PDK Generation Needs Paradigm Shift

PDK Generation Needs Paradigm Shift
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-28-2015 at 4:00 pm

For any semiconductor technology node to be adopted in actual semiconductor designs, the very first step is to have a Process Design Kit (PDK) developed for that particular technology node and qualified through several design tools used in the design flow. The development of PDK has not been easy; it’s a tedious, time consuming,… Read More


Growing Innovation in Modern PCB Design Tools

Growing Innovation in Modern PCB Design Tools
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-26-2015 at 7:00 am

In last 30+ years, the electronic design industry has seen rapid changes more than any other industry. The change has taken place in the whole electronic ecosystem including semiconductor technology, transistor design, IC / SoC design, PCB, and system design. Today, a PCB can be very complex connecting several heterogeneous… Read More


Shift-West of Semicon Power Centers

Shift-West of Semicon Power Centers
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-23-2015 at 5:00 pm

It’s true that Japan was once the center of semiconductor business and we were carrying on with that perception until recently. In 1990, six out of top10 semiconductor companies (excluding pure-play foundries) were in Japan; and 59% of worldwide semiconductor market was concentrated with the top10 companies. The semiconductor… Read More


How is Trillion Sensors by 2025 Panning Out?

How is Trillion Sensors by 2025 Panning Out?
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-21-2015 at 7:00 pm

From several literatures, talks in the semiconductor industry, forecasts, and BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), specifically in the context of IoT (Internet of Things) and IoE (Internet of Everything), we have been looking forward to a world with over a trillion sensors around us. I recollect (produced below) from an impressive… Read More


A Comprehensive Power Optimization Solution

A Comprehensive Power Optimization Solution
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-20-2015 at 7:00 am

In an electronic world driven by smaller devices packed with larger functions, power becomes a critical factor to manage. With power consumption leading to heat dissipation issues, reliability of the device can be affected, if not controlled or the device not cooled. Moreover, for mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets… Read More


Successful Venture of an Indian Global VIP Company

Successful Venture of an Indian Global VIP Company
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-17-2015 at 10:00 am

It’s rare that we find a truly Indian-based company operating globally in the semiconductor space. Although the ‘gold rush’ towards IP development in the last decade initiated many IP start-ups in India, today we rarely find Indian IP company names which are shining in the global arena. The story of services companies is different,… Read More


ANSYS Enters the League of 10nm Designs with TSMC

ANSYS Enters the League of 10nm Designs with TSMC
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-09-2015 at 7:00 pm

The way we are seeing technology progression these days is unprecedented. It’s just about six months ago, I had written about the intense collaboration between ANSYSand TSMCon the 16nm FinFET based design flow and TSMC certifying ANSYS tools for TSMC 16nm FF+ technology and also conferring ANSYS with “Partner of the Year” award.… Read More


US is the Ultimate Leader in Semiconductor Business

US is the Ultimate Leader in Semiconductor Business
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-07-2015 at 6:00 pm

Last year in November when I looked at the world’s top20 semiconductor companies with Samsungand TSMCbeing at the second and third rank respectively, first being Intel, I computed the sales numbers of the companies based on their countries and found that Taiwan and South Korea accounted for 34.5% of the total sales of the top20 … Read More


How Pebble Reinitiated the Inning for Smartwatch

How Pebble Reinitiated the Inning for Smartwatch
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-06-2015 at 7:00 pm

The effort for adding phone function into watch had started much earlier in 1999 when several tech companies joined the crusade to enter the big watch market. Notable among them were Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, Fossiland Sony Ericsson. The effort lasted for about a decade before showing its signs of fatigue. Microsoft SPOT (Smart… Read More


Security All Around in SoCs at DAC

Security All Around in SoCs at DAC
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-06-2015 at 12:00 am

Last month I was on my way to write a detailed article on important aspects to look at while designing an SoC. This was important in the new context of modern SoCs that go much beyond the traditional power, performance and area (PPA) requirements. I had about 12-13 parameters in my list that I couldn’t cover in one go, so I put the write-up… Read More