The vast majority of the attention given to the introduction of each new advanced process node focuses on lithographic updates. The common metrics quoted are the transistors per mm**2 or the (high-density) SRAM bit cell area. Alternatively, detailed decomposition analysis may be applied using transmission electron microscopy… Read More





Close the Year with Cliosoft – eBooks, Videos and a Fun Holiday Contest
‘Tis the season, a time when a lot of companies summarize the year, send out holiday greetings and generally wind down until after the New Year. That’s not the case at Cliosoft. Their marketing machine has been in full gear with lots of new, useful and compelling content. I’ll provide a round-up of what’s happening. You can close… Read More
Achronix Talks about FPGAs for Video Processing
The internet keeps adding users and connected devices. According to the numbers in a white paper from Achronix, by 2022 there will be 4.8 billion internet users and 28.5 billion connected devices. Internet traffic will reach 275 exabytes per month. Of this a staggering 83 percent will be video traffic. Moving the data from creators… Read More
More on Bug Localization. Innovation in Verification
Mining assertions from constrained random simulations to localize bugs. Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Jim Hogan and I continue our series on research ideas. Feel free to comment.
The Innovation
This month’s pick is Symptomatic bug localization for functional debug of hardware designs. This paper was presented… Read More
Alphawave IP is Enabling 224Gbps Serial Links with DSP
Alphawave IP is a new member of the SemiWiki community. You can learn about the company and their CEO, Tony Pialis in this interview by Dan Nenni. Design & Reuse did a virtual IP-SOC Conference recently and Tony presented. The D&R event had a very strong lineup of presenters. They supplemented the prepared video presentations… Read More
Design Considerations for 3DICs
The introduction of heterogeneous 3DIC packaging technology offers the opportunity for significant increases in circuit density and performance, with corresponding reductions in package footprint. Yet, the implementation of a complex 3DIC product requires a considerable investment in methodology development for all… Read More
5 Things You Need to Plan for System Custom Silicon
I used to be part of the custom silicon management team at Apple. I’ve seen how great a challenge it is to pull off a custom silicon strategy within a one year product cycle. Apple is the perfect example of this custom silicon model since they develop the best mobile processors in the world for their products. Which also includes other… Read More
The Semiconductor Industry Has High Hopes That Biden Will Change Tracks
What is the “right track” for US-China trade relations?
The semiconductor industry has been squarely in the crosshairs of US-China trade tensions for four years. As the US faces a presidential leadership transition, will a Biden administration change the dynamic? The chip industry is counting on it, and China hopes so too.
In … Read More
Tesla: The Eyes Have It
David Zipper of Harvard’s Kennedy School writes in Slate that the incoming Biden Administration should “bring the hammer down” on Tesla Motors for its mis-labeled and therefore misleading Autopilot application and the recently updated Full Self-Driving software beta in the interest of the general public. Zipper’s plan,
HFSS Performance for “Almost Free”
Everyday, engineers are running simulations to deliver the next generation of products to make our lives better. Everyday, they wait for those simulations to finish, wishing that they could get answers instantaneously. While waiting for those simulations or checking on the status of their runs at night, they might indulge in… Read More
Rapidus, IBM, and the Billion-Dollar Silicon Sovereignty Bet