SoCs face a lot of issues related to security and the Network-on-Chip (NoC) is in a good position to facilitate system-wide services. SoCs are now so complex that one of the challenges is to make sure that the chip does what it is meant to do and doesn’t do what it isn’t meant to do. Just as in software, security used to be … Read More
ClioSoft at Arasan
Arasan recently adopted ClioSoft for data management (DM) for design and development of Arasan’s Silicon IP products. This morning I talked to Erik Peterson, Senior CAD and Verification Engineer AMS Design about their experiences bringing up ClioSoft.
Data management infrastructure is critical with engineering projects… Read More
Quick MEMS Development Through Virtual Fabrication
The design and manufacture of MEMS is very different and in many ways more complex process than even the most advanced ICs. MEMS involve multiple degrees of freedom (i.e. the device to exhibit different characteristics under different physical state, motion or mechanics), making fabrication of MEMS extremely complex; and hence… Read More
Raised on radio: RPUs target autos and wearables
We’ve become familiar with Imagination Technologies as a leading provider of IP for mobile GPUs, and within the last year the acquisition of the MIPS architecture has established them further in NPU and SoC circles. Their latest move targets an IP solution more in line with their heritage.
Imagination, way before becoming famous… Read More
Semicon Technology Advancement – A View From IEDM
As I see the semiconductor industry going through significant changes and advances, yet ironically plagued by a growing perception that the pace of scaling is slowing, I was inclined to take a peek into what the industry experts say about the state of the industry and the future of Moore’s Law. Fortunately, at last week’s International… Read More
Fab-U-Less! The 2013 Global Semiconductor Awards!
It was a dinner with more than a thousand semiconductor professionals from around the world keynoted by Author and Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine Steve Forbes. What more could a humble blogger ask for? Even at $250 a plate it was well worth it just to mingle amongst the people who make this industry so great.
Global Semiconductor… Read More
Could FD-SOI be Cheaper too?
We agree now that FD-SOI technology is Faster, Cooler, Simpler. But can it also be a cheaper technology? Let start with an overview of the current estimation of the development cost for complex SoC on advanced technology nodes. The following data are extracted from International Business Strategies, Inc 2013 report. The first… Read More
SPICE Development Roadmap 2013!
The MOS-AK/GSA Modeling Working Group, a global compact modeling standardization forum, delivered its annual autumn compact modeling workshop on Sept. 20, 2013 as an integral part of the ESSDERC/ESSCIRC Conference in Bucharest (RO). The event received full sponsorship from leading industrial partners including Agilent… Read More
eMMC Mobile Memory
eMMC is the standard for mobile memory used in smartphones and tablets. The latest standard, released just this year, is eMMC 5.0. The previous standard, 4.51, was only released last year so things are moving quickly.
Arasan have a webinar next week to bring you up to speed on eMMC 5.0 in general and, of course, their own IP offering… Read More
Semiconductor Process Development: A View from the Trenches at IEDM
There is always a lot of posturing and pontificating when semiconductor executives talk about the future of process development. They are fighting an air war of perception and investor expectations, so naturally want to make sure they have plenty to brag about. But, as we pointed out recently with Intel’s problems at 14nm, moving… Read More