TCAD Enables Moore’s Law to Continue

TCAD Enables Moore’s Law to Continue
by Daniel Payne on 05-03-2015 at 7:00 am

We live in very interesting times, you can wear an Android watch from Samsung that uses 14 nm FinFET technology, attend the 52nd DAC conference in June to learn about EDA and IP vendors supporting FinFET, and read about research work for new devices down to 5 nm. TCAD is that critical software technology that enables the development… Read More


Can You Really Automate Analog IC Layout?

Can You Really Automate Analog IC Layout?
by Daniel Payne on 04-30-2015 at 7:00 pm

Digital IC design has been largely automated with high-level languages, RTL coding, logic synthesis, and automated place and route tools. What about analog IC layout automation, is it possible? A few EDA companies think that it is possible and even practical. In recent memory there were two companies really focused on analog … Read More


SoC Debugging Just Got a Speed Boost

SoC Debugging Just Got a Speed Boost
by Daniel Payne on 04-28-2015 at 4:00 am

Sure, design engineers can get more attention than verification engineers, but the greater number of verification engineers on SoC projects means that the verification task is a bigger bottleneck in a schedule than pure design work. A recent survey conducted at Cadence shows how verification effort can be divided into several,… Read More


Networking at 52nd DAC in SFO

Networking at 52nd DAC in SFO
by Daniel Payne on 04-19-2015 at 7:00 pm

Yes, the 52nd DAC(Design Automation Conference) is a technical conference plus exhibition with wonderful keynote speakers and agenda, however there is a certain serendipity that occurs by just meeting people, face to face at the many networking opportunities. The best way to kick off your DAC experience is by attending the Sunday… Read More


Will your next SoC fail because of power noise integrity in IP blocks?

Will your next SoC fail because of power noise integrity in IP blocks?
by Daniel Payne on 04-14-2015 at 5:00 pm

By the time that your SoC comes back from the fab and you plugin it into a socket on a board for testing, it’s a little late in the cycle to start thinking about reliability concerns like: dynamic voltage drop, noise coupling, EM (Electro-Migration), self-heating, thermal analysis and ESD (Electro-Static Discharge). They… Read More


What is Inside of the Samsung Galaxy S6?

What is Inside of the Samsung Galaxy S6?
by Daniel Payne on 04-06-2015 at 1:00 pm

I’ve always been curious about what is inside an electronic device, and it was seeing the very first TI handheld calculator that got me started into a career as an Electrical Engineer. Next to Apple, the most popular brand in smart phone devices these days has got to be Samsung and they have just launched the Galaxy S6 device.… Read More


Verifying the RTL Coming out of a High-Level Synthesis Tool

Verifying the RTL Coming out of a High-Level Synthesis Tool
by Daniel Payne on 03-30-2015 at 9:30 pm

With High-Level Synthesis (HLS) the first benefit that comes to my mind is reduced design time, because coding with C or SystemC is more efficient than low-level RTL code. What I’ve just learned is that there’s another benefit, a reduction in the amount of functional simulation required. One HLS customer was able … Read More


Verification IP for PCIe and AXI4

Verification IP for PCIe and AXI4
by Daniel Payne on 03-26-2015 at 2:00 pm

Engineers love acronyms and my latest blog post has three acronyms in the title alone, so hopefully you are doing or considering SoC designs with the AMBA AXI4(Advanced eXtensible Interface 4) interface specification along with PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express). One big motivation for using semiconductor… Read More


Webinar: Choosing IP for your next IoT Design

Webinar: Choosing IP for your next IoT Design
by Daniel Payne on 03-17-2015 at 8:00 pm

My favorite IoT device is a cycle-computer from CatEyeand it has GPS for tracking my bike routes, and an LCD display that shows me speed, cadence, heart rate and time. After each ride I connect my CatEye device to a USB connector, upload my data to Strava.com, and then see how I’m doing versus other cyclists and my own personal… Read More


FinFET Design Enablement

FinFET Design Enablement
by Daniel Payne on 03-10-2015 at 1:00 pm

We read about FinFET technology in the semiconductor press daily now, thanks to Intel introducing their TriGate transistors starting in 2011 and creating a race with foundries and IDMs to switch from planar CMOS nodes. To get some perspective about the progress of FinFET IP and EDA tools I spoke with two experts from Synopsys, Swami… Read More