Overcoming the Challenges of Creating Custom SoCs for IoT

Overcoming the Challenges of Creating Custom SoCs for IoT
by Mitch Heins on 06-30-2017 at 7:00 am

As the Internet of Things (IoT) opportunities continues to expand, companies are working hard to bring System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions to market in the hopes of garnering market share and revenue. However, it’s not as easy as it may first seem. Companies are running into a series of issues that stand between them and capturing the… Read More


TSMC Unveils More Details of Automotive Design Enablement Platform

TSMC Unveils More Details of Automotive Design Enablement Platform
by Mitch Heins on 06-28-2017 at 7:00 am

At this year’s Design Automation Conference (DAC), TSMC unveiled more details about the design enablement platforms that were introduced at their 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] annual TSMC Technology Symposium earlier this year. I attended a presentation on TSMC’s Automotive Enablement Platform held at the Cadence Theater where TSMC’s… Read More


Open-Silicon SerDes TCoE Enables Successful Delivery of ASICs for Next-generation, High-Speed Systems

Open-Silicon SerDes TCoE Enables Successful Delivery of ASICs for Next-generation, High-Speed Systems
by Mitch Heins on 06-26-2017 at 12:00 pm

With 5G cellular networks just around the corner, there is an ever-increasing number of companies working to bring faster communications chips to the market. Data centers are now deploying 100G to handle the increased bandwidth requirements, typically in the form of four 28Gbps channels and that means ASIC designers are looking… Read More


Photonics at DAC – Integrated Electronic/Photonic Design Flow to be Presented at Cadence Theater

Photonics at DAC – Integrated Electronic/Photonic Design Flow to be Presented at Cadence Theater
by Mitch Heins on 06-09-2017 at 12:00 pm


I recently wrote an article on SemiWiki talking about the integrated Electronic/Photonic Design Automation (EPDA) flow that is being developed by Cadence Design Systems, Lumerical Solutions and PhoeniX Software and how that flow is now expanding into the system level through SiP (system in package) techniques.

Up till recently,… Read More


ClioSoft & DAC : Booth 613 – Collaborative Design, Design Data & IP Management and Design Reuse

ClioSoft & DAC : Booth 613 – Collaborative Design, Design Data & IP Management and Design Reuse
by Mitch Heins on 06-06-2017 at 7:00 am


It’s time again to gather for the next Design Automation Conference (DAC). This will be the 54[SUP]th[/SUP] such meeting and this year it runs from June 19[SUP]th[/SUP] – 21[SUP]st[/SUP] in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin Texas. Put on your best duds, boots and cowboy hat and make your way to Texas.

While you are there … Read More


AIM Photonics Catching Its Stride as They Move into 2nd Year

AIM Photonics Catching Its Stride as They Move into 2nd Year
by Mitch Heins on 06-02-2017 at 7:00 am

AIM Photonics held its 2017 Proposers Meetings on May 24[SUP]th[/SUP] in Rochester, NY. The meetings included a review of AIM’s progress and strategic direction by their TRB (technical review board) and a session targeted at PIC (photonic integrated circuit) design for multi-project wafer (MPW) runs. While these discussions… Read More


Dear Cadence: Calibre Didn’t Run Any Dracula Decks

Dear Cadence: Calibre Didn’t Run Any Dracula Decks
by Mitch Heins on 05-04-2017 at 2:00 pm

After reading the Cadence blog post –Dracula, Vampire, Assura, PVS: A Brief History” – Dr. Andrew Moore has written the below article where he helps readers get a sense as to what “the year of hell” was like, from one of the key individuals who lived it. Andrew also addresses and corrects some of the “urban legends”Read More


Scaling Enterprise Potential with ClioSoft’s designHUB platform

Scaling Enterprise Potential with ClioSoft’s designHUB platform
by Mitch Heins on 05-02-2017 at 10:00 am

I’ve had the privilege over the years to be a part of a lot of great companies, teams and projects. Some of these efforts were quite successful while others were not. It begs the question of why is it so hard to enable design reuse and capture the untapped potential of the collective intelligence within our companies? Up till now, companies… Read More


NetSpeed Taking a Ride with Autonomous Automobiles

NetSpeed Taking a Ride with Autonomous Automobiles
by Mitch Heins on 04-24-2017 at 12:00 pm

The push for autonomous automobiles continues at a rapid pace. Last week a new conference was held in Santa Clara, CA by the Linley Group focused on Autonomous Hardware. The group included presentations from GLOBAL FOUNDRIES, Synopsys, NetSpeed Systems, Arteris, EMBC, Cadence, CEVA, ARM and Trilumina covering ADAS and autonomous… Read More


Integrated Photonics Accelerates with Entrance of TSMC and TowerJazz Foundries

Integrated Photonics Accelerates with Entrance of TSMC and TowerJazz Foundries
by Mitch Heins on 04-05-2017 at 12:00 pm


I’m writing this from the Boston airport on my way home from four straight weeks of PIC (photonic integrated circuit) related travel. It’s been a grueling but very rewarding four weeks and the big take away from this month is that there are now many more signs in the market that integrated photonics is reaching a real tipping point.… Read More