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Scoreboard and Issues Management Tools for PCB Projects

Scoreboard and Issues Management Tools for PCB Projects
by Tom Dillinger on 01-16-2018 at 12:00 pm

The complexity of an SoC design necessitates that the project managers have accurate visibility into the overall design status, spanning the entire range of tasks – from functional simulation error triage, to physical layout verification errors, to electrical analysis results. Flow scripts used by SoC teams parse the log file… Read More


Better than CNN

Better than CNN
by Bernard Murphy on 01-16-2018 at 7:00 am

No, not the news network though I confess I am curious to see how many initial hits that title attracts. Then I clarify that I’m talking about convolutional neural nets, and my would-be social media fame evaporates. Oh well – for those few of you still with me, CNNs in all their many forms are the technology behind image, voice and other… Read More


Moving from FPGA’s to Embedded FPGA Fabric – How it’s Done

Moving from FPGA’s to Embedded FPGA Fabric – How it’s Done
by Tom Simon on 01-15-2018 at 12:00 pm

Buying IP is just a little bit more complicated than buying a pair of shoes. A lot of IP is configurable and requires attention to various design and configuration parameters. We live in an age where commercial soft IP is used pretty often in designs, so people have developed increasing comfort in the process that is required to achieve… Read More


Broadcom Versus Qualcomm Update

Broadcom Versus Qualcomm Update
by Daniel Nenni on 01-15-2018 at 7:00 am

The Broadcom acquiring Qualcomm drama is still dominating the fabless semiconductor back channel. This week I will be at the SEMI ISS Conference with Scott Jones and several hundred high level semiconductor professionals so it will be interesting to hear the hallway chatter. When it was first announced I was in the minority in … Read More


Mentor Investigates Using Neural Networks for CMP Modeling

Mentor Investigates Using Neural Networks for CMP Modeling
by Mitch Heins on 01-12-2018 at 12:00 pm

I recently read a new white paper release by Mentor, a Siemens Business, that delved into the intricacies of Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) and I got a sense of Déjà vu. My professional career in the IC industry started at Texas instruments and the white paper made me think of a conversation I had with one of my colleagues over … Read More


Achieving ISO 26262 Certification with ASIL Ready IP

Achieving ISO 26262 Certification with ASIL Ready IP
by Eric Esteve on 01-12-2018 at 7:00 am

According with McKinsey, “analysts predict revenue growth for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to be up to 29 percent, giving the segment one of the highest growth rates in the automotive and related industries.” Design cycle in automotive segment is much longer than in segments like mobile, PC or consumer. If you expect… Read More


Is there anything in VLSI layout other than “pushing polygons”? (5)

Is there anything in VLSI layout other than “pushing polygons”? (5)
by Dan Clein on 01-11-2018 at 12:00 pm

Being new in Ottawa and trying to get some momentum towards automation in full custom layout I was telling industry people that I am interested to work with everybody to move this agenda forward. My Director of Engineering at that time, Peter Gillingham, took me to visit Carleton University in Ottawa. One of his professor friends,… Read More


Webinar: ISO 26262 and DO-254: Achieving Compliance to Both

Webinar: ISO 26262 and DO-254: Achieving Compliance to Both
by Bernard Murphy on 01-11-2018 at 7:00 am

It’s near-impossible to read anything today about electronic design for cars without running into the ISO 26262 standard. If you design airborne electronic hardware, you’re likely very familiar with the DO-254 standard. But what do you do if you want to design a product to serve both markets? It looks like aircraft makers are increasingly… Read More


Bicycles, Electronics and CES 2018

Bicycles, Electronics and CES 2018
by Daniel Payne on 01-10-2018 at 12:00 pm

I’m an avid road bike enthusiast having just completed my 2017 goal of 13,000 miles, so follow me on Strava if you want to see the routes and photo adventures I have in Oregon. In the photo below I’m the guy in the middle with the Portland Velojersey on and we’re in a parking lot just 2 blocks away from Intel’sRead More


The lofty rise of the lowly FPGA

The lofty rise of the lowly FPGA
by Tom Simon on 01-10-2018 at 7:00 am

FPGA programmable logic has served in many capacities since it was introduced back in the early 80’s. Recently, with designers looking for innovative ways to boost system performance, FPGA’s have moved front and center. This initiative has taken on new urgency with the slowing down of process node based performance gains. The… Read More