USB 3 protocol is now height years old, but USB 3.1 is much more recent (2014). The adoption behavior for USB protocol is unique, as USB 2.0 bandwidth (480 Mbps) is largely enough for certain applications. Nevertheless we have seen the sales for USB 3 IP passing the USB 2 in value during 2014, and the total USB IP segment becoming the … Read More




Finding IoT patents that are not worthless and weak
Is that an IoT patent application I see pinned to your desktop? A new analysis by technology intellectual property legal experts LexInnova confirms IoT patents are being generated rapidly – and looks at which classes of patents are likely to be worth something in acquisition or litigation.… Read More
Arteris Unveils Solution for Heterogeneous Cache Coherent SOC’s
Designing SOC’s for markets like automotive and mobile electronics requires taking advantage of every opportunity for optimization. One way to do this is through building a cache coherent system to boost speed and reduce power. Recently, NXP decided to go about this on their automotive MCU based SOC’s by using Arteris’ just-announced… Read More
DRC Concept for IP Qualification and SoC Integration
In the history of semiconductor design and manufacturing, the age-old concept of DRC rule-deck qualification for handshake between design and manufacturing still applies strongly to produce working silicon. In fact, DRC clean GDSII works as the de facto golden gate between a design and a foundry for manufacturing the chip for… Read More
Aart de Geus, Technomics and #53DAC
The number one EDA+IP vendor in our industry today is Synopsys, and their eloquent leader is Aart de Geus, so I expect that the Monday interview at #53DAC on June 6th will be well attended and worthwhile to witness in the DAC Pavilion, start time is 11:30AM, so arrive early to get a seat. One of Aart’s coined words is Technomics,… Read More
Six Reasons to Visit Cadence at #53DAC this Year in Austin
For bloggers like myself spending four days at #53DAC is almost a non-stop blur of activity, visiting EDA vendors, IP providers and foundries to learn about what’s happening in our semiconductor industry. Cadence is both an EDA vendor and IP provider, so DAC is a great showcase for them to tell us what’s new in 2016 and… Read More
What the #3 EDA company is showing at #53DAC this year
I live in Tualatin, Oregon just a few miles away from the corporate headquarters of the #3 EDA company in the world, Mentor Graphics. Since DAC is fast approaching, I thought it would be useful to give you a quick overview of what Mentor is going to be talking about in Austin, Texas during June 5-9. … Read More
Power Noise Sign-off at #53DAC
When I hear the company name of ANSYS the first EDA tool category that comes to mind is power noise sign-off. Going to DAC is a great way to find out what’s new with EDA, IP and foundries. There are three places that you can find ANSYS at DAC this year:… Read More
IMEC Technology Forum (ITF) – EUV When, Not If
For me personally EUV has been something of a roller coaster ride over the last several years. I started out a strong believer in EUV but then at the SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference in 2014 TSMC gave a very negative assessment of EUV, and there was a SEMATECH paper on high NA EUV that struck me as extremely unlikely to succeed. I … Read More
Moving chips from industrial to industrial IoT
IHS has put out its 1Q2016 Application Market Forecast predicting the highest growth rate segments for semiconductors over the next five years – and what was once old is new yet again. There it is, in the top right corner: industrial, projected to outpace even the automotive sector.… Read More
Memory Innovation at the Edge: Power Efficiency Meets Green Manufacturing