When contemplating the Lego-like hardware and software structure of a leading system-on-chip (SoC) design, a mathematically inclined mind might marvel at the tantalizing array of combinatorial possibilities among its hardware and software components. In contrast, the engineering team tasked with its validation may have… Read More
Electronic Design Automation
Accelerating Electric Vehicle Development – Through Integrated Design Flow for Power Modules
The development of electric vehicles (EVs) is key to transitioning to sustainable transportation. However, designing high-performance EVs presents significant challenges, particularly in power module design. Power modules, including inverters, bulky DC capacitors, power management ICs (PMICs), and battery packs, … Read More
A Master Class with Ansys and Synopsys, The Latest Advances in Multi-Die Design
2.5D and 3D multi-die design is rapidly moving into the mainstream for many applications. HPC, GPU, mobile, and AI/ML are application areas that have seen real benefits. The concept of “mix/match” for chips and chiplets to form a complex system sounds deceptively simple. In fact, the implementation and analysis techniques required… Read More
Innexis Product Suite: Driving Shift Left in IC Design and Systems Development
At the heart of the shift-left strategy is the goal of moving traditionally late-stage tasks—such as software development, validation, and optimization—earlier in the design process. This proactive approach allows teams to identify and resolve issues before they escalate, reducing costly rework and shortening the overall… Read More
How Breker is Helping to Solve the RISC-V Certification Problem
RISC-V cores are popping up everywhere. The growth of this open instruction set architecture (ISA) was quite evident at the recent RISC-V summit. You can check out some of the RISC-V buzz on SemiWiki here. While all this is quite exciting and encouraging, there are hurdles to face before true prime-time, ubiquitous application… Read More
MZ Technologies is Breaking Down 3D-IC Design Barriers with GENIO
3D-IC design can be both exciting and frustrating. It’s exciting because it opens a new world of innovation possibilities – opportunities that aren’t constrained by the rules of monolithic chip scaling. It can be frustrating because of the large array of complex technical challenges that must be overcome to make this new paradigm… Read More
Compiler Tuning for Simulator Speedup. Innovation in Verification
Modern simulators map logic designs into software to compile for native execution on target hardware. Can this compile step be further optimized? Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Raúl Camposano (Silicon Catalyst, entrepreneur, former Synopsys CTO and now Silvaco CTO) and I continue our series on research ideas.… Read More
Cadence Paints a Broad Canvas in Automotive
Cadence recently launched a webinar series on trends and challenges in automotive design. They contribute through IP from their Silicon Solutions Group, a comprehensive spectrum of design tooling and through collaborative development within a wide partner ecosystem. This collaboration aims to support and advance progress… Read More
Relationships with IP Vendors
An animated panel discussion Design Automation Conference in June offered up a view of the state of RISC-V and open-source functional verification and a wealth of good material for a three-part blog post series.
Parts One and Two covered a range of topics from microcontroller versus more general-purpose processor versus running… Read More
The Immensity of Software Development and the Challenges of Debugging Series (Part 4 of 4)
The Impact of AI on Software and Hardware Development
Part 4 of this series analyzes how AI algorithmic processing is transforming software structures and significantly modifying processing hardware. It explores the marginalization of the traditional CPU architecture and demonstrates how software is increasingly dominating… Read More
Semiconductors Slowing in 2025