SSD memory is enjoying a new resurgence in datacenters through NVMe. Not as a replacement for more traditional HDD disk drives, which though slower are still much cheaper. NVMe storage has instead become a storage cache between hot DRAM memory close to processors and the “cold” HDD storage. I commented last year on why this has become… Read More
Electronic Design Automation
Update on Mentor’s Acquisition of Avatar Integrated Systems
Mentor Graphics, a Siemens Business, has completed their acquisition of EDA company Avatar Integrated Systems. I recently spoke with Joe Sawicki, Executive VP of the Mentor IC EDA segment, about the acquisition strategy and IC Design platform goals for integration of the Avatar products.
Avatar (formerly ATopTech) focused… Read More
Executive Interview: Vic Kulkarni of ANSYS
On the eve of the Innovative Designs Enabled by Ansys Semiconductor (IDEAS) Forum I spoke with Vic on a range of topics including his opening keynote: Accelerating Moore and Beyond Moore with Multiphysics. You can register here.
Vic Kulkarni is Vice President and Chief Strategist, Semiconductor Business Unit, Ansys, San Jose.… Read More
AI/ML SoCs Get a Boost from Synopsys IP on TSMC’s 7nm and 5nm
This is another installment covering TSMC’s very popular Open Innovation Platform event (OIP), held on August 25. This event presents a diverse and high-impact series of presentations describing how TSMC’s vast ecosystem collaborates with each other and with TSMC. The presentation covered here from Synopsys focuses on the… Read More
Bug Trace Minimization. Innovation in Verification
A checker tripped in verification. Is there a bug trace minimization technique to simplify manual debug? Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Jim Hogan and I continue our series to highlight all the great research that’s out there in verification. Feel free to comment.
The Innovation
This month’s pick is Simulation-Based… Read More
WEBINAR: UVM RISC-V and DV
Oh, our semiconductor industry just loves acronyms, and the title of my blog packs three of the most popular acronyms together at once. I attended a webinar hosted by Aldec last week on this topic, “UVM Simulation-based environment for Ibex RISC-V CPU core with Google RISC-V DV“. Verification engineers have been … Read More
The History and Physics of Cliosoft’s Academic Program!
It was a very late evening, perhaps 11 PM, on a warm summer night in 2008. Someone sent an email to info@cliosoft.com with a very odd question – why were we not listed in Wikipedia? The sender was a scientist working for the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Of course, this piqued my curiosity and I replied back asking why that concerns… Read More
Parallel-Based PHY IP for Die-to-Die Connectivity
Synopsys has released a Technical Bulletin entitled “Parallel-Based PHY IP for Die-to-Die Connectivity”. The piece is authored by Manuel Mota, senior product marketing manager, staff at Synopsys. Manuel has worked at Synopsys for 11 years in the IP area. Prior to that, he worked at MIPS Technologies, Chipidea (acquired… Read More
Anirudh CadenceLIVE Plays Up Computational Software
Cadence has clearly found its groove with Intelligent System Design, something that Lip-Bu reinforced in the CadenceLIVE kickoff keynote on Tuesday, August 11th. Anirudh Devgan, president of Cadence, continued to discuss the theme in his keynote on Wednesday, August 12th with his equally consistent subtitle—”Strength… Read More
Trusted IoT Ecosystem for Security – Created by the GSA and Chaired by Mentor/Siemens
There’s a lot to keep you awake at night these days. If you live in California, it’s wildfires and unbreathable air. If you live on planet Earth, it’s COVID-19. And if you’re part of the value chain for IoT, it’s the security and robustness of the silicon and software fabric that connects our world. This fabric connects everything,… Read More
Flynn Was Right: How a 2003 Warning Foretold Today’s Architectural Pivot