In wearables and hearables, low power is king. Earbuds for example still only manage a half-day active use before we need to recharge. Half a day falls short of truly convenient for most of us – a full day would be much better, allowing for overnight recharge. Physics limits battery sizes so system designers must look to SoC architectures… Read More




Quadric’s Chimera GPNPU IP Blends NPU and DSP to Create a New Category of Hybrid SoC Processor
Performance, Power and Area (PPA) are the commonly touted metrics in the semiconductor industry placing PPA among the most widely used acronyms relating to chip development. And rightly so as these three metrics greatly impact all electronic products that are developed. The degree of impact depends of course on the specific … Read More
Why Use PADS Professional Premium for Electronic Design
My IC design career started just a few years before PADS got started in 1985 with a DOS-based tool for PCB design. A lot has changed since then, as PADS was acquired by Mentor Graphics in 2001, and continued to grow under Siemens EDA, now with four versions to choose from, where the top version is called PADS Professional Premium:
- PADS
Flash Memory Market Ushered in Fierce Competition with the Digitalization of Electric Vehicles
Governments worldwide have been paying close attention to alternative energy vehicles recently. Many have launched related electric vehicle subsidy policies, accelerating global sales over recent years.
In 2021 at IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, many major car manufacturers, including Porsche, showcased their all-electric… Read More
Are EDA companies failing System PCB customers?
Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is a critical industry which enables the development of electronic systems. Traditionally, EDA has been bifurcated into two distinctive market segments: Semiconductor and Systems (PCB). If one were to look at the EDA industry in the early 1970’s, one would find significant capabilities… Read More
KLAC- Strong QTR and Guide but Backlog mutes China and Economic Impact
-KLA great quarter & guide as backlog mutes China/Economy
-Patterning starts to catch up to wafer inspection outperform
-China impact is limited to leading edge & specific customers
-Cuts in memory capex less impactful on KLA
KLAC reports strong quarter and good guide
Revenues were $2.7B with EPS of $7.06 versus street… Read More
Podcast EP117: More Good News From Wally Rhines and the SEMI Electronic Design Market Data Report
Dan is joined by Dr. Walden Rhines, former CEO of Mentor Graphics, which is now Siemens EDA, and current CEO of Cornami. Wally is also the Executive Sponsor of the SEMI Electronic Design Market Data Report, which is the topic of this podcast.
The current market report for Q2, 2022 documents continued strong performance, with some… Read More
TSMC Expands the OIP Ecosystem!
This was the 12th TSMC OIP and it did not disappoint. The attendance was back to pre pandemic levels, there was interesting news and great presentations. We will cover the presentations in more depth after the virtual event which is on November 10th. You can register HERE.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the Jim Keller Keynote … Read More
LRCX down from here – 2023 down more than 20% due to China and Downcycle
-Lam reports good quarter that is high water mark for cycle
-2023 WFE to be down more than 20%- Cuts spending & Hiring
-If we back out deferred rev outlook would be down for Dec
-Memory already Down & China down $2-$2.5B in 2023
Lam reports good quarter but likely peak of current cycle with clear drop
Lam reported revenues of … Read More
Machine Learning Applications in Simulation
Machine learning (ML) is finding its way into many of the tools in silicon design flows, to shorten run times and improve the quality of results. Logic simulation seemed an obvious target for ML, though resisted apparent benefits for a while. I suspect this was because we all assumed the obvious application should be to use ML to refine… Read More
Should Intel be Split in Half?