Beyond 28nm: New Frontiers and Innovations in Design For Manufacturability at the Limits of the Scaling Roadmap

Beyond 28nm: New Frontiers and Innovations in Design For Manufacturability at the Limits of the Scaling Roadmap
by Daniel Nenni on 05-22-2012 at 9:00 pm

The introduction of 28nm high-volume production for IC semiconductor devices will usher the era of “extreme low-k1” manufacturing, i.e. the unprecedented situation in the long history of the silicon technology roadmap, where computationally intensive (and EDA-driven) Design-Technology Co-Optimization will become the… Read More


Intel Tri-Gate is in Trouble?!?!?!

Intel Tri-Gate is in Trouble?!?!?!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-22-2012 at 6:00 pm

Since the last Intel logo parody went over so well here is another one! Not so much a parody in light of the recent PR from Intel that the fabless semiconductor business model is doomed. As one of the doomed little people inside the fabless ecosystem I take exception to this but I digress….

The word around Silicon Valley is that Intel … Read More


Layout Migration and DRC Correction at DAC 2012

Layout Migration and DRC Correction at DAC 2012
by Daniel Nenni on 05-20-2012 at 5:00 pm

In the world of sub-40nm IC design, as feature size decreases with each new process node, it becomes increasingly difficult to migrate a layout to a new process technology. Too many factors impact manufacturability and yield. At each new process node, to make sure that a given layout is manufacturable and yields well, it is subject… Read More


Novocell Semiconductor Update 2012!

Novocell Semiconductor Update 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-18-2012 at 1:47 pm

Since most of you have not heard of Novocellthis is more of an introduction but they have been around for 10+ years and are NVM (non-volitile memory) pioneers. NVM has evolved into a critical part of the semiconductor ecosystem which is why I sought them out. While SiDense and Kilopass bury each other in legal fees Novocell is doing… Read More


Semiconductor Ecosystem Keynotes: ARM 2012

Semiconductor Ecosystem Keynotes: ARM 2012
by Daniel Nenni on 05-17-2012 at 5:00 pm

Yesterday’s SEMICO IP Ecosystem Conference was well worth the time. Everybody was there: ARM, Synopsys, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, GlobalFoundries, TSMC, MIPS, Tensilica, AMD, Atrenta, Sonics, and Tabula, everybody except Intel of course. What do Intel and I have in common? We don’t play well with others…

First up was… Read More


Piper Jaffray Chip Analyst Spanks Intel!

Piper Jaffray Chip Analyst Spanks Intel!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-15-2012 at 7:30 pm

This just in from Tech Trader Daily, quoting Piper Jaffraychip analyst Gus Richard:

The whole issue for Qualcomm, based on Richard’s conversations with industry types, is that the company has started making its “MSM8960″ chip with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (
TSM) only two to three quarters after TSM introducedRead More


Cadence Update 2012!

Cadence Update 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-14-2012 at 9:00 pm

What’s new at Cadence? Quite a bit actually. I have always been a Cadence fan, I mean really, they gave birth to modern EDA. Unfortunately, Cadence really lost me during the Avant! legal action, the Mike Fister years, and EDA360. Recently, however, Cadence has made some big changes that will definitely get them back on my good side.… Read More


TSMC Tops Intel, Samsung in Capacity!

TSMC Tops Intel, Samsung in Capacity!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-13-2012 at 7:00 pm

While I was marlin fishing in Hawaii last week I missed some interesting comments from TSMC executives at the Technology Symposium in Taiwan, a much different show than the one here in San Jose I’m told. It is good to see TSMC setting the record straight and taking a little credit for what they have accomplished! I’m sorry I missed it… Read More


Intel Foundry All Hat No Cattle?

Intel Foundry All Hat No Cattle?
by Daniel Nenni on 05-12-2012 at 12:19 am

If you look real close at the #49 DAC floor plan you will see the tiny Intel booth dwarfed by those of TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and ARM. The number one semiconductor company in the world does not have the budget for the cornerstone conference of the semiconductor ecosystem? Oh my…… Intel has a big foundry hat and no cattle… Read More


Sagantec Update: More EDA Consolidation!

Sagantec Update: More EDA Consolidation!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-08-2012 at 7:00 pm

Adding sophisticated 2D dynamic compaction technology to address 20nm and 14nm challenges. Santa Clara, California – May 3 ,2012 – Sagantec today announced that it has acquired Dutch startup NP-Komplete Technologies BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) for its physical design compaction and migration solutions based on a sophisticatedRead More