • The difference between SSD write endurance and data retention • What Tesla's eMMC recall teaches engineers about flash endurance THE ENGINEERING BEHIND SSD LIFESPAN Every NAND flash cell has a finite program/erase endurance budget. As cells wear, their threshold-voltage distributions shift and widen, increasing the risk of errors. Modern SSD controllers compensate through wear leveling, garbage collection, over-provisioning, and error correction. But the controller introduces another critical variable: write amplification. A host write does not necessarily equal one NAND write. Internal data movement can multiply the amount of data written to flash. We also examine Samsung's 990 PRO 1TB SSD, rated for 600 TBW over five years, and explain why reaching that endurance threshold does not automatically mean the drive stops working. Finally, we examine the Tesla Model S and Model X eMMC recall as a real-world example of what happens when flash endurance is insufficient for the system's write workload. READ THE FULL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS https://www.silicontosoftware.com/ssd-lifespan-nand-flash-wear/ (https://www.silicontosoftware.com/ssd-lifespan-nand-flash-wear/) ABOUT SILICON TO SOFTWARE Silicon to Software explores the hardware engineering behind modern technology, from PCB manufacturing and semiconductors to embedded systems, AI infrastructure, and electronics reliability. Hosted by Imran Valiani, with more than 20 years of experience in PCB electronics manufacturing and technology sales. CONNECT WITH SILICON TO SOFTWARE Website: https://www.silicontosoftware.com/ (https://www.silicontosoftware.com/) X: https://x.com/SiToSoftware (https://x.com/SiToSoftware) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silicon_to_software/ (https://www.instagram.com/silicon_to_software/) Subscribe to Silicon to Software for engineering-focused discussions about the physical hardware behind the technology we use every day. #SSDLifespan #NANDFlash #HardwareEngineering

3. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Smartwatch Heart Rate Accuracy: Why Your Watch Gets It Wrong

   Your smartwatch measures heart rate using light — but the number on your wrist is not a direct measurement of your heartbeat. In this episode of Silicon to Software, I break down how optical PPG heart-rate sensing actually works, from green LEDs and photodiodes to analog front-end electronics, motion artifacts, and the algorithms that ultimately produce the BPM number you see on your watch. We look inside the complete measurement chain: • Why smartwatches commonly use green light for heart-rate sensing • How reflected light changes with pulsatile blood volume • Why optical crosstalk can contaminate the signal before it reaches the skin • How watch fit and skin contact affect the optical path • How the photodiode, transimpedance amplifier, ambient-light cancellation, and ADC recover a tiny pulsatile signal • Why increasing gain can create saturation risk • Why higher LED drive and faster sampling come with a power penalty • How wrist movement creates motion artifacts • Why running cadence can sometimes resemble a heart-rate signal • What research actually says about skin pigmentation and PPG accuracy • Why hardware, mechanics, optics, and algorithms all contribute to the final measurement The important engineering point is this: A smartwatch does not directly detect your heartbeat. It estimates heart rate from a small pulsatile change buried inside a much larger optical signal. And by the time software sees that signal, the quality of the measurement has already been shaped by the LEDs, photodiode, mechanical geometry, wrist contact, analog electronics, ambient light, and motion. That is what makes smartwatch heart-rate monitoring such an interesting engineering problem. ABOUT SILICON TO SOFTWARE Silicon to Software explores the engineering behind the technology we use every day — from PCBs and semiconductors to embedded systems, AI hardware, electronics manufacturing, and consumer technology. Hosted by Imran Valiani, with 20+ years of experience in PCB manufacturing and technology sales. 🌐 WEBSITE https://www.silicontosoftware.com (https://www.silicontosoftware.com) 📱 FOLLOW SILICON TO SOFTWARE X: https://x.com/SiToSoftware (https://x.com/SiToSoftware) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silicon_to_software/ (https://www.instagram.com/silicon_to_software/) If you enjoy engineering breakdowns that go beyond the marketing specifications, subscribe to Silicon to Software and turn on notifications for future episodes. #Smartwatch #HeartRate #Engineering

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