Magic? No! It’s Computational Lithography

Magic? No! It’s Computational Lithography
by Beth Martin on 02-11-2013 at 7:00 am

The industry plans to use 193nm light at the 20nm, 14nm, and 10nm nodes. Amazing, no? There is no magic wand; scientists have been hard at work developing computational lithography techniques that can pull one more rabbit out of the optical lithography hat.

Tortured metaphors aside, the goal for the post-tapeout flow is the same… Read More


Navigating the new patent landscape

Navigating the new patent landscape
by Beth Martin on 02-08-2013 at 12:00 am

If you are considering filing a patent, you should know about the new patent rules effectinve on March 16, 2013. Most importantly, patent rights will switch from “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file.” Before we continue, I am not a lawyer; I’m just a dumb blogger. Seek actual legal advice about the new patent laws if you think… Read More


Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die

Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die
by Beth Martin on 02-07-2013 at 2:16 pm

FinFETs are hot, carbon nanotubes are cool, and collaboration is the key to continued semiconductor scaling. These were the main messages at the 2013 Common Platform Technology Forum in Santa Clara.

The collaboration message ran through most presenations, like the afternoon talk by Subi Kengeri of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Joe Sawicki… Read More


Mentor Snags Two Awards at DesignCon

Mentor Snags Two Awards at DesignCon
by Beth Martin on 01-29-2013 at 8:44 pm

Oh, awards season! The glitz! The glamour! The most important and innovative new design products!

That last part is a key feature of the annual DesignVision awards and the Best in Test awards presented at DesignCon 2013. Mentor Graphics’ test products scored two wins: a DesignVision award for their new Tessent IJTAG product, and… Read More


Yield Analysis and Diagnosis Webinar

Yield Analysis and Diagnosis Webinar
by Beth Martin on 12-06-2012 at 10:02 pm

Sign up for a free webinar on December 11 on Accelerating Yield and Failure Analysis with Diagnosis.

The one hour presentation will be delivered via webcast by Geir Eide, Mentor’s foremost expert in yield learning. He will cover scan diagnosis, a software-based technique, that effectively identifies defects in digital logic… Read More


Test and Diagnosis at ISTFA

Test and Diagnosis at ISTFA
by Beth Martin on 11-15-2012 at 7:10 pm

Finding and debugging failures on integrated circuits has become increasingly difficult. Two sessions at ISTFA (International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis) on Thursday address the current best practices and research directions of diagnosis.

The first was a tutorial this morning by Mentor Graphics luminary… Read More


A Most Significant Man

A Most Significant Man
by Beth Martin on 11-06-2012 at 8:10 pm

Most of us live perfectly good lives without distinction, fame, or note. Others rack up the honors, filling their walls and resumes with recognition of their brilliance. Like Dr. Janusz Rajski.

Rajski is the director of engineering for the test products at Mentor Graphics, an IEEE Fellow, and the inventor of embedded deterministic… Read More


A Brief History of Mentor Graphics

A Brief History of Mentor Graphics
by Beth Martin on 08-20-2012 at 11:00 pm

In 1981, Pac-Man was sweeping the nation, the first space shuttle launched, and a small group of engineers in Oregon started not only a new company (Mentor Graphics), but an entirely new industry, electronic design automation (EDA).


Mentor founders Tom Bruggere, Gerry Langeler, and Dave Moffenbeier left Tektronix with a great… Read More


Higgs bosons, (un)certainty, and black holes

Higgs bosons, (un)certainty, and black holes
by Beth Martin on 07-18-2012 at 9:00 pm

Ever since the announcement in early July from CERN that they likely have, probably, finally found the Higgs boson, I’ve been thinking about what quantum mechanics means to our daily ‘classical model’ existence. On the surface, nothing. The most fantastical aspects of quantum mechanics, like uncertainty, tunneling and the … Read More


It Takes a Village: Mentor and ARM Team Up on Test

It Takes a Village: Mentor and ARM Team Up on Test
by Beth Martin on 07-18-2012 at 5:01 pm

Benjamin Franklin, “I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” I was reminded of this line during a joint Mentor-ARM seminar yesterday about testing ARM cores and memories. The complexity of testing modern SoC designs at advanced nodes, with multiple integrated ARM cores and other IP, opens up plenty of room for… Read More