Conductive Bridging RAM ( CBRAM )

Conductive Bridging RAM ( CBRAM )
by Daniel Nenni on 08-07-2012 at 7:11 pm

One area of the Semiconductor Market that has continued to see start-up venture investment is emerging memories. There is always a perception and need to discover a memory that can either displace the current technologies or create a new niche between DRAM and Flash. Adesto Technologies was founded in 2007 to explore and commercialize… Read More


TSMC Leads Semiconductor Sales Growth in 2012!

TSMC Leads Semiconductor Sales Growth in 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-06-2012 at 10:00 am

As a fitting postscript to my “Brief History of the Fabless Semiconductor Industry”, semiconductor research company IC Insights compiled a list of the top semiconductor companies for the first half of 2012. As the traditional IDMs go fabless and sink in the ratings, the foundries post record gains led by TSMC at 22%, GlobalFoundries… Read More


A Brief History of EDA

A Brief History of EDA
by Daniel Nenni on 08-05-2012 at 6:00 pm

Electronic Design Automation, or more affectionately known as EDA, is a relatively young $5B industry with a very colorful upbringing, one that I have experienced firsthand, I’m very grateful for, and is an honor to write about. Today EDA employs an estimated 27,000 people! There is a nice EDA Wikipedia page which can be found hereRead More


A Brief History of TSMC

A Brief History of TSMC
by Daniel Nenni on 08-02-2012 at 7:30 pm

In 1985 Morris Chang was recruited by the Taiwanese government to help develop the emerging semiconductor industry. In 1986 Morris joined the Hsinchu based non profit research institute ITRI as Chairman and President and launched what would be TSMC’s first semiconductor wafer fabrication plant on the ITRI campus. Taiwan… Read More


A Brief History of the Fabless Industry

A Brief History of the Fabless Industry
by Daniel Nenni on 07-31-2012 at 7:30 pm

Even though most of us have witnessed the emergence of the fabless semiconductor industry it is still good to go back and remember how we got to where we are today, to realize that the semiconductors that you now hold in your hand were enabled by the rise of the fabless semiconductor business model. This is the first in a series of blogs… Read More


SemiWiki.com Analytics Exposed 2012

SemiWiki.com Analytics Exposed 2012
by Daniel Nenni on 07-29-2012 at 7:30 pm


About 4 years ago some of my semiconductor cohorts urged me to blog. “Hey Dan, you’re a funny guy, write about EDA and IP, make us laugh!” Of course what I think is funny most people think is snarky, which is a nice word for being a smart ass. The traditional semiconductor press was crumbling, the non traditional EDA websites were outdated,… Read More


Addressing the Nanometer Digital Design Challenges! (Webinars)

Addressing the Nanometer Digital Design Challenges! (Webinars)
by Daniel Nenni on 07-27-2012 at 7:30 pm

Optimizing logical, physical, electrical, and manufacturing effects, Cadence digital implementation technology eliminates iteration without sacrificing design quality by addressing timing sensitivity, yield variation, and leakage power from the start. … Read More


Addressing the Nanometer Custom IC Design Challenges! (Webinars)

Addressing the Nanometer Custom IC Design Challenges! (Webinars)
by Daniel Nenni on 07-26-2012 at 7:30 am

Selectively automating non-critical aspects of custom IC design allows engineers to focus on precision-crafting their designs. Cadence circuit design solutions enable fast and accurate entry of design concepts, which includes managing design intent in a way that flows naturally in the schematic. Using this advanced, parasitic-aware… Read More


ARM and TSMC Beat Revenue Expectations Signaling Strength in a Weakening Economy?

ARM and TSMC Beat Revenue Expectations Signaling Strength in a Weakening Economy?
by Daniel Nenni on 07-25-2012 at 11:00 am

Fabless semiconductor ecosystem bellwethers, TSMC and ARM, buck the trend reporting solid second quarters. Following “TSMC Reports Second Highest Quarterly Profit“, the British ARM Holdings “Outperforms Industry to Beat Forecasts“. Clearly the tabloid press death of the fabless ecosystem claims… Read More


The Total ARM Platform!

The Total ARM Platform!
by Daniel Nenni on 07-24-2012 at 7:30 pm

In the embedded world that drives much of today’s ASIC innovation, there is no bigger name than ARM. Not to enter the ARM vs. Intel fray, but it’s no exaggeration to say that ARM’s impact on SoCs is as great as Intel’s on the PC. Few cutting edge SoCs are coming to market that do not include some sort of embedded… Read More