By any measure analog circuit design is a difficult and complex process. This point is driven home in a recent webinar by MunEDA. Michael Pronath, VP Products and Solutions at MunEDA, lays out why, even with the assistance of simulators, analog circuit sizing and tuning can consume weeks of time in what can potentially be a non-convergent… Read More
Electronic Design Automation
Podcast EP50: Perforce at DAC
Dan and Mike are joined by Simon Butler, general manager of the Methodics Business Unit at Perforce. Some history of DAC is discussed; what it’s like attending the show both as a small company and a larger one. The products Perforce will showcase at DAC this year are then discussed, The breadth of technology to support design… Read More
Synopsys Expands into Silicon Lifecycle Management
I spoke with Steve Pateras of Synopsys last week to better understand what was happening with their Silicon Lifecycle Management vision, and I was reminded of a Forbes article from last year: Never Heard of Silicon Lifecycle Management? Join the Club. At least two major EDA vendors are now using the relatively new acronym SLM, and… Read More
Register Management is the Foundation of Every Chip
Virtually every chip today runs software. And that software needs to interact with and control the hardware on the chip. There are typically many interfaces to manage as well as dedicated hardware accelerators to coordinate. In fact, many of those hardware accelerators are present only to support the execution of the software… Read More
Siemens EDA Automotive Insights, for Analysts
There is a classical approach to EDA marketing, and semiconductor marketing at times, which aims exclusively at technical customers and the businesspeople immediately around those experts. The style is understandable and necessary. Those folks are the direct influencers and buyers of the products we are promoting, so we must… Read More
Tessent Streaming Scan Network Brings Hierarchical Scan Test into the Modern Age
Remember when you had to use dial up internet or parallel printer cables connected directly to the printer to print something? Well even if you don’t remember these things, you know that now there is a better way. Regrettably, the prevalent methods used for hierarchical Design for Test (DFT) still look at lot like this – SoC level … Read More
Battery Sipping HiFi DSP Offers Always-On Sensor Fusion
Earbuds are one of the fastest growing market segments, which is creating the need for audio DSPs with higher performance and a smaller energy footprint. More than just being wireless speakers – earbuds, and wearables for that matter, have become a sophisticated extension of the user interface of phones and laptops, etc.… Read More
Minimizing MCU Supply Chain Grief
I doubt there is anyone who hasn’t felt the impact of supply chain problems, from late ecommerce deliveries (weeks) to kitchen appliances (up to 6 months or more). Perhaps no industry has been more affected than auto makers, whose cars are now critically dependent on advanced electronics. According to a white paper recently released… Read More
Podcast EP47: A Chat with Industry Legend Joe Costello
Dan and Mike are joined by EDA legend Joe Costello. Joe discusses his perspective on the state of the EDA industry and what opportunities and challenges lie ahead, He also gives a preview of the keynote he will present at the upcoming Design Automation Conference.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these… Read More
Webinar: Boosting Analog IC Layout Productivity
Digital IC designers use a well-known methodology with pre-designed standard cells and other IP blocks playing a major re-use role, however in the analog IC design world there are more nuanced requirements which often dictate that a new analog block be highly customized. The downside is that customizing analog IC layout takes… Read More
A Quick Tour Through Prompt Engineering as it Might Apply to Debug