Bringing Hierarchy to DFT

Bringing Hierarchy to DFT
by Tom Simon on 01-30-2020 at 6:00 am

Tessent Hierarchical Flow

Hierarchy is nearly universally used in the SoC design process to help manage complexity. Dealing with flat logical or physical designs proved unworkable decades ago. However, there were a few places in the flow where flat tools continued to be used. Mentor lead the pack in the years around 1999 in helping the industry move from … Read More


Specialized Accelerators Needed for Cloud Based ML Training

Specialized Accelerators Needed for Cloud Based ML Training
by Tom Simon on 01-27-2020 at 10:00 am

AI Domain Specific Processor

The use of machine learning (ML) to solve complex problems that could not previously be addressed by traditional computing is expanding at an accelerating rate. Even with advances in neural network design, ML’s efficiency and accuracy are highly dependent on the training process. The methods used for training evolved from CPU… Read More


Mixel Makes Major Move on MIPI D-PHY v2.5

Mixel Makes Major Move on MIPI D-PHY v2.5
by Tom Simon on 01-09-2020 at 10:00 am

D PHY Arcitecure

The MIPI Alliance has been running hard since 2003 to stay on top of the changes in the mobile industry. MIPI now has 250 member companies and 12 active working groups, all focused on creating standards for connecting the building blocks in mobile systems. MIPI based interfaces are now used in cars, drones, IoT devices, and of course… Read More


Network on Chip Brings Big Benefits to FPGAs

Network on Chip Brings Big Benefits to FPGAs
by Tom Simon on 12-19-2019 at 10:00 am

NAPs provide connection to high speed NoC

The conventional thinking about programmable solutions such as FPGAs is that you have to be willing to make a lot of trade-offs for their flexibility. This has certainly been the case in many instances. Even just getting data across the chip can eat up valuable routing resources and add a lot of overhead. These problems are exacerbated… Read More


Full Solution for eMRAM Coming in 2020

Full Solution for eMRAM Coming in 2020
by Tom Simon on 12-19-2019 at 6:00 am

Trimming for eMRAM in Tessent

It’s amazing to think that Apollo moon mission used computers that were based on magnetic core memories. Of course, CMOS memories superseded them rapidly. However, over the decades since, memory technologies have advanced significantly, in terms of density, power and new types of technologies, e.g NAND Flash. Ever since the… Read More


IP to SoC Flow Critical for ISO 26262

IP to SoC Flow Critical for ISO 26262
by Tom Simon on 12-17-2019 at 6:00 am

IP integration flow for functional safety

In thinking about automotive electronics safety standards, such as ISO 26262, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that they are in reference to systems such as autonomous driving, which are entering the marketplace. In reality, functional safety in automotive electronics plays a significant role in many well-established automotive… Read More


New Generation of FPGA Based Distributed Accelerator Cards Offer High Performance and Adaptability

New Generation of FPGA Based Distributed Accelerator Cards Offer High Performance and Adaptability
by Tom Simon on 12-05-2019 at 10:00 am

Achronix FPGA used on BittWare Accelerator Card

We have learned from nature that two characteristics are helpful for success, diversity and adaptability. The same has been shown to be true for computing systems. Things have come a long way from when CPU centric computing was the only choice. Much heavy lifting these days is done by GPUs, ASICs, and FPGAs, with CPUs in a support … Read More


Webinar on coping with the complexities of 3D NAND design

Webinar on coping with the complexities of 3D NAND design
by Tom Simon on 12-03-2019 at 10:00 am

In order to beat Moore’s Law NAND Flash memories have moved from a planar topology to 3D construction. This allows for increased memory sized in much the same way a multistory building provides more building square footage on the same size building lot. Just like in building construction, adding a third dimension to the mix increases… Read More


Mentor unpacks LVS and LVL issues around advanced packaging

Mentor unpacks LVS and LVL issues around advanced packaging
by Tom Simon on 11-26-2019 at 6:00 am

Innovations in packaging have played an important role in improving system performance and area utilization. Advances like 2.5D interposers and fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) have allowed mixed dies to be used in a single package and have dramatically reduced the number of connections that need to go all the way to the… Read More


MIPI gaining traction in vehicle ADAS and ADS

MIPI gaining traction in vehicle ADAS and ADS
by Tom Simon on 11-21-2019 at 10:00 am

I am old enough to remember when cars did not come with air conditioning unless you purchased it as an option. Of course, now you can’t even find a car that doesn’t come with air conditioning. So, it goes with Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). They are becoming more and more common and will certainly become baseline features… Read More