#56DAC – What’s New with Custom Design Platform

#56DAC – What’s New with Custom Design Platform
by Daniel Payne on 06-12-2019 at 10:00 am

Dave Reed, Synopsys

TSMC attends DAC every year and they do something very savvy, it’s a theatre where they invite all of their EDA and IP partners to present something of interest, followed by a drawing for a prize. At the end of the day they even have a nice prize, like a MacBook Air, which I didn’t win. On Wednesday I watched Dave Reed of SynopsysRead More


Meeting Automotive IC Design Challenges for Safety using On-Chip Sensors

Meeting Automotive IC Design Challenges for Safety using On-Chip Sensors
by Daniel Payne on 05-09-2019 at 7:00 am

I’ve been driving cars since 1978 and have even done a few DIY repairs in the garage, so I know how warm the engine compartment, transmission or exhaust system can become which makes automotive IC design rather unique in terms of the high temperature and voltage ranges that an electronic component is subjected to. Our safety… Read More


A Closer Look at Fusion from Synopsys at #55DAC

A Closer Look at Fusion from Synopsys at #55DAC
by Daniel Payne on 08-27-2018 at 7:00 am

Synopsys is pretty well-known for their early entry into logic synthesis with the Design Compiler tool and more recent P&R tool with IC Compiler, so I met up with two folks at DAC to get a better idea of what this new Fusion technology was all about where the barriers between tools are changing. Michael Jackson and Rahul Deokar … Read More


Improving Yield and Reliability with In-Chip Monitoring, there’s an IP for that

Improving Yield and Reliability with In-Chip Monitoring, there’s an IP for that
by Daniel Payne on 08-24-2018 at 12:00 pm

There’s an old maxim that you can only improve what you measure, so quality experts have been talking about this concept for decades and our semiconductor industry has been the recipient of such practices to such an extent that we can now buy consumer products that include chips with over 5 billion transistors in them. You’ve… Read More


TSMC GlobalFoundries and Samsung Updates from 55DAC

TSMC GlobalFoundries and Samsung Updates from 55DAC
by Daniel Nenni on 08-20-2018 at 7:00 am

One of my favorite traditions at the Design Automation Conference is the Synopsys foundry events (the videos are now available). I learned a long time ago that the foundries are the foundation of the fabless semiconductor ecosystem and your relationships with the foundries can make or break you, absolutely. I also appreciate … Read More


Meeting Analog Reliability Challenges Across the Product Life Cycle

Meeting Analog Reliability Challenges Across the Product Life Cycle
by Daniel Payne on 08-14-2018 at 12:00 pm

Create a panel discussion about analog IC design and reliability and my curiosity is instantly piqued, so I attended a luncheon discussion at #55DAC moderated by Steven Lewis of Cadence. The panelists were quite deep in their specialized fields:… Read More


Cadence Update on AMS Design and Verification at #55DAC

Cadence Update on AMS Design and Verification at #55DAC
by Daniel Payne on 08-06-2018 at 12:00 pm

As a blogger in the EDA industry I get more invitations to meet with folks at DAC than I have time slots, so I have to be a bit selective in who I meet. When the folks at Cadence asked me to sit down and chat with Mladen Nizic I was intrigued because Mladen is so well-known in the AMS language area and he’s one of the authors of, The Mixed-SignalRead More


Netspeed and NSITEXE talk about automotive design trends at 55DAC

Netspeed and NSITEXE talk about automotive design trends at 55DAC
by Tom Simon on 08-02-2018 at 12:00 pm

DAC is where both sides of the design equation come together for discussion and learning. This is what makes attending DAC discussion panels so interesting; you are going to hear from providers of tools, methodologies and IP as well as those who need to use them to deliver working solutions. There are few places where the interplay… Read More


AMS Experts Share IC Design Stories at #55DAC

AMS Experts Share IC Design Stories at #55DAC
by Daniel Payne on 08-01-2018 at 7:00 am

At #55DAC in SFO the first day is always the busiest on the exhibit floor, so Monday by lunch time I was hungry and took a short walk to the Marriott hotel nearby to listen to AMS experts from several companies talk about their EDA tool use, hosted by Synopsys:

  • Samsung
  • Toshiba Memory Corp.
  • NVIDIA
  • Seagate
  • Numem
  • Esperanto
Read More

Daniel’s #55DAC Trip Report

Daniel’s #55DAC Trip Report
by Daniel Payne on 07-29-2018 at 7:00 am

Another year, another DAC, and last month it was #55DAC in SFO and the first thing that I noticed was that the event was no longer located in the traditional North or South Halls, rather we were in the smaller, Moscone West on two floors, almost like a 3D FinFET. Checkin to get my badge was highly automated and oh so fast, well done.… Read More