2D NoC Based FPGAs Valuable for SmartNIC Implementation

2D NoC Based FPGAs Valuable for SmartNIC Implementation
by Tom Simon on 12-29-2021 at 6:00 am

2D NoC SmartNIC

Smart network interface cards (SmartNICs) have proven themselves valuable in improving network efficiency. According to Scott Schweitzer, senior product manager at Achronix, it has been shown that SmartNICs can relieve up to – and perhaps beyond – 30% of the host processor’s loading. SmartNICs started out taking… Read More


Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal’s Keynote on 3D-IC at Samsung SAFE Forum

Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal’s Keynote on 3D-IC at Samsung SAFE Forum
by Tom Simon on 12-09-2021 at 10:00 am

Ajei Gopal talks about 3D IC

System on chip (SoC) based design has long been recognized as a powerful method to offer product differentiation through higher performance and expanded functionality. Yet, it comes with a number of limitations, such as high cost of development.  Also, SoCs are monolithic, which can inhibit rapid adaptation in the face of changing… Read More


Webinar on Dealing with the Pain Points of AI/ML Hardware

Webinar on Dealing with the Pain Points of AI/ML Hardware
by Tom Simon on 12-07-2021 at 6:00 am

Achronix FPGA for AI/ML

Ever increasing data handling demands make creating hardware for many applications extremely difficult. In an upcoming webinar Achronix, a leading supplier of FPGA’s, talks about the data handling requirements for AI/ML applications – which are growing at perhaps one of the highest rates of all. Just looking at all data… Read More


Enlisting Entropy to Generate Secure SoC Root Keys

Enlisting Entropy to Generate Secure SoC Root Keys
by Tom Simon on 12-06-2021 at 6:00 am

NVM attacks

Most methods of securing SOCs involve storing a root key that provides the basis of all derived keys and encryption of communication. The weakness with these methods is that even if the root key is stored in secure non-volatile memory, there are often methods to read the key. Once a key has been divulged the device can be cloned and … Read More


Low Power High Performance PCIe SerDes IP for Samsung Silicon

Low Power High Performance PCIe SerDes IP for Samsung Silicon
by Tom Simon on 12-02-2021 at 10:00 am

SerDes IP for PCIe

No matter how impressive the specifications are for an SoC, the power performance and area of the finished design all depend on the IP selected for the IO blocks. In particular, most SOCs designed for consumer and enterprise applications rely heavily on PCI Express. Because PCIe analog IP is critical to design success, Samsung … Read More


Big Data Helps Boost PDN Sign Off Coverage

Big Data Helps Boost PDN Sign Off Coverage
by Tom Simon on 11-28-2021 at 8:00 am

PDN Sign Off

The nearly unavoidable truth about dynamic voltage drop (DVD) signoff for power distribution networks (PDN) is that the quality of results depends on the quality and quantity of the vectors used to activate the circuit switching. As SOCs grow larger and are implemented on smaller nodes, the challenges of sufficient coverage … Read More


WEBINAR: Using Design Porting as a Method to Access Foundry Capacity

WEBINAR: Using Design Porting as a Method to Access Foundry Capacity
by Tom Simon on 11-24-2021 at 8:00 am

Schematic Porting the NanoBeacon

There have always been good reasons to port designs to new foundries or processes. These reasons have included reusing IP in new projects, moving an entire design to a smaller node to improve PPA, or second sourcing manufacturing. While there can be many potential business motivations for any of the above, in today’s environment… Read More


Numerical Sizing and Tuning Shortens Analog Design Cycles

Numerical Sizing and Tuning Shortens Analog Design Cycles
by Tom Simon on 11-22-2021 at 6:00 am

Sizing and tuning

By any measure analog circuit design is a difficult and complex process. This point is driven home in a recent webinar by MunEDA. Michael Pronath, VP Products and Solutions at MunEDA, lays out why, even with the assistance of simulators, analog circuit sizing and tuning can consume weeks of time in what can potentially be a non-convergent… Read More


Tessent Streaming Scan Network Brings Hierarchical Scan Test into the Modern Age

Tessent Streaming Scan Network Brings Hierarchical Scan Test into the Modern Age
by Tom Simon on 11-15-2021 at 10:00 am

Streaming Scan Network

Remember when you had to use dial up internet or parallel printer cables connected directly to the printer to print something? Well even if you don’t remember these things, you know that now there is a better way. Regrettably, the prevalent methods used for hierarchical Design for Test (DFT) still look at lot like this – SoC level … Read More


Battery Sipping HiFi DSP Offers Always-On Sensor Fusion

Battery Sipping HiFi DSP Offers Always-On Sensor Fusion
by Tom Simon on 11-11-2021 at 10:00 am

HiFi DSP

Earbuds are one of the fastest growing market segments, which is creating the need for audio DSPs with higher performance and a smaller energy footprint. More than just being wireless speakers – earbuds, and wearables for that matter, have become a sophisticated extension of the user interface of phones and laptops, etc.… Read More