Mentor Moves to Enter IoT Fray

Mentor Moves to Enter IoT Fray
by Tom Simon on 01-09-2015 at 7:00 am

In December I signed up for an IoT “lunch and learn” hosted by Mentor Graphics. There were a number of surprising things about the session. The first and most obvious is that it was really a “breakfast-to-lunch and learn”. Starting at 9AM and going through the end of lunch, it was packed full of ‘learning.’ It was also packed full of … Read More


Coventor Panel at IEDM Digs into Variation Issues

Coventor Panel at IEDM Digs into Variation Issues
by Tom Simon on 01-05-2015 at 7:00 pm

Recently I attended a panel discussion on variability in semiconductor fabrication hosted by Coventor in conjunction with the IEEE IEDM conference in San Francisco. The IEEE bills the conference as “the world’s pre-eminent forum for reporting technological breakthroughs in the areas of semiconductor and electronic device… Read More


ANSYS Updates RedHawk for FinFET Nodes

ANSYS Updates RedHawk for FinFET Nodes
by Tom Simon on 12-30-2014 at 7:00 am

Most designers are not using FinFETs yet, however the increased transistor density and power advantages they offer are compelling. Smaller feature sizes have been a consistent driver in semiconductor technology. Eventually the market will move more and more to FinFET processes, increasingly leaving behind planar transistors.… Read More


Why an Arduino Gift Might Make Your Holiday Shopping Easier

Why an Arduino Gift Might Make Your Holiday Shopping Easier
by Tom Simon on 12-18-2014 at 7:00 pm

If you happen to still be looking for a Christmas gift for a tech savvy youth, the answer to your search may be an Arduino. This funny sounding word is the name for a family of easy to use low cost circuit boards and related items used to build projects that contain a microcontroller. With an Arduino it is possible to build projects with… Read More


IoT Financial Outlook

IoT Financial Outlook
by Tom Simon on 12-04-2014 at 7:00 am

As exciting as the Internet of Things (IoT) is, the question of how and which companies stand to make money in this market remains. From previous waves of internet markets we have seen surprising wins and epic loses. How is the IoT market shaping up? And what are the real business drivers? According to a Silicon Valley Bank analysisRead More


Mentor Aims to Improve Yield and Production Ramp for PCBs

Mentor Aims to Improve Yield and Production Ramp for PCBs
by Tom Simon on 11-24-2014 at 7:00 am

Getting a printed circuit board from design and into production presents one of the biggest challenges in successfully launching a product. The designer’s job is to anticipate issues that can adversely affect PCB fabrication and assembly. Design rules and component libraries go part of the way, but there is a thicket of things… Read More


Bluetooth Smart Crashes IoT Party

Bluetooth Smart Crashes IoT Party
by Tom Simon on 11-07-2014 at 7:00 pm

When you hear the term Internet of Things the first image that comes to mind is, well, a lot of things talking over TCP/IP, maybe using WiFi or god forbid Ethernet. But upon closer examination it seems that Bluetooth is crashing the IoT party. This was driven home for me when my girlfriend gave me a FitBit Flex. For those unfamiliar, … Read More


Improving Verification by Combining Emulation with ABV

Improving Verification by Combining Emulation with ABV
by Tom Simon on 10-30-2014 at 4:00 pm

Chip deadlines and the time to achieve sufficient verification coverage run continuously in a tight loop like a dog chasing its tail. Naturally it is exciting when innovative technologies can be combined so that verification can gain an advantage. Software based design simulators have been the mainstay of verification methodologies.… Read More


Maker Movement Embraced by Major Semiconductor Companies

Maker Movement Embraced by Major Semiconductor Companies
by Tom Simon on 10-09-2014 at 10:00 pm

How the Arduino Changed Embedded System Development Forever

In 2005 with the development of the Arduino, everything changed for people building things that required a microcontroller. The Arduino brought with it a low price standard, and open, hardware platform and an easy to use open source development environment. It was … Read More


Silicon Measurement Data Gives Insights to Using Metal Fill With Inductors

Silicon Measurement Data Gives Insights to Using Metal Fill With Inductors
by Tom Simon on 08-27-2014 at 4:00 pm

Metal fill requirements for inductors are now a fact of life. Fill has long been seen as detrimental to device performance due to parasitic capacitance. The necessity of fill arises from the need to ensure planarization of dielectric layers by using chemical mechanical polishing. Without adequate fill, areas of the chip can suffer… Read More