CES 2017, Semiconductors and Cycling

CES 2017, Semiconductors and Cycling
by Daniel Payne on 01-06-2017 at 7:00 am

It’s back, that giant consumer electronics trade show CES 2017, held every January in Las Vegas with too many new product introductions to mention in one blog, so I’ll take a more focused look at what’s new for cycling.

Smart Bike
We all know what a smart phone is, but what could a smart bike be? The Chinese company… Read More


Solving a Murder Case with IoT Devices

Solving a Murder Case with IoT Devices
by Daniel Payne on 12-28-2016 at 12:00 pm

I watch a lot of Netflix and there are so many detective movies and series for me to enjoy where I try and match wits with the bad guys and figure out who is guilty a few seconds before the law enforcement characters do. On TV and with our movies there is often critical evidence extracted from desktop computers, laptops, hard drives, smart… Read More


Real Time Virtualization, How Hard Can it Be?

Real Time Virtualization, How Hard Can it Be?
by Daniel Payne on 12-26-2016 at 12:00 pm

My first exposure to running something virtual on a computer was when I decided to run the Windows OS on my MacBook Pro using software provided by Parallels. With that virtualization I was able to run the Quicken app under Windows on my MacBook Pro, along with the popular Internet Explorer web browser. The app performance on virtualized… Read More


Driverless Cars and our Global Economy

Driverless Cars and our Global Economy
by Daniel Payne on 12-23-2016 at 7:00 am

While traveling to California this year I had my first Uber trip after a concierge in Santa Clara recommended it as the best way to get to the airport, instead of the usual and expensive taxi ride. Later in the year I had my first Lyft ride after my road bike broke down and I needed a ride back home. Our transportation choices are shifting,… Read More


How ARM designs and optimizes SoCs for low-power

How ARM designs and optimizes SoCs for low-power
by Daniel Payne on 12-19-2016 at 12:00 pm

ARM has become such a worldwide powerhouse in delivering processors to the semiconductor IP market because they have done so many things well: IP licensing model, variety, performance, and low-power. On my desk are two devices with ARM IP, a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smart phone and a Google tablet. Most of my readers will likely have… Read More


Reducing the Cost of SoC Testing

Reducing the Cost of SoC Testing
by Daniel Payne on 12-16-2016 at 12:00 pm

Every year certain technology themes appear, like at ITC this year a big theme was how to reduce the cost of SoC testing. I spoke with Rob Knoth of Cadence by phone to hear more about this cost of test theme. Rob gave me an example of an SoC that takes 27 seconds on a tester, so at $0.04 per second in test costs amounts to $1.08 per part. If you… Read More


ARM and Mentor talk about Real Time Virtualization, Webinar

ARM and Mentor talk about Real Time Virtualization, Webinar
by Daniel Payne on 12-08-2016 at 12:00 pm

Processor cores come in a wide variety of speeds, performance and capabilities, so it may take you some time to find the proper processor for your system. Let’s say that you are designing a product for the industrial, automotive, military or medical markets that has an inherent requirement for safety, security and reliability… Read More


It’s Better than SUPREM for 3D TCAD

It’s Better than SUPREM for 3D TCAD
by Daniel Payne on 12-06-2016 at 12:00 pm

Process and device engineers have a tough task to model and simulate an IC process prior to fabricating silicon, however this approach is much better than the alternative choice in the 1970’s of just running multiple lots of wafers and then making measurements to see if your node was meeting specifications. Out of Stanford… Read More


These 2 Markets to Drive IC Market Growth through 2020

These 2 Markets to Drive IC Market Growth through 2020
by Daniel Payne on 12-02-2016 at 8:00 pm

Spotting trends is an essential insight for marketing folks, general managers and C-level executives in our semiconductor industry. You could read hundreds of press releases, attend dozens of conferences, and interview all of the major thought leaders to help spot an emerging trend, or you could subscribe to a service like ICRead More


ATPG, Automotive and 7nm FinFET

ATPG, Automotive and 7nm FinFET
by Daniel Payne on 11-22-2016 at 4:00 pm

The state of Texas hosted two or our industry’s big technical conferences and trade shows this year: DAC and ITC (International Test Conference). IC designers know about DAC in Austin, and test engineers know about ITC in Dallas. I travelled to Austin to cover DAC this past summer, and I was able to connect with Robert Ruiz … Read More