SoC designers can now capture their design ideas with high-level languages like C and SystemC, then synthesize those abstractions down into RTL code or gates, however in the end the physical IC is implemented using cell libraries made up of transistors. Circuit designers use simulation tools like SPICE on these transistor-level… Read More
Several companies have attacked the QoS problem in SoC design, and what is emerging from that conversation is the best approach may be several approaches combined in a hybrid QoS solution. At the recent Linley Group Mobile Conference, NetSpeed Systems outlined just such a solution with an unexpected plot twist in synthesis.
The… Read More
When I was at Atrenta, we always thought it would be great to do as-you-type RTL linting. It’s the natural use model for anyone used to writing text in virtually any modern application (especially on the Web, thanks to Google spell and grammar-checks). You may argue that you create your RTL in Vi or EMACS and you don’t need no stinking… Read More
A few years back before IoT became the buzzword, the industrial automation community had already talking about “smart sensors” since the mid-1990s. The impetus for those discussions was IEEE 1451, a family of standards for adding intelligence and wireless communications to sensors so they could be incorporated into field networks.… Read More
The development of leading edge semiconductor technology is incredibly expensive, with estimates ranging from a few to several billion dollars for new nodes. The time to develop a leading edge process is also a critical competitive issue with some of the largest opportunities awarded based on who is first to yield on a new node.… Read More
Two weeks ago I spoke on the phone with Albert Li, Founder and CEO of Platform DA about his EDA company. Prior to founding Platform DA in Beijing, Li worked at Accelicon which was acquired by Agilent in December 2011. Mr. Li graduated from Tsinghua University and Vanderbilt University, both in Electrical Engineering, and has written… Read More
Most mergers and acquisitions in the EDA world simply don’t work out financially a year or two after the deal is done, however I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Tanner EDA is doing quite well at #53DAC this year after the acquisition by Mentor Graphics back in March 2015. Everyone that I’ve been meeting with at … Read More
At the #53DAC earlier this month held in Austin, Texas I met up with Renee Donkers, the founder of Fractal Technologies. His company has been focused on improving the quality of semiconductor IP cells through the use of automated checking software. The highest area of growth in EDA as measured by the ESD Alliance is in the reusable… Read More
Still thinking of Sonics as just a network-on-chip company? They are pivoting to become an SoC realization company, and in their seminar at #53DAC in Austin we saw an entirely new plan focused on heisting an extremely valuable commodity everyone else is missing.… Read More
You’re an RTL pro. You know what’s inside your code, and how many bugs you’ve tracked down and exterminated along the development path, and how much work remains. So, why did the meeting notice that just popped up asking for a monthly management project review presentation ruin your day?… Read More
