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Efabless Celebrates AI Design Challenge Winners!

Efabless Celebrates AI Design Challenge Winners!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-23-2023 at 6:00 am

Efabless AI Challenge SemiWiki

The first AI Generated Open-Source Silicon Design Challenge invited participants to use generative AI to design an open-source silicon chip and tape it out in just three weeks. The contestants were required to create Verilog code from natural language prompts, and then implemented their designs using the chipIgnite platform… Read More


Optimism Prevailed at CEO Outlook, though Downturn Could Bring Unpredictable Challenges

Optimism Prevailed at CEO Outlook, though Downturn Could Bring Unpredictable Challenges
by Nanette Collins on 06-22-2023 at 10:00 am

CEO Outlook #2

Chances are anyone who attended the CEO Outlook will say it was an engaging, entertaining and enlightening view of the chip design space, though CEO Outlook may be a misnomer as four of the seven panelists had C-Suite titles other than CEO.

Regardless, the collective view was optimistic, though caution prevailed as the economic… Read More


Tensilica Processor Cores Enable Sensor Fusion For Robust Perception

Tensilica Processor Cores Enable Sensor Fusion For Robust Perception
by Kalar Rajendiran on 06-22-2023 at 6:00 am

Tensilica DSPs

While sensor-based control and activation systems have been around for several decades, the development and integration of sensors into control systems have significantly evolved over time. Early sensor-based control systems utilized basic sensing elements like switches, potentiometers and pressure sensors and were … Read More


Intel Internal Foundry Model Webinar

Intel Internal Foundry Model Webinar
by Scotten Jones on 06-21-2023 at 12:00 pm

IAO Investor Webinar Slides to post on our INTC website PDF Page 07

Intel held a webinar today to discuss their IDM2.0 internal foundry model. On the call were Dave Zinsner Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Jason Grebe Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Corporate Planning Group.

On a humorous note, the person moderating the attendee questions sounded … Read More


The Updated Legacy of Intel CEOs

The Updated Legacy of Intel CEOs
by Daniel Nenni on 06-21-2023 at 10:00 am

Intel HQ 2023

(First published December 24, 2014)

A list of the best and worst CEOs in 2014 was recently published. The good news is that none of our semiconductor CEOs were on the worst list. The bad news is that none of our semiconductor CEOs were on the best list either. I will be writing about the CEOs that made our industry what it is today starting… Read More


Managing Service Level Risk in SoC Design

Managing Service Level Risk in SoC Design
by Bernard Murphy on 06-21-2023 at 6:00 am

Traffic

Discussion on design metrics tends to revolve around power, performance, safety, and security. All of these are important, but there is an additional performance objective a product must meet defined by a minimum service level agreement (SLA). A printer display may work fine most of the time yet will intermittently corrupt the… Read More


DDR5 Design Approach with Clocked Receivers

DDR5 Design Approach with Clocked Receivers
by Daniel Payne on 06-20-2023 at 10:00 am

DFE min

At the DesignCon 2023 event this year there was a presentation by Micron all about DDR5 design challenges like the need for a Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) inside the DRAM. Siemens EDA and Micron teamed up to write a detailed 25 page white paper on the topic, and I was able to glean the top points for this much shorter blog. The DDR5… Read More


Synopsys Expands Agreement with Samsung Foundry to Increase IP Footprint

Synopsys Expands Agreement with Samsung Foundry to Increase IP Footprint
by Kalar Rajendiran on 06-20-2023 at 6:00 am

Synopsys Samsung silicon wafer

Many credible market analysis firms are predicting the semiconductor market to reach the trillion dollar mark over the next six years or so. Just compare this to the more than six decades it took for the market to cross the $500 billion mark. The projected growth rate is incredible indeed and is driven by fast growing market segments… Read More


Keynote Sneak Peek: Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal at Samsung SAFE Forum 2023

Keynote Sneak Peek: Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal at Samsung SAFE Forum 2023
by Daniel Nenni on 06-19-2023 at 10:00 am

Image

As one of the world’s leading chip foundries, Samsung occupies a vital position in the semiconductor value chain. The annual Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem (SAFE™) Forum is a must-go event for semiconductor and electronic design automation (EDA) professionals. Ajei Gopal, President and CEO of Ansys, has the honor of delivering… Read More


Application-Specific Lithography: 28 nm Pitch Two-Dimensional Routing

Application-Specific Lithography: 28 nm Pitch Two-Dimensional Routing
by Fred Chen on 06-19-2023 at 6:00 am

Brightfield (red) and darkfield (purple) sidelobes in 84 nm

Current 1a-DRAM and 5/4nm foundry nodes have minimum pitches in the 28 nm pitch range. The actual 28 nm pitch patterns are one-dimensional active area fins (for both DRAM and foundry) as well as one-dimensional lower metal lines (in the case of foundry). One can imagine that, for a two-dimensional routing pattern, both horizontal… Read More