On July 9, 2019, I attended the TechTALK session hosted by Dave Kelf of Breker Systems, Inc. titled, “Applied AI in Design-to-Manufacturing.” I was happy to hear what Dave had put together for this since it is a topic I am keenly interested in and because I have known Dave personally through music and charitable activities we have … Read More



5G and V2X
Amid the glamor of autonomous vehicles and hot new ADAS features, communication between vehicles and other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or infrastructure, generally labeled V2X, doesn’t get as much press, perhaps because adoption is still pretty early or because it’s technology under the hood (quite literally) and therefore… Read More
#DAC56 – Optimizing Verification Throughput for Advanced Designs in a Connected World
It was the final day of DAC56 and my head was already spinning from information overload after meeting so many people and hearing so many presentations, but I knew that IC functional verification was a huge topic and looming bottleneck for many SoC design teams, so I made a last-minute email request to attend a luncheon panel discussion… Read More
The Flash and the Taiwan ESD Seminar!
During my trip through Asia last week I attended the Taiwan ESD Workshop. Hsinchu is densely populated with some of the smartest semiconductor people in the world so it is well worth the trip, absolutely. As it turns out ESD is one of the top concerns in semiconductor design and manufacture. The current rule based and simulation … Read More
Synopsys and Synaptics Talk About Securing the Connected Home
Like many people, I have been adding automation to my home, and the number of connected devices I use has slowly but steadily increased. These include light bulbs, cameras, switches, a thermostat, a voice assistant, etc. Between them, they know when I am home or away, and have the ability to record images and sound. In addition to … Read More
PSS and Reuse: Great Solution But Not Hands-Free
If you’re new to PSS you could be forgiven for thinking that it automagically makes stimulus reusable, vertically from IPs to systems, horizontally between derivatives and between hardware-based and software-based testing. From a big-picture point of view these are certainly all potential benefits of PSS.
What PSS does provide… Read More
eSilicon’s Latest SerDes Solution is Here – And It Took A Village
I recently watched a webinar given by eSilicon about its project to enhance its licensable solution for 56 and 112 Gigabit per second PAM4 & NRZ DSP-based SerDes family in 7nm. I am sure it was complicated enough to coordinate a webinar with a host, a moderator, and three different technical presenters – however when we are talking… Read More
Fairchild’s Death March
The “20 Questions with John East” series continues
How did it end for Fairchild? Badly!!!
In 1966 Fairch was the number one supplier of integrated circuits. That was as it should have been. After all, Fairch had invented the IC. But in 1967 TI passed them. Still, Fairch remained a strong #2. By the time that the mid-seventies… Read More
Great, early signs of a recovery in logic, not memory
A “Logic Lead” recovery confirmed- Memory still mired, 3400C = “Third times a charm”. EUV finally accelerates as all ducks now in a row.
ASML posted a good quarter with great orders and capped off with a strong outlook for the current quarter. Logic demand is sparking a recovery while memory remains essentially… Read More
Could Trump Slump Give Mobility a Bump?
Reports from Reuters last week suggested that the European Union member states “should brace for U.S. tariffs on several fronts in the coming months,” based on the comments of a senior German official who had met with “U.S. officials and lawmakers” in Washington. Among other sectors in the Trump Administration’s… Read More
Should Intel be Split in Half?