IC designers are tasked with meeting specifications like robustness in SRAM bit cells where the probability of a violation are lower than 1 part-per-billion (1 ppb). Another example of robustness is a Flip-Flop register that must have a probability of specification violation lower than 1 part-per-million (1 ppm). Using Monte… Read More
Author: Daniel Payne
Webinar: Fast and Accurate High-Sigma Analysis with Worst-Case Points
SRAM design analysis and optimization
Every year EDA vendor MunEDA hosts a user group meeting where engineers present how they used automation tools to improve their IC designs, and one presentation from Peter Huber of Infineon caught my attention, it was all about SRAM design optimization. Peter has authored papers at IEEE conferences and been issued patents related… Read More
Managing IP, Chiplets, and Design Data
Design re-use has enabled IC design teams to create billion-transistor designs where hundreds of IP blocks are pre-built from internal or external sources. Keeping track of where each of these IP blocks came from, what their version status is, managing IP, or even discerning their license status can be a full-time job if tracked… Read More
An Update on IP-XACT standard 2022
Semiconductor IP design re-use has enabled the relentless growth in complexity of SoC and chiplet-based systems over the years, and with IP reuse comes many unique challenges. Fabless design companies use IP provided by a vibrant ecosystem of IP suppliers and foundries, plus internal re-use in the quest to get to market more … Read More
TSMC N3E is ready for designs, thanks to IP from Synopsys
TSMC has been offering foundry services since 1987, and their first 3nm node was called N3 and debuted in 2022; now they have an enhanced 3nm node dubbed N3E that has launched. Every new node then requires IP that is carefully designed, characterized and validated in silicon to ensure that the IP specifications are being met and … Read More
AI for the design of Custom, Analog Mixed-Signal ICs
Custom and Analog-Mixed Signal (AMS) IC design are used when the highest performance is required, and using digital standard cells just won’t meet the requirements. Manually sizing schematics, doing IC layout, extracting parasitics, then measuring the performance only to go back and continue iterating is a long, tedious… Read More
Version Control, Data and Tool Integration, Collaboration
As a follow up from my #60DAC visit with Simon Rance of Keysight I was invited to their recent webinar, Unveiling the Secrets to Proper Version Control, Seamless Data and Tool Integration, and Effective Collaboration. Karim Khalfan, Director of Solutions Engineering, Data & IP Management was the webinar presenter.
Modern… Read More
Power Analysis from Software to Architecture to Signoff
SoC designs use many levels of design abstraction during their journey from ideation to implementation, and now it’s possible to perform power analysis quite early in the design process. I had a call with William Ruby, Director of Porduct Marketing – Synopsys Low Power Solution to hear what they’ve engineered… Read More
Rad Hard Circuit Design and Optimization for Space Applications
The Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (MCTIC) has a research unit, Renato Archer Information Technology Center (CTI), and two of their IC engineers presented at the MunEDA User Group meeting this May on the topic of designing Latching Current Limiter (LCL) circuits for space applications with RHBD (radiation-hardened… Read More
RISC-V 64 bit IP for High Performance
RISC-V as an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) has grown quickly in commercial importance and relevance since its release to the open community in 2015, attracting many IP vendors that now provide a variety of RTL cores. Roger Espasa, CEO and Founder of Semidynamics, has presented at RISC-V events on how their IP is customized… Read More
Facing the Quantum Nature of EUV Lithography