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3 Projections About Nokia’s Smartphone Reboot

3 Projections About Nokia’s Smartphone Reboot
by Majeed Ahmad on 06-22-2015 at 8:00 pm

I have written a book on Nokia’s smartphone problem. The name of the book is Nokia’s Smartphone Problem: The End of an Icon? and it chronicles the Finnish company’s journey from a mobile handset maestro to a smartphone also-ran.

Nokia’s smartphone story began with the launch of the Communicator 900—arguably… Read More


Predicting Lifetime of Analog ICs

Predicting Lifetime of Analog ICs
by Pawan Fangaria on 06-22-2015 at 12:30 pm

With the increase of transistors per unit area, high density interconnects and manufacturing variability at lower nodes, the electronic devices have become more vulnerable to failures. The devices that operate under extreme conditions such as automotive devices that operate at high temperatures need to be robust enough to… Read More


SEMulator3D on Silicon Cloud International

SEMulator3D on Silicon Cloud International
by Paul McLellan on 06-22-2015 at 7:00 am

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote about Silicon Cloud International (SCI). Their mission is to help smaller countries that have targeted semiconductor design as a way to move up the technology ladder from low-cost manufacturing. Last year everything was in the future but SCI now have their first two centers up and running. The first,… Read More


GlobalFoundries IBM Deal to Close July 1st!

GlobalFoundries IBM Deal to Close July 1st!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-21-2015 at 5:00 am

Probably one of the most awaited semiconductor events is coming next week if the Poughkeepsie Journal is correct, which from what I’m told by my Albany friends, they are. The official announcement was made last October using the slide deck which can be found HERE. It was originally thought that the approval process would take a year… Read More


Unlock the Key to Ultra-Low Power Design

Unlock the Key to Ultra-Low Power Design
by Tom Simon on 06-20-2015 at 7:00 am

We have been hearing about low power for a long time. Fortunately, low power chip operation has come about through a large number of innovations. Key among these is clock gating, frequency and voltage scaling, managing leakage with lower threshold voltage, HKMG, and many other techniques. But we are entering the age of ultra low… Read More


An Universe of Formats for IP Validation

An Universe of Formats for IP Validation
by Pawan Fangaria on 06-19-2015 at 4:30 pm

Although I knew about Crossfire’s capabilities for signing off quality of an IP before its integration into an SoC, there was much more to learn about this tool when I visited Fractal Technologies booth during this DAC. The complexity handled by this tool to qualify any type of IP for its integration into an SoC can be imagined by the… Read More


IBM Design Tools in the Cloud: Big News or Old News?

IBM Design Tools in the Cloud: Big News or Old News?
by Paul McLellan on 06-19-2015 at 7:00 am

One announcement that I missed coming up to the Design Automation Conference last week was that SiCAD is hosting a portfolio of IBM’s design automation tools in the cloud. Supposedly these are priced half the cost of similar capability from Cadence, Synopsys and Mentor. So should the big three be worried? Is this an earth-shattering… Read More


Solido Has Perfected the Emerging EDA Company Business Model!

Solido Has Perfected the Emerging EDA Company Business Model!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-18-2015 at 7:00 pm

Last year at #51DAC we gave away more than a thousand printed versions of our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor industry.” This year we gave away pens with a light and stylus. My friends at Solido Design gave away 600 pens in their booth and we gave away another 400 at our DAC reception on Wednesday night. Solido… Read More


Can FD-SOI Change the Rule of Game?

Can FD-SOI Change the Rule of Game?
by Pawan Fangaria on 06-18-2015 at 12:00 pm

It appears so. Why there is so much rush towards FD-SOI in recent days? Before talking about the game, let me reflect a bit on the FD-SOI technology first. The FD-SOI at 28nm claims to be the most power-efficient and lesser cost technology compared to any other technology available at that node. There are many other advantages from… Read More


Semiconductor Equipment: the Report and the Show

Semiconductor Equipment: the Report and the Show
by Paul McLellan on 06-18-2015 at 7:00 am

Somebody said to me recently that SEMICON West, which takes place in San Francisco July 14-16th, isn’t that big a deal since very little manufacturing goes on in the US any more. In fact 15% of manufacturing capacity is in north america (I think that actually means the US since I don’t think there are any fabs in Canada).… Read More