Book Review: Mixed-Signal Methodology guide

Book Review: Mixed-Signal Methodology guide
by Daniel Payne on 08-23-2012 at 4:00 pm

Almost every SoC has multiple analog blocks so AMS methodology is an important topic to our growing electronics industry. Authored by Jess Chen (Qualcomm), Michael Henrie (Cliosoft), Monte Mar (Boeing) and Mladen Nizic (Cadence), the book is subtitled: Advanced Methodology for AMS IP and SoC Design, Verification and ImplementationRead More


ARM + Broadcom + Linux = Raspberry Pi

ARM + Broadcom + Linux = Raspberry Pi
by Daniel Payne on 08-23-2012 at 12:28 am

Broadcom has designed an impressive SOC named the BCM2835 with the following integrated features:

  • ARM CPU at 700MHz
  • GPU – VideoCore IV
  • RAM – 256 MB

The British chaps at Raspberry Pi have created a $35.00 Linux-based computer based on the Broadcom BCM2835 chip that is tiny in size but big in utility:… Read More


SystemVerilog from Nevada?

SystemVerilog from Nevada?
by Daniel Payne on 08-16-2012 at 10:58 am

When I think of EDA companies the first geography that comes to mind is Silicon Valley because of the rich history of semiconductor design and fabrication, being close to your customers always makes sense. In the information era it shouldn’t matter so much where you develop EDA tools, so there has been a gradual shift to a wider… Read More


Interview with Brien Anderson, CAD Engineer

Interview with Brien Anderson, CAD Engineer
by Daniel Payne on 08-13-2012 at 11:15 am

I first met Brien Anderson on LinkedIn because we share common groups and interests, so I decided to interview him and discover how CAD tools enabled IC design at Synpatics, a company with capacitive sensing technology used in smart phones, tablets and touch screens.… Read More


A Brief History of SPICE

A Brief History of SPICE
by Daniel Payne on 08-10-2012 at 4:06 pm

SPICE is an acronym for Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis and represents a class of EDA software used by circuit designers at the transistor-level to predict the timing, frequency, voltage, current or power of an IC or interconnect before fabrication.

In 1971 there was a tool called CANCER (Computer Analysis… Read More


Mars Rover "Curiosity" and EDA

Mars Rover "Curiosity" and EDA
by Daniel Payne on 08-05-2012 at 11:54 pm

I’m watching the latest Mars rover landing tonight called “Curiosity” and wondering about all of the electronic systems designed to control the project and hopefully send back some stunning new images along with new data on the micro-biology and chemistry of the red planet. JPL gets all the glory for designing… Read More


Synopsys Challenges with SpringSoft Acquisition

Synopsys Challenges with SpringSoft Acquisition
by Daniel Payne on 08-03-2012 at 12:41 pm

Another week in EDA and yet another acquisition by Synopsys as they buy SpringSoft this time for $406 million in cash. Paul McLellan wrote a good blog on this merger too.

Last week I blogged about the product overlap and integration challenges that Synopsys faces with the acquisition of Ciranova
.

Let’s take a look at the IC … Read More


Webinar on Multi-voltage/VT/Channel Length Libraries

Webinar on Multi-voltage/VT/Channel Length Libraries
by Daniel Payne on 08-02-2012 at 8:10 pm

ken brock

Ken Brockof Synopsys presented on how to optimize your SoC design for low power at 40nm, 28nm and 20nm nodes in a webinar today. Ken and I both worked together at Silicon Compilers back in the late 1980’s, the best EDA/IP company that I’ve had the pleasure to join.

The webinar made a brief mention of 14nm and FinFETS but … Read More


Schematic Capture and SPICE Simulation in the Cloud

Schematic Capture and SPICE Simulation in the Cloud
by Daniel Payne on 07-31-2012 at 8:10 pm

In April I blogged about using the iPad for schematic capture and SPICE circuit simulation. My conclusion was that the technology was interesting but not quite ready for commercial use. Today I tried out the web-based version using my Google Chrome browser instead of the iPad. Install the Chrome app here or visit www.ischematic.comRead More