Prototyping solutions have been in the news a lot lately. And FPGA-based prototyping approach is pretty widely used. On a panel session at DAC 2021, Amir Salek, Head of Silicon for Cloud and Infrastructure at Google had the following to say. Prototyping FPGA is a tremendous platform for testing and validation. We are doubling down… Read More


Agile SoC Design: How to Achieve a Practical Workflow
“The only sustainable advantage you can have over others is agility, that’s it.” (Jeff Bezos)
The best workflow is the one that has been working until it doesn’t. In their quest to tape-out the next design, SoC teams rely on their proven workflow to meet design constraints and project milestones. As often the case, design … Read More
The Roots Of Silicon Valley
The transistor was successfully demonstrated on December 23, 1947, at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). The three individuals credited with its invention were William (Bill) Shockley Jr., the department head and group leader, John Bardeen… Read More
Upcoming Webinar: Optimized Chip Design with Main Processors and AI Accelerators
Using the right tool for the job can be extremely important. Well, maybe not in the case of the famed chef Martin Yan who is notorious for using just one knife—a razor sharp wide blade cleaver that doubles as a spatula—for preparing anything and everything he cooks. For the rest of us, though, the right tools can make all the difference.… Read More
Accellera at DVCon U.S. 2022 in the Metaverse!
The premier verification conference and exhibition is coming up and of course Accellera plays an important role. This year DVCON will again be virtual, which is unfortunate, but I must say as a long time attendee this year’s program really stands out. In fact, there is a new addition that is worth mentioning, it’s the… Read More
Silicon Catalyst Fuels Worldwide Semiconductor Innovation
Silicon Catalyst just announced the addition of six new companies to its semiconductor industry incubator. The focus areas for these companies is worth noting, as is the broad geographic footprint of the group. I’ll get to this detail in a moment, but first I’d like to step back a bit and take a closer look at this remarkable organization… Read More
Future of Semiconductor Design: 2022 Predictions and Trends
Predictions and trends create the forces that accelerate innovations and keep the industry moving forward. We are all used to hearing of important issues and challenges, usually in the context of solutions offered by various vendors. The SemiWiki forum plays its role in bringing awareness of all of the above to its audience. For… Read More
The Semiconductor Ecosystem Explained
The last year has seen a ton written about the semiconductor industry: chip shortages, the CHIPS Act, our dependence on Taiwan and TSMC, China, etc.
But despite all this talk about chips and semiconductors, few understand how the industry is structured. I’ve found the best way to understand something complicated is to diagram… Read More
Podcast EP60: Knowing your bugs can make a big difference to elevate the quality of verification
Dan is joined by Philippe Luc, director of verification at Codasip. Philippe has spent over 20 years in verification which includes an extensive and successful career at Arm. Philippe gained engineering experience with a list of significant achievements during his time there, including:
– Design and verification… Read More
CEO Interviews: Kurt Busch, CEO of Syntiant
Named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® 2021 Pacific Southwest – Orange County, Kurt Busch is a tech industry veteran with extensive experience in product development, having driven the successful launch of new products, ranging from SaaS and semiconductors for telecom and broadcast video to consumer electronics… Read More
Intel’s Pearl Harbor Moment