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Are Your Transistor Models Good Enough?

Are Your Transistor Models Good Enough?
by Daniel Payne on 08-16-2016 at 12:00 pm

SoC designers can now capture their design ideas with high-level languages like C and SystemC, then synthesize those abstractions down into RTL code or gates, however in the end the physical IC is implemented using cell libraries made up of transistors. Circuit designers use simulation tools like SPICE on these transistor-level… Read More


Real Artificial Neurons

Real Artificial Neurons
by Bernard Murphy on 08-16-2016 at 7:00 am

Neural nets are a hot topic these days and encourage us to think of solutions to complex tasks like image recognition in terms of how the human brain handles that task. But our model today for this neuromorphic computing is several steps removed from how neurons actually work. We’re still using conventional digital computation … Read More


Semi execs look at IoT tradeoffs a bit differently

Semi execs look at IoT tradeoffs a bit differently
by Don Dingee on 08-15-2016 at 4:00 pm

What happens when you get a panel of four executives together with an industry-leading journalist to discuss tradeoffs in IoT designs? After the obligatory introductions, Ed Sperling took this group into questions on power, performance, and integration.… Read More


Rigid-Flex Cabling is Cool! (and requires unique EDA support)

Rigid-Flex Cabling is Cool! (and requires unique EDA support)
by Tom Dillinger on 08-15-2016 at 10:00 am

The three F’s of electronic product development are: form, fit, and function. Although the F/F/F assessment typically refers to the selection of the right component, it most definitely also refers to the selection of the proper cabling between assemblies. The requirements for cables are varied, and demanding: ability… Read More


Catching low-power simulation bugs earlier and faster

Catching low-power simulation bugs earlier and faster
by Daniel Payne on 08-15-2016 at 7:00 am

I’ve owned and used many generations of cell phones, starting back in the 1980’s with the Motorola DynaTAC phone and the biggest usability factor has always been the battery life, just how many hours of standby time will this phone provide and how many minutes of actual talk time before the battery needs to be recharged… Read More


Further delays in KLAM deal not a good omen

Further delays in KLAM deal not a good omen
by Robert Maire on 08-14-2016 at 4:00 pm

Deal likely getting worse as time & remedies go by…
Just a couple of short weeks ago on the earnings conference call, Lam management was adamant about the KLAM deal getting done and done by the Oct 20th deadline. Martin Anstice, the CEO , went to great lengths to tell us that the deal was under control, was going to happen,
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SEMICON West – Globalfoundries Update

SEMICON West – Globalfoundries Update
by Scotten Jones on 08-14-2016 at 12:00 pm

On Wednesday of SEMICON West I got to sit down with Gary Patton, CTO of GlobalFoundries and get an update on what has been going on with them.

Gary started the interview by pointing out that it has now been a year since the GlobalFoundries purchase of many of IBM’s semiconductor assets and they have hit every commitment they made.… Read More


Dealerless Future for Driverless Cars

Dealerless Future for Driverless Cars
by Roger C. Lanctot on 08-14-2016 at 7:00 am

The Chevrolet Volt was a technological marvel from its very launch. A so-called plug-in extended range electric vehicle that could be operated entirely on battery power as long as it was only driven short distances or for hundreds of miles on gasoline. But something happened on the way to the market that suggests deeper troubles… Read More


Qualcomm is Back on Top of the SoC World!

Qualcomm is Back on Top of the SoC World!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-13-2016 at 7:00 am

In 2015 Qualcomm stunned the fabless semiconductor world with an unprecedented layoff. When I first heard about it the number was 5% but it kept growing and finally hit 15%. The big misstep here was, that after being the SoC leader starting in 2007 with the Snapdragon series of chips that powered the Smartphone revolution, QCOM did… Read More


Memory War Z: Samsung spins antidote to 3D XPoint

Memory War Z: Samsung spins antidote to 3D XPoint
by Don Dingee on 08-12-2016 at 4:00 pm

The 2016 edition of the Flash Memory Summit produced more than the usual amount of excitement. Samsung’s response to the Intel/Micron 3D XPoint challenge arrived in new slideware, indicating the war for next-generation SSDs is just starting. Who has the advantage?

We’d all like to think this is about creating a breakthrough technology,… Read More