DSP and AI are generally considered separate disciplines with different application solutions. In their early stages (before programmable processors), DSP implementations were discrete, built around a digital multiplier-accumulator (MAC). AI inference implementations also build on a MAC as their primitive. If the interconnect… Read More
Semiconductor Intellectual Property
Memory Solutions for Modem, EdgeAI, Smart IoT and Wearables Applications
Memories have always played a critical role, both in pushing the envelope on the semiconductor process development front and supporting the varied requirements of different applications and use-cases. The list of the various types of memories in use today runs long. At a gross level, we can classify memories into volatile or … Read More
Alphawave Semi Showcases 3nm Connectivity Solutions and Chiplet-Enabled Platforms for High Performance Data Center Applications
There were quite a few announcements at the TSMC Technical Symposium last week but the most important, in my opinion, were based on TSMC N3 tape-outs. Not only is N3 the leading 3nm process it is the only one in mass production which is why all of the top tier semiconductor companies are using it. TSMC N3 will be the most successful node… Read More
Formal-based RISC-V processor verification gets deeper than simulation
The flexibility of RISC-V processor IP allows much freedom to meet specific requirements – but it also opens the potential for many bugs created during the design process. Advanced processor features are especially prone to errors, increasing the difficulty and time needed for thorough verification. Born out of necessity, … Read More
CEO Interview: Ravi Thummarukudy of Mobiveil
Mobiveil Marks 11th Anniversary
Ravi Thummarukudy is Mobiveil’s Chief Executive Officer and a founder. He and I recently spent an enjoyable afternoon getting acquainted as I learned more about Mobiveil. It’s an inspiring story of a technology company in the semiconductor space helping customers and prospering.
Eleven-year-old… Read More
Configurable RISC-V core sidesteps cache misses with 128 fetches
Modern CPU performance hinges on keeping a processor’s pipeline fed so it executes operations on every tick of the clock, typically using abundant multi-level caching. However, a crop of cache-busting applications is looming, like AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications running on big data sets. Semidynamics… Read More
Synopsys Accelerates First-Pass Silicon Success for Banias Labs’ Networking SoC
Banias Labs is a semiconductor company that develops infrastructure solutions for next-generation communications. Its target market is the high-performance computing infrastructure market including hyperscale data center, networking, AI, optical module, and Ethernet switch SoCs for emerging high-performance computing… Read More
Design IP Sales Grew 20.2% in 2022 after 19.4% in 2021 and 16.7% in 2020!
Design IP revenues had achieved $6.67B in 2022, after $5.56B in 2021, or 20.2% growth after 19.4% in 2021 and 16.7% in 2020. IPnest has released the “Design IP Report” in April 2023, ranking IP vendors by category (CPU, DSP, GPU & ISP, Wired Interface, SRAM Memory Compiler, Flash Memory Compiler, Library and I/O, AMS, Wireless… Read More
Taking the Risk out of Developing Your Own RISC-V Processor with Fast, Architecture-Driven, PPA Optimization
Are you developing or thinking about developing your own RISC-V processor? You’re not alone. The use of the RISC-V ISA to develop processors for SoCs is a growing trend. RISC-V offers a lot of flexibility with the ability to customize or create ISA and microarchitectural extensions to differentiate your design no matter your application… Read More
Feeding the Growing Hunger for Bandwidth with High-Speed Ethernet
The increasing demands for massive amounts of data are driving high-performance computing (HPC) to advance the pace in the High-speed Ethernet world. This in turn, is increasing the levels of complexity when designing networking SoCs like switches, retimers, and pluggable modules. This growth is accelerating the need for … Read More
MediaTek Develops Chip Utilizing TSMC’s 2nm Process, Achieving Milestones in Performance and Power Efficiency