I wrote recently about a yield problem which mobile vendors have been finding for devices built in advanced technologies. This was a performance issue (the devices worked fine at lower clock speeds), pointing to a discrepancy in some devices between predicted and observed timing. These were experienced design teams, using state… Read More
Electronic Design Automation
ISO 26262: Automotive electronics safety gets an update in 2018
In the field of automotive electronics, the year 2011 was a long time ago. So, it is about time that the initial ISO 26262 specification that was adopted back then gets an update. The latest version will be known as ISO26262:2018 and will expand the scope of the original to cover more types of vehicles. It will add an entire section on… Read More
2018 Women in Engineering Achievement Award
Having spent my entire thirty plus year career in semiconductors and design enablement I have seen quite a change in diversity. When I first started I remember thinking that height and weight was the only diversity here in Silicon Valley. My wife really noticed it when she attended her first Design Automation Conference in 1985 … Read More
Virtuoso at CDNLive – A Press Briefing With Yuval Shay
At CDNLive Silicon Valley 2018, I talked with Yuval Shay, Director of Product Management of Cadence Custom IC & PCB Group to scope out some more details on the recent Virtuoso product refresh announced earlier in the morning by Cadence Sr. VP & GM of the same group, Tom Beckley.
Tom shared his view on enabling the fourth industrial… Read More
imec and Cadence on 3nm
One of the more frequent questions I get, “What is next after FinFETs?” is finally getting answered. Thankfully I am surrounded by experts in the process technology field including Scotten Jones of IC Knowledge. I am also surrounded by design enablement experts so I really am the man in the middle which brings us to a discussion between… Read More
Monitoring Process, Voltage and Temperature in SoCs, webinar recap
Have you ever wondered how process variation, thermal self-heating and Vdd levels affect the timing and yield of your SoC design? If you’re clock specification calls for 3GHz, while your silicon is only yielding at 2.4GHz, then you have a big problem on your hands. Such are the concerns of many modern day chip designers. To… Read More
Electrical Reliability Verification – Now At FullChip
Advanced process technology offers both device and interconnect scaling for increased design density and higher performance while invoking also significant implementation complexities. Aside from the performance, power and area (PPA) aspects, designer is getting entrenched with the need of tackling more reliability … Read More
Functional Safety in Delhi Traffic
While at DVCon I talked to Apurva Kalia (VP R&D in the System and Verification group at Cadence). He introduced me to the ultimate benchmark test for self-driving – an autonomous 3-wheeler driving in Delhi traffic. If you’ve never visited India, the traffic there is quite an experience. Vehicles of every type pack the roads … Read More
Mentor’s Approach to Automotive Electrical Design
Most of us continue to drive cars and for me there’s always been a fascination with all things electrical that go into the actual design of a car. I’ve done typical maintenance tasks on my cars over the years like changing the battery, installing a new radio, replacing bulbs, changing a fuse, swapping out dashboard lights,… Read More
The Intention View: Disruptive Innovation for Analog Design
Intento Design builds responsive analog EDA. The ID-Xplore tool is used for analog design acceleration and technology porting at the functional level, helping companies move analog IP quickly between technology nodes and across business units. The Intention view is a simple, elegant, and powerful concept that gives the speed… Read More


The Name Changes but the Vision Remains the Same – ESD Alliance Through the Years