SemiWiki Exceeds One Million Users!

SemiWiki Exceeds One Million Users!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-29-2014 at 11:00 am

SemiWiki was launched on January 1[SUP]st[/SUP] 2011 and according to Google Analytics we have officially exceeded one million users (unique visitors). I really don’t know what to say but, WOW, that is a LOT of people reading SemiWiki articles, wikis, and forums (there are now 13,464 posts on SemiWiki).

According to Alexa.com… Read More


DRM2PDK: From design rule manual to process design kit

DRM2PDK: From design rule manual to process design kit
by Daniel Nenni on 05-28-2014 at 3:00 am

Exactly a year ago Sage Design Automation launched its revolutionary iDRM product, enabling for the first time to graphically capture design rules and compile them into checks automatically – no programming required. Using the graphical design rule editor, users could draw the layout topology that describes the design… Read More


Methodics @ #51DAC!

Methodics @ #51DAC!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-27-2014 at 11:00 am

This is the biggest year ever for Methodics at DAC, with lots to show, and a team of people excited to talk to customers and potential customers alike. Methodics will also be giving away Pebble Smartwatches!

Methodics theme for DAC2014 is “IP and design management done right”. A key part of this message is to show how their unique open… Read More


IBM and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Deal!

IBM and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Deal!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-25-2014 at 10:10 am

An interesting deal was announced last week, another piece in the What is Next for GlobalFoundries? puzzle. IBM is sending up to 200 employees from their East Fishkill R&D facility to GF’s Malta R&D center in Saratoga County. The first thing that comes to my mind is 10nm! Considering GF is licensing Samsung 14nm, what else… Read More


Fabless Book Giveaway at #51DAC!

Fabless Book Giveaway at #51DAC!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-24-2014 at 7:00 pm

The generosity of the fabless semiconductor ecosystem never ceases to amaze me. Paul McLellan and I wrote a book for the greater good and now key members of our industry will make sure that 1,500 people at this year’s Design Automation Conference will get copies. As a special thank you to all of our supporters SemiWiki will be hosting… Read More


A Novel Approach to IC Design in the Cloud

A Novel Approach to IC Design in the Cloud
by Daniel Nenni on 05-23-2014 at 3:00 pm

Migration to cloud computing for scientific and engineering applications is inevitable. More specifically for IC design, the benefits are significant:

  • Common IC design infrastructure to unburden each user from setting up and maintaining a separate infrastructure
  • Cloud based IC design enables global collaboration among
Read More

More Moore or No More?

More Moore or No More?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-22-2014 at 11:30 pm

Moore’s is still the law, and device scaling remains the key focus of front-end process research, however next-generation technologies–and the Big Data, cloud computing world that supports mobile, IoT, and other next-gen applications–are the new drivers, bringing new demands and challenges running Read More


Motley Fools Intel Investors Again!

Motley Fools Intel Investors Again!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-22-2014 at 12:00 pm

It really is quite a racket. Investor bloggers spread semiconductor disinformation for $.01 per click, that coincidentally covers their stock positions, and I get paid $300 per hour to explain it to Wall Street. While I appreciate the opportunity to bond with the financial people, I do wonder how these bloggers sleep at night.… Read More


Variation-Aware Custom IC Design Best Practices

Variation-Aware Custom IC Design Best Practices
by Daniel Nenni on 05-21-2014 at 1:00 pm

I’ve worked with Solido for 5 years, and it’s been a pleasure to watch the world’s top semiconductor companies and foundries adopt Solido software for their SPICE simulation flows.

Sub-28nm design starts are accelerating, growing from 150 in 2012 to 900 this year. The move to sub-28nm design nodes is being driven by consumer electronic… Read More


Can Intel be a Leading Semiconductor Foundry?

Can Intel be a Leading Semiconductor Foundry?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-21-2014 at 6:00 am

This is the third part of a series answering the most frequently asked questions I get from Wall Street. Please read the previous two articles on Intel’s Manufacturing Lead and Intel’s SoC Challenge before flaming me in the comment section. First let’s look at why there is a foundry business and go from there.

The big… Read More