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Pattern Shifts Induced by Dipole-Illuminated EUV Masks

Pattern Shifts Induced by Dipole-Illuminated EUV Masks
by Fred Chen on 12-19-2021 at 10:00 am

Pattern Shifts Induced by Dipole Illuminated EUV Masks

As EUV lithography is being targeted towards pitches of 30 nm or less, fundamental differences from conventional DUV lithography become more and more obvious. A big difference is in the mask use. Unlike other photolithography masks, EUV masks are absorber patterns on a reflective multilayer rather than a transparent substrate.… Read More


“Too Big To Fail Two” – Could chip failure take down tech & entire economy?

“Too Big To Fail Two” – Could chip failure take down tech & entire economy?
by Robert Maire on 12-19-2021 at 6:00 am

Semiconductors too big to fail

-Chips enable tech sector which underpins entire economy
-Is the US chip sector “Too Big To Fail”?
-If US chip industry fails, does tech & everything else follow?
-How chip/Taiwan crisis compares to 2008 financial meltdown

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

We find it an incredible juxtaposition… Read More


Podcast EP53: Breker’s New CEO Weighs in on the Company, DAC and the Future of Verification

Podcast EP53: Breker’s New CEO Weighs in on the Company, DAC and the Future of Verification
by Daniel Nenni on 12-17-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan is joined by Dave Kelf, who was recently appointed CEO of Breker Verification Systems. Dave discusses Breker’s unique approach to verification of complex systems, what its future impact will be and what Breker will be doing at DAC.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these podcasts belong solely to the

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COVID Still Impacting Electronics

COVID Still Impacting Electronics
by Bill Jewell on 12-17-2021 at 6:00 am

Electronics Production 2020 2021

Electronics production has been volatile over the past two years primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronics production three-month-average change versus a year ago is shown below for key Asian countries. COVID-19 shutdowns affected production in early 2020. Trends in 2021 show a strong bounce back.

The key trends Read More


Is Ansys Reviving the Collaborative Business Model in EDA?

Is Ansys Reviving the Collaborative Business Model in EDA?
by Daniel Nenni on 12-16-2021 at 10:00 am

Evolution of Multiphysics Complexity

The Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry used to be a bustling bazaar of scrappy startups, along with medium sized companies that dominated a technology space, and big main-line vendors. The annual Design Automation Conference was noisy, hectic, and sprawled over multiple large convention halls. This diversity meant… Read More


Ramping Up Software Ideas for Hardware Design

Ramping Up Software Ideas for Hardware Design
by Bernard Murphy on 12-16-2021 at 6:00 am

Bridging chasm

This is a topic in which I have a lot of interest, covered in a panel at this year’s DAC; Raúl Camposano chaired the session. I had earlier covered a keynote by Moshe Zalcberg at Europe DVCon late in 2020; he now reprises the topic. Given the incredible pace of innovation and scale in software development these days, I don’t see what we… Read More


Top 10 Takeaways from DAC 2021

Top 10 Takeaways from DAC 2021
by Tom Dillinger on 12-15-2021 at 2:00 pm

stopped clock license model

The “in-person” portion of the Design Automation Conference (DAC) was recently held in San Francisco.  (As several presenters were unable to attend, a “virtual” program is also available.)  The presentations spanned a wide gamut – e.g., technical advanced in design automation algorithms;  new features in commercial EDA tools; … Read More


Semicon West is Semicon Less

Semicon West is Semicon Less
by Robert Maire on 12-15-2021 at 10:00 am

Semicon West 2021
  • Semicon West was Semicon Less- Less Customers & Vendor
  • Everyone is busy as can be, maybe too busy to attend
  • Those who were there, talk about supply chain issues & stress
  • How long does the party last & where the money comes from?

Semicon West was Semicon Less….

We attended a “Hybrid” version of Semicon… Read More


PCIe 6.0, LPDDR5, HBM2E and HBM3 Speed Adapters to FPGA Prototyping Solutions

PCIe 6.0, LPDDR5, HBM2E and HBM3 Speed Adapters to FPGA Prototyping Solutions
by Kalar Rajendiran on 12-15-2021 at 6:00 am

Avery PCIe Speed Adapter IP at Work

We live in the age of big data. No matter how fast and complex modern SoCs are, it all comes down to how quickly data can get in and out that determines the system performance. And, there is a lot of data that today’s systems need to process. Naturally, system interfaces such as PCIe, DDR, HBM, etc., have been evolving rapidly too, to support… Read More


DAC 2021 – Accellera Panel all about Functional Safety Standards

DAC 2021 – Accellera Panel all about Functional Safety Standards
by Daniel Payne on 12-14-2021 at 10:00 am

FS data format min

Functional safety has been at the forefront of the electrification of our vehicles with new ADAS features, and the push to reach autonomous driving, while having compliance with the ISO 26262 functional safety standard. I attended the Accellera hosted panel discussion on Monday at DAC, hearing from functional safety panelists… Read More