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AMD and Intel Update with Xilinx

AMD and Intel Update with Xilinx
by Daniel Nenni on 11-06-2020 at 10:00 am

AMD Xilinx Acquisition

The AMD acquisition of Xilinx is certainly big news but as an insider looking at the media coverage I think there are a few more points to consider. While most of the coverage has been positive there will always be negatives and we can look at that as well.

Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for $16.7B at a 50% premium which was a major disruption… Read More


Leading Edge Foundry Wafer Prices

Leading Edge Foundry Wafer Prices
by Scotten Jones on 11-06-2020 at 6:00 am

Slide1

I have seen several articles recently discussing foundry wafer selling prices for leading edge wafers, these articles all quote estimates from a paper by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). The paper is available here.

My company IC Knowledge LLC is the world leader in cost and price modeling of semiconductors… Read More


Creating Workflows for HCL Compass Just Got Easier

Creating Workflows for HCL Compass Just Got Easier
by Mike Gianfagna on 11-05-2020 at 10:00 am

Creating Workflows for HCL Compass Just Got Easier

Workflows allow the world to function. The orderly process of sequencing tasks and automating handoffs creates tremendous potential for efficiency and error avoidance. As they say, time is money and workflows can save a lot of time. The principle applies in all kinds of industries. If you design chips for a living, you’re very … Read More


Verification IP for Systems? It’s Not What You Think.

Verification IP for Systems? It’s Not What You Think.
by Bernard Murphy on 11-05-2020 at 6:00 am

System VIP2 min

When I think of verification IP (VIP), I think of something closely tied to a protocol standard – AMBA, MIPI or DDR for example. Something that will generate traffic and run protocol compliance checks, to verify correct operation of an IP or as a model to use in SoC verification. What would a VIP for systems be? Systems support multiple… Read More


What’s Driving This New Wave of Semiconductor Merger Mania?

What’s Driving This New Wave of Semiconductor Merger Mania?
by Wally Rhines on 11-04-2020 at 10:00 am

Predicting Semiconductor Business Trends SemiWiki

Nvidia/ARM $40B. AMD/Xilinx $35B. Marvell/Inphi $10B. Despite the disruption of COVID, a wave of high value semiconductor acquisitions is sweeping the industry. Why? Did something happen that stimulated this consolidation? Until 2015, the industry was experiencing continuous “de-consolidation” that started in 1965. … Read More


The Gold Standard for Electromagnetic Analysis

The Gold Standard for Electromagnetic Analysis
by Daniel Nenni on 11-04-2020 at 6:00 am

Example of a multi level board analyzed by HFSS

Ansys HFSS has been the world’s trusted gold standard for  electromagnetic analysis for many years. As chip designs get bigger and more complex many users report that they’re extremely happy with the gold standard accuracy of HFSS but wish it would run faster. Fortunately Ansys has introduced many capabilities to HFSS over the… Read More


I Have Seen the Future – Cornami’s TruStream Computational Fabric Changes Computing

I Have Seen the Future – Cornami’s TruStream Computational Fabric Changes Computing
by Mike Gianfagna on 11-03-2020 at 10:00 am

Cornami The Next Mega Trend in Computing

Here is another installment regarding presentations at the Linley Fall Processor Conference. Every now and again, you see a presentation at an event like this that shakes you up.  Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much. I attended the Cornami presentation on its new TruStream computational fabric and I was definitely shaken… Read More


Verifying PCIe 5.0 with PLDA, Avery and Aldec

Verifying PCIe 5.0 with PLDA, Avery and Aldec
by Bernard Murphy on 11-03-2020 at 6:00 am

little fish big fish min

Mike Gianfagna, a fellow SemiWiki blogger and a one-time colleague at Atrenta shared a useful piece of marketing advice. If your company is not the biggest fish in the pond and you want to appear more significant, team up with other companies to put on an event, say a webinar. Pick your partners so that you can jointly offer a larger,… Read More


SkillCAD Adds Powerful Editing Commands to Virtuoso

SkillCAD Adds Powerful Editing Commands to Virtuoso
by Tom Simon on 11-02-2020 at 10:00 am

SKillCAD Creating a Metal Bus

Despite the large role of place and route in IC design, there will always be a need for custom layout design. This is particularly true in radio frequency (RF), power management (PM) and power amplifier (PA) circuits, among others. Cadence Virtuoso is by far the leading tool for creating these custom designs. Virtuoso has a sophisticated… Read More


Designing Smarter, not Smaller AI Chips with GLOBALFOUNDRIES

Designing Smarter, not Smaller AI Chips with GLOBALFOUNDRIES
by Mike Gianfagna on 11-02-2020 at 6:00 am

Designing Smarter not Smaller AI Chips with GLOBLFOUNDRIES

On October 20 at the Linley Fall Processor Conference, GLOBALFOUNDRIES made a compelling case for designing smarter, not smaller AI chips. The virtual conference was filled with presentations on the latest architectures and chips for all types of AI/ML applications. It was therefore a refreshing change of pace to hear the fab… Read More