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Non Volatile Memory IP: a 100% reliable, anti fuse solution from Novocell Semiconductor

Non Volatile Memory IP: a 100% reliable, anti fuse solution from Novocell Semiconductor
by Eric Esteve on 04-25-2012 at 9:36 am

In this pretty shaky NVM IP market, where articles frequently mention legal battles rather than product features, it seems interesting to look at Novocell Semiconductor and their NVM IP product offering, and try to figure out what makes these products specific, what are the differentiators. Before looking at SmartBit cell into… Read More


Audio, not your father’s MP3

Audio, not your father’s MP3
by Paul McLellan on 04-24-2012 at 9:26 pm

Chris Rowen, Tensilica’s CTO, presented in Santa Cruz at the Globalpress briefing. He was basically presenting Tensilica’s audio strategy, which I’ve written about before. But he provided an interesting perspective. Globalpress (which flies journalists in from all over the world and then fills the few… Read More


Channel Routing Memories

Channel Routing Memories
by Paul McLellan on 04-23-2012 at 1:12 pm

Back in the early days of ASIC when we had just two and then (wow!) three layers of metal, place and route was done by putting the standard cells in rows with gaps between them and then using a specialized router to do the interconnection. It would use one layer of metal horizontally and one vertically and avoid jogs. This was called a … Read More


UMC Wins Qualcomm 28nm Second Source Contract!

UMC Wins Qualcomm 28nm Second Source Contract!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-22-2012 at 7:00 pm

This is common knowledge in Taiwan but apparently the guys over at SemiAccurate.com did not get the memo. I hear a name change is in the works: www.RarelyAccurate.com. Remember, these are the same clairvoyants who said TSMC shut down 28nm which as we now know is absolutely false. The QCOM elite stay at the Hsinchu Royal Hotel which… Read More


Flexible ASIC Strategy!

Flexible ASIC Strategy!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-21-2012 at 9:00 pm

During my last Taiwan trip I also spent time with Global Unichip. Clearly, in order for the semiconductor industry to thrive we must enable design starts. With the rising costs and complexity of semiconductor design and manufacturing this is a much greater challenge which is why I’m so interested in GUC, for the greater good of the… Read More


Analog Circuit Optimization

Analog Circuit Optimization
by Daniel Payne on 04-18-2012 at 2:06 pm

Gim Tan at Magma did a webinar on analog circuit optimization, so I watched it today to see what I could learn about their approach. Gim is a Staff AE, so not much marketing fluff to wade through in this webinar.

The old way of designing custom analog circuits involves many tedious and error prone iterations between front-end (Schematic… Read More


Laker Wobegon, where all the layout is above average

Laker Wobegon, where all the layout is above average
by Paul McLellan on 04-17-2012 at 4:00 am

TSMC’s technnology symposium seems to be the new time to make product announcements, with ARM and Atrenta yesterday and Springsoft today.

There is a new incarnation of Springsoft’s Laker layout family, Laker[SUP]3[/SUP] (pronounced three, not cubed). The original version ran on its own proprietary database.… Read More


OpenAccess DB – Productivity and Beyond!

OpenAccess DB – Productivity and Beyond!
by Pawan Fangaria on 03-05-2012 at 10:00 pm

As I have been watching the developments in EDA and Semiconductor industry, it is apparent that we remain fragmented unless pushed to adopt a common standard mostly due to business reasons. Foundries are dictating on the rules to be followed by designs, thereby EDA tools incorporating them. Also, design companies needed to work… Read More


Verdi’s 3rd Symphony

Verdi’s 3rd Symphony
by Paul McLellan on 03-05-2012 at 7:00 am

The first version of the debug platform Verdi (then called Debussy) dates back to 1996 over 15 years ago. The second version was released in 2002. And now SpringSoft is releasing the 3rd version Verdi[SUP]3[/SUP]which is a completely new generation. A tool environment like Verdi seems to need to be completely refreshed about every… Read More


Don’t go to Mobile World Congress without “MIPI IP Forecast 2011-2016”!

Don’t go to Mobile World Congress without “MIPI IP Forecast 2011-2016”!
by Eric Esteve on 02-22-2012 at 9:48 am

And if, like me, you don’t go to MWC, that’s the right time to get your version of the MIPI IP survey, the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] version since the first launch in 2010, because IPNEST will give you a good reason to buy it during MWC: you will get it at a lower price. That will apply now and during the event, but only from today, and up to the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP]… Read More