For decades, digital test has been fully automated including methodologies and automation for test pattern generation, grading and test time compression. Automation for analog and mixed-signal (AMS) IC test has not however kept pace. This is troubling as according to IBSapproximately 85% of SoC design starts are now AMS designs.… Read More
Electronic Design Automation
Embedded Agility
A familiar refrain in software development, as much as in hardware development, is that the size and complexity of projects continues to grow as schedules shrink and expectations of quality can increase dramatically. A common approach to managing this challenge in software programs is agile development practices and one aspect… Read More
Solido DA is One of Deloitte’s Fastest 50!
As a longtime EDA professional this really made my day. At a time where emerging EDA companies struggle for public validation, it warms my heart to see some very public recognition for an EDA job well done.
Deloitte, a leading Canadian professional financial services firm, announced the winners of their Technology Fast 50 program… Read More
Ford Motors Discusses Future Mobility Trends at Synopsys Seminar
Five or ten years ago it would have been hard to imagine someone from Ford Motors giving the keynote at a technology summit at a major EDA company like Synopsys. However, on November 2[SUP]nd[/SUP], Synopsys hosted a seminar on the topic of Automotive Architecture Design and System Testing, and Ford Technical Fellow Jim Buczkowski… Read More
IC Design Management: Build or Buy?
When I first started doing circuit design with Intel at the transistor level back in the late 1970’s we had exactly two EDA tools at our disposal: an internally developed SPICE circuit simulator, and a commercial IC layout system. Over the years at Intel the internal CAD group added many more automation tools: gate level simulator,… Read More
FPGAs allow customization of SEU mitigation
Teams working on avionics, space-based electronics, weapons delivery systems, nuclear generating plants, medical imaging equipment, and other applications where radiation leads to single-event upsets (SEU) are already sensitive to functional safety requirements. What about automotive applications?
With electronic… Read More
Improving on EMACS for VHDL Creation
OK – I admit I titled this piece as clickbait. There is a core of designers for whom belief in the supremacy of EMACS for RTL creation comes close to religion. Some will read only the title and jump immediately to penning searing comments questioning my intelligence, experience, parenthood and ability to tie my own shoes. Some, I hope,… Read More
Quality in Hard IP
I was CTO at Atrenta, home of SpyGlass, for many years before the company was acquired by Synopsys, so I know a thing or two about IP quality, to paraphrase a popular commercial. The problem is that even in the best-run IP shops, errors happen. Sometimes they happen on simple changes, especially when you think “This IP has been very … Read More
3 in 1 Hardware Verification
Aldec has offered front-end EDA tools for over 30 years but may not be a familiar name to mainstream IC design engineers. That’s probably because for most that period they haven’t really targeted IC design. They have been much more focused on PC-based design for FPGAs particularly where requirements traceability has been important,… Read More
CEO Interview: Chouki Aktouf of Defacto Technologies
As a 30+ year semiconductor veteran I can tell you with 100% certainty that start-ups are the lifeblood of EDA. The mantra is “Innovate or Die!” and that is exactly what Defacto is doing. After more than 10 years of innovating in Design for Test at RTL, Defacto is now offering a complete EDA solution based on generic EDA… Read More


AI RTL Generation versus AI RTL Verification