Synopsys Security Webinar 800x100 High Quality (2)

Wanted by January 30th: Paper for DAC IP Track 2018!

Wanted by January 30th: Paper for DAC IP Track 2018!
by Eric Esteve on 01-25-2018 at 12:00 pm

DAC 2018 will take place in San Francisco in June (24 to 28) and you have a fantastic opportunity to present a paper in the IP track! In fact, the deadline has been extended to January 30[SUP]th[/SUP] to submit your proposal.

Let’s make it clear: you are not expected to send the completed paper by this date, just the following:

  • The title
Read More

Webinar: Fast-track SoC Verification – Reduce time-to-first-test with Synopsys VC AutoTestbench

Webinar: Fast-track SoC Verification – Reduce time-to-first-test with Synopsys VC AutoTestbench
by Bernard Murphy on 01-25-2018 at 7:00 am

There seems to be a general sense that we have the foundations for block/IP verification more or less under control, thanks to UVM standardizing infrastructure for directed and constrained-random testing, along with class libraries providing building blocks to simplify verification reuse, build sequence tests, verify register… Read More


Designing an SoC for 3D TV Without using the Funny Glasses

Designing an SoC for 3D TV Without using the Funny Glasses
by Daniel Payne on 01-24-2018 at 12:00 pm

In the blur of activities at DAC last year I visited the Mentor booth a few times and had just a few minutes to glance at a 3D TV display that didn’t require me to wear any funny glasses, kind of novel I thought at the time because I’ve read that the market of 3D TV sets is being hampered by requiring viewers to wear glasses. The… Read More


Context is Everything – especially for autonomous vehicle IP

Context is Everything – especially for autonomous vehicle IP
by Tom Simon on 01-24-2018 at 7:00 am

GM has just announced that it will introduce a car with no steering wheel or pedals in 2019. According to their statement, they have already planned four phases of their autonomous driving system, and they will plan many more. However, before we jump into this latest car and not grab the wheel for a spin, it is reasonable to ask about… Read More


TSMC 5nm and EUV Update 2018

TSMC 5nm and EUV Update 2018
by Daniel Nenni on 01-23-2018 at 12:00 pm

The TSMC Q4 2017 earnings call transcript is up and I found it to be quite interesting for several reasons. First and foremost, this is the last call Chairman Dr. Morris Chang will participate in which signifies the end of a world changing era for me and the fabless semiconductor ecosystem, absolutely. TSMC announced his retirement… Read More


Simulation and Formal – Finding the Right Balance

Simulation and Formal – Finding the Right Balance
by Bernard Murphy on 01-23-2018 at 7:00 am

Simulation dominates hardware functional verification today and likely will continue to dominate for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile formal verification, once thought to be a possible challenger for the title, has instead converged on a more effective role as a complement to simulation. Formal excels at finding problems… Read More


How many engineers does it take to get an IoT security certificate?

How many engineers does it take to get an IoT security certificate?
by Diya Soubra on 01-22-2018 at 12:00 pm

Spoiler alert, the answer is none!

Let me take you back to the beginning to explain that answer.


For the sake of this discussion, I will reduce a complex IoT solution to three fundamental blocks:

  • IoT node
  • IoT Gateway
  • IoT Server

The IoT node is a sensor that converts analog, physical world context into digital data. The node has to haveRead More


Autonomous Automobile Update ISS 2018

Autonomous Automobile Update ISS 2018
by Daniel Nenni on 01-22-2018 at 7:00 am

As a car enthusiast and a semiconductor professional the latest automotive trends are of great interest to me. My father raced sports cars and I remember being part of the pit crew (but not really) and impatiently waiting for my turn to drive. The years before my 16[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday when I could legally drive were the slowest… Read More


A New Year’s resolution: Turn off computers

A New Year’s resolution: Turn off computers
by Vivek Wadhwa on 01-20-2018 at 7:00 am

Facebook’s recent acknowledgment that social media may be making its users feel bad in some cases is a significant milestone. So far, the technology industry hardly has talked about the downsides of their products. Now a realization seems to be setting in that perhaps something has gone wrong along the way.

Academic research thatRead More


Moore’s Law Drives Foundries and IP Providers

Moore’s Law Drives Foundries and IP Providers
by Daniel Payne on 01-19-2018 at 7:00 am

2017 was a banner year for semiconductor sales as they topped $400B for the first time, an increase of some 20%, there is happiness in Silicon Valley, Taiwan, South Korea, and well, everywhere. With the foundries pushing to ever-smaller process dimensions and even going back to mature nodes and offering more variations that are… Read More