The cell-based ASIC business that we know today was born in the early 1980s and was pioneered by companies like LSI Logic and VLSI Technology. Some of this history is covered in Chapter 2 of our book, “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry”. The ASIC business truly changed the world. Prior to this revolution,… Read More





IP Management Using both Git and Methodics
I use Quicken to manage my business and personal finances because it saves me so much time by downloading all of my transactions from Chase for credit card, Amazon for credit card, Wells Fargo for banking and Schwab for IRA. Likewise, for IP management in SoC design you want an app like Quicken that plays well with other tools that you… Read More
The Importance of Daughter Cards in FPGA Prototyping
FPGA Prototyping started with the advent of FPGAs in the 1980s and today it is a fast growing market segment due to increasing chip and IP complexities up against tightening windows of opportunities. Getting your design verified quickly and allowing hardware and software engineers the opportunity to develop, test, and optimize… Read More
Forget the Saudis: Apple or Google should acquire Tesla
Steve Jobs wanted to build an electric car as far back as 2008. In 2014, Tim Cook reportedly funded the project. To date, though, Apple has had little to show for it, and the rumors are that its electric vehicle will launch as late as 2025— long after such things become common commodities. Google has already had self-driving electric… Read More
Apps Before there were Apps
This is the thirteenth in the series of “20 Questions with Wally Rhines”
My development of a calculator program to determine the Black Scholes value for an option was not the only application that attracted financial people to programmable calculators. As the SR-52, and later TI 59, grew in popularity, and took market… Read More
Analog IC design across PVT conditions, something new
Transistor-level design for full-custom and analog circuits has long been a way for IC design companies to get the absolute best performance out of silicon and keep ahead of the competition. One challenge to circuit designers is meeting all of the specs across all Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) corners, so that silicon… Read More
The Robots are Coming!
Moshe Sheier, VP Marketing at CEVA, recently got back from MWC Shanghai and commented that robots are clearly trending. He saw hordes of robots from dozens of companies, begging for someone to brand and offer them in any one of many possible applications: in an airport to guide you to a connecting flight, for elder care, in hospitals… Read More
ISO 26262: People, Process and Product
Kurt Shuler, VP Marketing at Arteris IP, is pretty passionate that people working in the automotive supply chain should understand not just a minimalist reading of ISO 26262 as it applies to them but rather the broader intent, particularly as it is likely to affect others higher in the supply chain. As an active ISO 26262 working … Read More
An FPGA Industry Veteran’s View of Future
There are tectonic changes happening in the world of FPGAs. A lot has changed since their introduction in the 80’s. Back then they were mostly used to implement state machines or glue logic. Subsequently they grew more complex with the addition of high speed IOs, eRAM, DSPs, other processors and other IP. More recently though FPGAs… Read More
Analytics and Visualization for Big Data Chip Analysis
Designers require comprehensive logical, physical, and electrical models to interpret the results of full-chip power noise and electromigration analysis flows, and subsequently deduce the appropriate design updates to address any analysis issues. These models include: LEF, DEF, Liberty library models (including detailed… Read More
Semiconductor Equipment Spending Healthy