My first job out of college was migrating a DRAM chip from one process node to a newer node, and it was a 100% manual process that required many months of effort. That need to migrate semiconductor IP to newer nodes is still with us today, and much automation has been applied to digital circuits, however migrating analog IP has proven… Read More
Author: Daniel Payne
Analog IC Migration using AI
Next Generation of Systems Design at Siemens
Electronic systems design is filled with a wide range of tools used across IC packaging design, multi-board systems, design creation, physical implementation, electro-mechanical co-design, simulation & analysis, and new product introduction. Siemens has been offering tools in this flow for many years now, so I was able… Read More
Signal Integrity Basics
PCB and package designers need to be concerned with Signal Integrity (SI) issues to deliver electronic systems that work reliably in the field. EDA vendors like Siemens have helped engineers with SI analysis using a simulator called HyperLynx, dating all the way back to 1992. Siemens even wrote a 56-page e-book recently, Signal… Read More
New Product for In-System Test
The annual ITC event is happening this week in San Diego as semiconductor test professionals gather from around the world to discuss their emerging challenges and new approaches, so last week I had the opportunity to get an advance look at something new from Siemens named Tessent In-System Test software. Jeff Mayer, Product Manager,… Read More
SI and PI Update from Cadence on Sigrity X
Signal Integrity (SI) and Power Integrity (PI) issues are critical to analyze, ensuring the proper operation of PCB systems and IC packages, yet the computational demands from EDA tools can cause engineers to only analyze what they deem are critical signals, instead of the entire system. Cadence has managed to overcome this SI/PI… Read More
Smarter, Faster LVS using Calibre nmLVS Recon
Back in the 1970s we did Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) checks manually, so when internal EDA tools arrived in the 1980s it was a huge time saver to use LVS in finding the differences between layout and schematics. One premise before running LVS is that both layout and schematics are complete and ready for comparisons. Fast forward… Read More
Accellera and PSS 3.0 at #61DAC
Accellera invited me to attend their #61DAC panel discussion about the new Portable Stimulus Standard (PSS) v3.0, and the formal press release was also just announced. The big idea with PSS is to enable seamless reuse of stimulus across simulation, emulation and post-silicon debug and prototyping.
Tom Fitzpatrick from Siemens… Read More
Keysight EDA and Engineering Lifecycle Management at #61DAC
Entering the exhibit area of DAC on the first floor I was immediately faced with the Keysight EDA booth, and it was even larger than either the Synopsys or Cadence booths. They had a complete schedule of partners presenting in their theatre that included: Microsoft Azure, Riscure, Fermi Labs, BAE Systems, Alphawave, Intel Foundry,… Read More
Circuit Simulation Update from Empyrean at #61DAC
A familiar face in EDA, Greg Lebsack met with me in the Empyrean booth at DAC this year on opening day to provide an update on what’s new. I first met Greg when he was at Tanner EDA, then Mentor and Siemens EDA, so he really knows our industry quite well. The company was a Silver level sponsor of DAC this year, and Empyrean offers tools for… Read More
Aniah and Electrical Rule Checking (ERC) #61DAC
Visiting a new EDA vendor at #61DAC is always a treat, because much innovation comes from the start-up companies, instead of the established big four EDA companies. I met with Vincent Bligny, Founder and CEO of Aniah on Wednesday in their booth, to hear about what they are doing differently in EDA. Mr. Bligny has a background working… Read More
Elon Musk Given CHIPS Act & AI Oversight – Mulls Relocation of Taiwanese Fabs