Unreachability (UNR) analysis, finding and definitively proving that certain states in a design cannot possibly be covered in testing, should be a wildly popular component in all verification plans. When the coverage needle stubbornly refuses to move, where should you focus testing creativity while avoiding provably untestable… Read More
TSMC N3E is ready for designs, thanks to IP from Synopsys
TSMC has been offering foundry services since 1987, and their first 3nm node was called N3 and debuted in 2022; now they have an enhanced 3nm node dubbed N3E that has launched. Every new node then requires IP that is carefully designed, characterized and validated in silicon to ensure that the IP specifications are being met and … Read More
Synopsys Panel Updates on the State of Multi-Die Systems
Synopsys recently hosted a cross-industry panel on the state of multi-die systems which I found interesting not least for its relevance to the rapid acceleration in AI-centric hardware. More on that below. Panelists, all with significant roles in multi-die systems, were Shekhar Kapoor (Senior Director of Product Management,… Read More
Synopsys – TSMC Collaboration Unleashes Innovation for TSMC OIP Ecosystem
As the focal point of the TSMC OIP ecosystem, TSMC has been driving important initiatives over the last few years to bring multi-die systems to the mainstream. As the world is moving quickly toward Generative AI technology and AI-based systems, multi-die and chiplet-based implementations are becoming essential. TSMC recently… Read More
Transformers Transforming the Field of Computer Vision
Over the last few years, transformers have been fundamentally changing the nature of deep learning models, revolutionizing the field of artificial intelligence. Transformers introduce an attention mechanism that allows models to weigh the importance of different elements in an input sequence. Unlike traditional deep learning… Read More
Power Analysis from Software to Architecture to Signoff
SoC designs use many levels of design abstraction during their journey from ideation to implementation, and now it’s possible to perform power analysis quite early in the design process. I had a call with William Ruby, Director of Porduct Marketing – Synopsys Low Power Solution to hear what they’ve engineered… Read More
WEBINAR: Why Rigorous Testing is So Important for PCI Express 6.0
In the age of rapid technological innovation, hyperscale datacenters are evolving at a breakneck pace. With the continued advancements in CPUs, GPUs, accelerators, and switches, faster data transfers are now paramount. At the forefront of this advancement is PCI Express (PCIe®), which has become the de-facto standard of interconnect… Read More
Synopsys Expands Synopsys.ai EDA Suite with Full-Stack Big Data Analytics Solution
More than two years ago, Synopsys launched its AI-driven design space optimization (DSO.ai) capability. It is part of the company’s Synopsys.ai EDA suite, an outcome of its overarching AI initiative. Since then, DSO.ai has boosted designer productivity and has been leveraged for 270 production tape-outs. DSO.ai uses machine… Read More
Interface IP in 2022: 22% YoY growth still data-centric driven
We have shown in the “Design IP Report” 2022 that the market share of the wired Interface IP category is a growing part of the total IP, and that this trend is confirmed year after year. The interface IP category has moved from 18% share in 2017 to 25% in 2022.
During the 2010-decade, smartphone was the strong driver for the IP industry,… Read More
ISO 21434 for Cybersecurity-Aware SoC Development
The automotive industry is undergoing a remarkable transformation, with vehicles becoming more connected, automated, and reliant on software. While these advancements promise convenience, comfort and efficiency to the consumers, the nature and complexity of the technologies also raise concerns for functional safety … Read More