Originally containing a handful of commands to help with common layout tasks, SkillCAD has evolved into the industry standard for analog, RF and mixed signal design for customers using Cadence Virtuoso. With over 85 customers worldwide and over 120 functions including the powerful, patented V-editor, metal routing and pin… Read More




The GlobalFoundries IPO March Continues
The GF Technology Summit was last week. It was virtual again this year but with a different format. It was a mix of live and recorded events which did include some cringe worthy moments but all-in-all it was well worth my time.
One of the biggest changes you will notice is the messaging. GF is no longer down in the technology trenches … Read More
LiDAR and the End of the Musk Marketing Masque
One of the key differentiating characteristics of companies working on autonomous vehicles is the willingness to explain or disclose the manner in which this technology works. Tesla and Mobileye have been standouts in the explainer category. Companies like Waymo and Cruise have been less distinguished.
Tesla, though, … Read More
Podcast EP38: Semianalysis on Intel GF TSMC and the Foundry Business
Dan is joined by Dylan Patel of Semianalysis.com covering Intel, GF, TSMC, the semiconductor shortage and more. This is a candid discussion between analysts on current semiconductor events.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in these podcasts belong solely to the speaker, and not to the… Read More
CEO Interview: Gireesh Rajendran CEO of Steradian Semiconductors
Gireesh Rajendran is a 2010 MIT TR35 winner from India. He holds 44 issued US patents in RF products and circuit techniques and co-authored 3 ISSCC papers. He completed his B Tech in Electronics from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India in 2000 and joined Texas Instruments. During his 13 years tenure in TI, he architected and… Read More
What to expect at the 58th DAC this December
I’ve attended the DAC conference and trade show since the late 1980s, and every visit has been a continuing learning experience about the EDA, IP and semiconductor industry. I first started attended as an EDA vendor in 1987, and since 2004 as a freelance marketing professional. There’s a significant amount of preparation… Read More
Build a Sophisticated Edge Processing ASIC FAST and EASY with Sondrel
Building a custom chip for edge computing applications can be quite daunting. For starters, there is very little power available at the edge, so energy efficiency will be top of mind. The whole point of edge processing is to off-load the time-consuming and costly process of sending data to the cloud, so substantial processing capability… Read More
Formal Methods for Aircraft Standards Compliance
When promoting adoption of formal methods in functional verification, there are two hurdles to overcome: one technical, the other people. The first is a comfortable and familiar challenge for us engineers. Take the course, pass the test, get the certificate. Very mechanical and deterministic. People on the other hand are non-deterministic… Read More
Understanding BLE Beacons and their Applications
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon is mostly a small battery powered radio transmitter that sends Bluetooth advertising packets containing information like URL (Universal Resource Locator), UUID (Universal Unique Identifier), battery voltage, temperature, transmit power at regular intervals to the mobile or fixed devices.… Read More
Reliability Analysis for Mission-Critical IC design
Mission-critical IC design for segments like automotive, aerospace, defense, medical and 5G have more stringent reliability analysis requirements than consumer electronics, and entails running special simulations for the following concerns:
- Electromigration analysis
- IR drop analysis
- MOS aging
- High-sigma Monte Carlo
Intel’s Pearl Harbor Moment