The Name Changes but the Vision Remains the Same – ESD Alliance Through the Years

The Name Changes but the Vision Remains the Same – ESD Alliance Through the Years
by Mike Gianfagna on 02-23-2026 at 6:00 am

The Name Changes but the Vision Remains the Same – ESD Alliance Through the Years

The Electronic System Design Alliance (ESDA) has been at the center of the EDA industry through its many changes over the years. It occurred to me that an update on this organization would be useful. ESDA is a technology community within SEMI and is managed primarily by a team of three who coordinate all its activities along with a … Read More


What is the 3nm Pessimism Wall and Why is it An Economic Crisis?

What is the 3nm Pessimism Wall and Why is it An Economic Crisis?
by Mike Gianfagna on 02-20-2026 at 8:00 am

What is the 3nm Pessimism Wall and Why is it An Economic Crisis?

Chip design is getting more difficult as technology advances. Everyone knows that. A lot of the discussion around these issues tends to focus on the demands posed by massive AI workloads and the challenges of shifting to heterogeneous multi-die design. While these create real problems, there is an underlying effect that is making… Read More


Samtec Ushers in a New Era of High-Speed Connectivity at DesignCon 2026

Samtec Ushers in a New Era of High-Speed Connectivity at DesignCon 2026
by Mike Gianfagna on 02-16-2026 at 10:00 am

Samtec Ushers in a New Era of High Speed Connectivity at DesignCon 2026

As I’ve discussed before, Samtec has a way of dominating every trade show the company participates in. The upcoming DesignCon event is no exception. At the show, Samtec will be discussing data rates up to 448 Gbps and signals up to 130 GHz. Beyond a rich set of demonstrations in the company’s booth, Samtec engineers will be participating… Read More


The Risk of Not Optimizing Clock Power

The Risk of Not Optimizing Clock Power
by Mike Gianfagna on 02-06-2026 at 6:00 am

The Risk of Not Optimizing Clock Power

Clock power is rarely the issue teams expect to limit advanced-node designs. Yet in many chips today, over-driven clock networks quietly consume disproportionate power, reduce thermal headroom, and can constrain achievable frequency. And all while passing traditional sign-off checks and often remaining locked in through… Read More


Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges: Jitter

Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges: Jitter
by Mike Gianfagna on 01-30-2026 at 6:00 am

Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges Jitter

Clock jitter rarely fails in obvious ways. In advanced-node designs, its impact is often indirect, emerging through subtle timing uncertainty, interaction with power delivery noise, and compounding effects across large clock networks. These behaviors can quietly erode margin and predictability, even when conventional… Read More


Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges: Duty Cycle

Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges: Duty Cycle
by Mike Gianfagna on 01-23-2026 at 6:00 am

Taming Advanced Node Clock Network Challenges – Duty Cycle Distortion

As process nodes advance, circuit behavior becomes progressively more challenging to analyze and predict. Few systems reflect this challenge more clearly than the clock network. These large, complex networks no longer behave as ideal digital signals. Instead, they operate as distributed electrical systems shaped by non-linear… Read More


Siemens EDA Illuminates the Complexity of PCB Design

Siemens EDA Illuminates the Complexity of PCB Design
by Mike Gianfagna on 01-19-2026 at 6:00 am

Siemens EDA Illuminates the Complexity of PCB Design

As heterogeneous multi-die design becomes more prevalent, the focus on advanced analysis has predictably shifted in that direction. While these challenges are important to overcome, we shouldn’t lose sight of how complete systems are built. Short and long reach communication channels, system-level power management and … Read More


Webinar: Why AI-Assisted Security Verification For Chip Design is So Important

Webinar: Why AI-Assisted Security Verification For Chip Design is So Important
by Mike Gianfagna on 01-09-2026 at 6:00 am

Why AI Assisted Security Verification For Chip Design is So Important

It is well-known that AI is everywhere, and the incredible power of this new technology is enabled by highly complex, purpose-built silicon. But there is a silent enemy of this substantial, world-changing progress. Something that has the power to steal a bright future from all of us. The hardware root of trust for those advanced… Read More


How vHelm Delivers an Optimized Clock Network

How vHelm Delivers an Optimized Clock Network
by Mike Gianfagna on 12-19-2025 at 6:00 am

How vHelm Delivers an Optimized Clock Network

In a prior post, I discussed how the clock is no longer just another signal at advanced nodes. Indeed, it is the most critical network on the chip. An optimized clock network can be the margin of victory for your next design. But extracting these benefits is challenging. The clock network is quite sensitive, and optimization can come… Read More