Tektronix at #50DAC

Tektronix at #50DAC
by Daniel Nenni on 05-13-2013 at 10:00 am

If we grew up in similar eras you will know Tektronix as a company that manufactures test and measurement devices. Every lab I was in during high school and college had Tek oscilloscopes and logic analyzers. At #50DAC however, attendees that visit Tektronix will experience firsthand RTL simulation-level visibility to multi-FPGA… Read More


Cliosoft CEO on Design Collaboration Challenges!

Cliosoft CEO on Design Collaboration Challenges!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-12-2013 at 8:30 pm

Cliosoft was one of the first SemiWiki subscribers and it is a pleasure to work with them. They have one of the busiest landing pages with more than 30 articles authored by Daniel Payne, Paul McLellan, and myself. Srinath and I have lunch occasionally and exchange ideas, observations, and experiences:

Q: What are the specific designRead More


Winning in Monte Carlo: Managing Simulations Under Variability and Reliability

Winning in Monte Carlo: Managing Simulations Under Variability and Reliability
by Daniel Nenni on 05-11-2013 at 7:00 pm

I recently talked to Trent McConaghy about his book on variation-aware design of custom ICs and the #50DAC tutorial we are doing:

Winning in Monte Carlo: Managing Simulations Under Variability and Reliability.

Trent is the Solido Chief Technology Officer, an engaging speaker, one of the brightest minds in EDA, and someone who… Read More


Forte CEO on Design and Verification Complexity

Forte CEO on Design and Verification Complexity
by Daniel Nenni on 05-10-2013 at 9:00 am

Sean Dart’s first DAC (Las Vegas) was as a customer in 1989. Designs were hitting 15,000 gates back then so he was looking for better schematic editors and simulators for gate level design. Fast forward 25 years and Sean’s customers are doing 15,000,000 gate subsystems and that number is growing steadily every year.… Read More


Wireless Algorithm Validation from System to RTL to Test

Wireless Algorithm Validation from System to RTL to Test
by Daniel Nenni on 05-07-2013 at 8:05 pm

LSK 1123

This year’s #50DAC will be chock-full of technical content because that is what attracts the masses of semiconductor professionals, like moths to a flame, or like me to a Fry’s Electronics store. Interesting note, I went to high school with Randy Fry. His Dad started the Fry’s supermarket chain which he sold… Read More


Sage Design Automation iDRM Launch

Sage Design Automation iDRM Launch
by Daniel Nenni on 05-07-2013 at 7:00 pm

This is an example of what I do during the day. I work with emerging companies on disruptive technologies and help launch them into the fabless semiconductor ecosystem. This product, iDRM, is the result of three years of joint development work amongst three semiconductor foundries and some of their top customers:… Read More


Customer Stories at DAC#50

Customer Stories at DAC#50
by Daniel Nenni on 05-05-2013 at 8:10 pm

When you think Apache Design you probably think Low Power Design and what stuffed animal will they give away at DAC. The other thing you should think about is how the top semiconductor companies around the world use Apache products for leading edge semiconductor design. Demos are fine, but there is nothing like talking directly … Read More


Solido CEO on 20nm/16nm TSMC and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Design Challenges

Solido CEO on 20nm/16nm TSMC and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Design Challenges
by Daniel Nenni on 05-04-2013 at 11:00 am

EDA needs more CEOs like Amit Gupta. Solido, which is now profitable, is his second AMS EDA company. The first, Analog Design Automation (ADA), was purchased by Synopsys for a hefty multiplier. Prior to becoming an EDA entrepreneur, Amit was product manager for the wireless group at Nortel and a hardware engineer for the RF communications… Read More


Accelerating Design Debug in an ASIC Prototype

Accelerating Design Debug in an ASIC Prototype
by Daniel Nenni on 04-30-2013 at 8:15 pm

ASIC prototyping in FPGAs is starting to trend on SemiWiki. As FPGA technology becomes more advanced customers tell me that the traditional debug tools are inadequate. Faced with the very restrictive debugging capabilities and very long synthesis/place/route times the debugging cycle in these prototype platforms are quite… Read More


Hot Topic – CMOS Image Sensor Verification!

Hot Topic – CMOS Image Sensor Verification!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-29-2013 at 7:30 pm

Mobile applications require CMOS image sensor devices that have a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), low power, small area, high resolution, high dynamic range, and high frame rate. CMOS image sensor imaging performance is noise limited requiring accurate noise analysis on the pixel array electronics and column readout circuitry.… Read More