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Adding CDM Protection to a Real World LNA Test Case

Adding CDM Protection to a Real World LNA Test Case
by Tom Simon on 08-06-2019 at 6:00 am

In RF designs Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA) play a critical role in system operation. They simultaneously need to be extremely sensitive and noise free, yet also must be able to withstand strong signal input without distortion. LNA designers often struggle to meet device performance specifications. Their task is further complicated… Read More


eFPGA – What a great idea! But I have no idea how I’d use it!

eFPGA – What a great idea! But I have no idea how I’d use it!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-05-2019 at 10:00 am

eFPGA stands for embedded Field Programmable Grid Arrays.  An eFPGA is a programmable device like an FPGA but rather than being sold as a completed chip it is licensed as a semiconductor IP block. ASIC designers can license this IP and embed it into their own chips adding the flexibility of programmability at an incremental cost.… Read More


Intel,  Motorola, and the IBM PC

Intel,  Motorola, and the IBM PC
by John East on 08-05-2019 at 6:00 am

Wikipedia  …   “In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a non-linear system can result in large differences in a later state”.  In other words, a butterfly bats its wings in Argentina and the path of an immense tornado in Oklahoma is changed some… Read More


Chapter 4 – Gompertz Predicts the Future

Chapter 4 – Gompertz Predicts the Future
by Wally Rhines on 08-02-2019 at 6:00 am

In 1825, Benjamin Gompertz proposed a mathematical model for time series that looks like an “S-curve”.1  Mathematically it is a double exponential (Figure 1) where y=a(exp(b(exp(-ct)))) where t is time and a, b and c are adjustable coefficients that modulate the steepness of the S-Curve.  The Gompertz Curve has been used for a … Read More


Lam beats reduced guide as 2019 is done and 2020 is just a hope!

Lam beats reduced guide as 2019 is done and 2020 is just a hope!
by Robert Maire on 08-02-2019 at 4:00 am

Nice house in a neighborhood in decline

Lam posted EPS and revenues ahead of reduced expectations, but guided the current quarter below street current estimates.

Is a “beat” really a “beat” if its against greatly reduced numbers? We would remind investors that we are looking at EPS cut more or less in … Read More


GPU-Powered SPICE – Understanding the Cost

GPU-Powered SPICE – Understanding the Cost
by Daniel Nenni on 08-01-2019 at 10:00 am

To deploy a GPU-based SPICE solution, you need to understand the costs involved. To get your hands on this new report analyzing this specific issue, all you need to do is attend Empyrean’s upcoming webinar, “GPU-Powered SPICE:  The Way Forward for Analog Simulation,” which will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2019, at 10:00 am (PDT).… Read More


Arm Gets More Creative with Licensing

Arm Gets More Creative with Licensing
by Bernard Murphy on 08-01-2019 at 6:00 am

Arm flexible access

Without a doubt, RISC-V is generating a lot of buzz and I’m sure a lot of new designs, especially in spaces that are super-cost competitive or demand added differentiation in the processor. I doubt this is having meaningful impact on Arm business, in $$ rather than press. It takes a long time to replace an ecosystem of that size and … Read More


56th DAC – In Depth Look at Analog IP Migration from MunEDA

56th DAC – In Depth Look at Analog IP Migration from MunEDA
by Tom Simon on 07-31-2019 at 10:00 am

Every year at DAC, in addition to the hubbub of the exhibit floor and the relatively short technical sessions, there are a number of tutorials that dive in depth into interesting topics. At the 56th DAC in Las Vegas this year, MunEDA offered an interesting tutorial on Analog IP migration and optimization. This is a key issue for large… Read More


IP Provider Vidatronic Embraces the ClioSoft Design Management Platform

IP Provider Vidatronic Embraces the ClioSoft Design Management Platform
by Randy Smith on 07-31-2019 at 6:00 am

Having worked at several semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) companies, I know how important it is to have a strong design data management platform for tracking the development and distribution of SIP products. Everyone doing semiconductor design should care about design data management. But for an IP company, it is … Read More


Semicon West 2019 – Day 3 – Global Foundries

Semicon West 2019 – Day 3 – Global Foundries
by Scotten Jones on 07-30-2019 at 10:00 am

On Wednesday, July 10th I got to sit down with Gary Patton, CTO and SVP of worldwide research and development of Global Foundries and get an update on how the company is doing.

We started with a discussion of Global Foundries (GF) general business health. Revenue for the year is expected to be around $6 billion dollars. They are focused… Read More