Media Tablet & Smartphones to generate $6 Billion market in… power management IC segment by 2012, says IPnest

Media Tablet & Smartphones to generate $6 Billion market in… power management IC segment by 2012, says IPnest
by Eric Esteve on 11-15-2011 at 10:59 am

With worldwide annual media tablet shipments forecast changing –growing- almost every quarter, the latest from ABI research calling for shipment to approach 100 million units in 2012 and passing 150 million in 2014, with the same kind of forecast for smartphone passing 400 million units this year (438 million) and approaching… Read More


Synopsys Awarded TSMC’s Interface IP Partner of the Year

Synopsys Awarded TSMC’s Interface IP Partner of the Year
by Eric Esteve on 11-09-2011 at 9:19 am

Is it surprising to see that Synopsys has been selected Interface IP partner of the year by TSMC? Not really, as the company is the clear leader on this IP market segment (which includes USB, PCI Express, SATA, DDRn, HDMI, MIPI and others protocols like Ethernet, DisplayPort, Hyper Transport, Infiniband, Serial RapidIO…). But,… Read More


Arteris vs Sonics battle…Let’s talk NoC architecture

Arteris vs Sonics battle…Let’s talk NoC architecture
by Eric Esteve on 11-04-2011 at 6:23 am

The text of this very first article about Arteris had disapeared from Semiwiki, for an absolutely unknowed reason…If you have missed it, this is a pretty useful introduction to NoC concept, as well as to the legal battle between Arteris and Sonics:

The Network on Chip is a pretty recent concept. Let’s try to understand how … Read More


Interview with Eric Esteve IPNest made by Synopsys

Interview with Eric Esteve IPNest made by Synopsys
by Eric Esteve on 10-27-2011 at 11:15 am

Introduction from Hezi Saar: Eric’s latest viewpoints and reports are host onIPnestas well as on Semiwikiand you can find information related to various Interface IP: USB 3.0, PCIe, SATA, DDRn, MIPI, HDMI and more.

Q: Eric, give us a quick introduction about your background as it relates to interface IP
A: I have spent 20 years workingRead More


USB 3.0 PHY Verification: how to manage AMS IP verification?

USB 3.0 PHY Verification: how to manage AMS IP verification?
by Eric Esteve on 10-18-2011 at 6:38 am

Very interesting question from Zahrein in this thread: “how to manage an embedded USB 3.0 PHY Verification”? To clearly position the problem, Zahrein need to run the RTL verification of a complete SoC integrating an USB 3.0 function, that is the Controller (digital) and the PHY (Analog Mixed Signal) embedded in the SoC. The question,… Read More


Conclusion of the USB 3.0 IP forecast from IPNEST… complimentary for SemiWiki readers

Conclusion of the USB 3.0 IP forecast from IPNEST… complimentary for SemiWiki readers
by Eric Esteve on 10-14-2011 at 10:40 am

Using the “Diffusion of Innovation” theory, we have built a forecast for the market of USB 3.0 IP in 2011-2015. In this new version of the report, we have inserted the actual revenues generated by USB 3.0 IP from different vendors, for 2009 and 2010, and reworked the 2011-2015 forecast. Initially, we had expected this IP market to … Read More


SuperSpeed USB finally take off! Synopsys claim over 40 USB 3.0 IP sales…

SuperSpeed USB finally take off! Synopsys claim over 40 USB 3.0 IP sales…
by Eric Esteve on 10-06-2011 at 9:06 am

SuperSpeed USB specification was released in November 2008! Even if we can see USB 3.0 powered peripherals shipping now, essentially external HDD, connected to PC equipped with Host Bus Adaptors (as PC chipset from Intel or AMD were not supporting USB 3.0), it will take up to the second quarter of 2012 before PC will be shipped withRead More


Cadence VIP Enables Users to be First-to-Market with Mobile Devices Leveraging Latest MIPI, LPDDR3 and USB 3.0 OTG Standards

Cadence VIP Enables Users to be First-to-Market with Mobile Devices Leveraging Latest MIPI, LPDDR3 and USB 3.0 OTG Standards
by Eric Esteve on 09-27-2011 at 1:56 am

The mobile devices market is simply exploding, with smartphones shipmentgoing up to the sky, tabletsemerging so fast that some people think it will replace PC (but this is still to be confirmed…). This lead mobile SoC designs to integrate increasingly more features, to support customer needs for more computing power and sophisticated… Read More


Synopsys STAR Webinar, embedded memory test and repair solutions

Synopsys STAR Webinar, embedded memory test and repair solutions
by Eric Esteve on 09-12-2011 at 8:16 am

The acquisitions of Virage Logic by Synopsys in 2010, have allowed building a stronger, diversified IP port-folio, including the embedded SRAM, embedded non-volatile memory and embedded test and repair solution. Looking back in time, I remember the end of the 80’s: at that time the up-to-date solution to embed SRAM in your ASIC… Read More


What changes to expect in Verification IP landscape after Synopsys acquisition of nSys?

What changes to expect in Verification IP landscape after Synopsys acquisition of nSys?
by Eric Esteve on 09-05-2011 at 4:53 am

Even if nSys acquisition by Synopsys will not have a major impact on Synopsys’ balance sheet, it is a kind of earthquake in the Verification market landscape. After the Denali acquisition by Cadence in 2010, nSys was most probably the market leader in verification IP, if we look at the independent VIP providers (excluding Cadence).… Read More