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3D TCAD Simulation of Silicon Power Devices

3D TCAD Simulation of Silicon Power Devices
by Daniel Payne on 04-07-2016 at 12:00 pm

Process and device engineers are some of the unsung heroes in our semiconductor industry that have the daunting task of figuring out how to actually create a new process node that will fit some specific, market niche with sufficient yield to make their companies profitable and stand out from the competition. One such market segment… Read More


Mobile Unleashed…Reviewed

Mobile Unleashed…Reviewed
by Paul McLellan on 04-07-2016 at 10:00 am

I finished reading Don Dingee and Dan Nenni’s book, Mobile Unleashed, the Origin and Evolution of ARM Processors in Our Devices. I guess by way of disclosure I should say that Don and Dan both blogged with me here on SemiWiki for several years before I joined Cadence, and Dan’s last book Fabless was co-authored with me… Read More


Fabless vs IDM for Data Centers: Silicon Photonics as a Disruptive Force?

Fabless vs IDM for Data Centers: Silicon Photonics as a Disruptive Force?
by Mitch Heins on 04-07-2016 at 7:00 am

I recently received a copy of a book entitled Silicon Photonics III (Amazon) and while perusing the book I was captured by the first chapter entitled ‘Silicon Optical Interposers for High-Density Optical Interconnects’. The chapter covered the work of a team in Japan on an idea they termed “on-chip servers” and “on-board data … Read More


Fit-for-purpose IoT ASICs are about more than cost

Fit-for-purpose IoT ASICs are about more than cost
by Don Dingee on 04-06-2016 at 4:00 pm

We’ve been saying for a while that it looks like there is a resurgence in design starts for ASICs targeting the IoT. A recent webinar featuring speakers from ARM and Open Silicon (and moderated by Daniel Nenni) affirms this trend, and provides some insight on how these designs may differ from typical microcontrollers.

One of my first… Read More


Car Companies Confront Data Sharing

Car Companies Confront Data Sharing
by Roger C. Lanctot on 04-06-2016 at 12:00 pm

Senior OnStar executives have long intoned at industry events that the customer owns his or her data. The only problem is that the customer is only allowed glimpses of his or her data. They don’t have control of that data in spite of their so-called ownership of it.

It’s a complex challenge especially given the fact that… Read More


Silicon Valley Myth Keeps Growing

Silicon Valley Myth Keeps Growing
by Daniel Isenberg on 04-06-2016 at 7:00 am

I thought my ears were deceiving me when a commentator (I believe it was David Brooks) gushed with admiration on NPR a few years ago that it was great that Jeff Bezos of Amazon was injecting Silicon Valley thinking into the Washington Post. What?!?!?! Unless my Google got jammed, Amazon is in Seattle. But Silicon Valley got the tagline.… Read More


The Most Important Point You May Have Missed at CDNLive 2016!

The Most Important Point You May Have Missed at CDNLive 2016!
by Daniel Nenni on 04-06-2016 at 4:00 am

This was the best keynote lineup I can remember at a user group meeting. All four speakers are visionaries but from very different perspectives. The video of the event will be up later this month but from my first count the word “System(s)” was mentioned 32 times and the underlying message will transform the semiconductor industry… Read More


Innovation in Transistor Design with Carbon Nanotubes

Innovation in Transistor Design with Carbon Nanotubes
by Students@olemiss.edu on 04-05-2016 at 4:00 pm

The New York Times article “IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors” by John Markoff focuses on the goal of the semiconductor industry to create smaller transistors in order to remain competitive while emphasizing cutting-edge design strategies with the use of carbon nanotubes. By switching from traditional methods… Read More


Analog Design Verification — Traceability is Required

Analog Design Verification — Traceability is Required
by Tom Dillinger on 04-05-2016 at 9:45 am

Digital verification engineers have developed robust, thorough metrics for evaluating design coverage. Numerous tools are available to evaluate testbenches against RTL model descriptions — e.g., confirming that simulation regressions exhaustively exercise signal toggles, RTL statement lines, individual statement… Read More