From several literatures, talks in the semiconductor industry, forecasts, and BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), specifically in the context of IoT (Internet of Things) and IoE (Internet of Everything), we have been looking forward to a world with over a trillion sensors around us. I recollect (produced below) from an impressive… Read More
S2C eyeing 1B gate FPGA-based prototypes
We hear a lot about FPGA-based prototyping hardware: Aldec, Dini Group, PRO DESIGN, Synopsys, and others. So, why is today’s news on a new platform from S2C important? It’s a matter of intent, beyond the act of gluing a few large FPGAs on a board for customers to dump more and more prospective RTL into.
Size differences aside, each … Read More
Top 10 Reasons to Use Industry-standard Data Management
Should a semiconductor/IP company use a proprietary data-management (DM) environment? Or even develop their own? After all, every company is unique and developing a unique DM allows a perfect match of just what is required for that particular company. And, in principle, a proprietary DM system can underpin the design management… Read More
SecurCore: Modern Hardware Security Approach
The increasing number of interconnected devices grows day by day and has slowly begun expansion into other consumer products. The need for safe, efficient, and reliable systems that meet modern user expectations has become increasingly important as a result. SoC engineers addressing these challenges must consider design … Read More
TSV Modeling Key for Next Generation SOC Module Performance
The use of silicon interposers is growing. Several years ago Xilinx broke new ground by employing interposers in their Virtex®-7 H580T FPGA. Last August Samsung announced what they say is the first DDR4 module to use 3D TSV’s for enterprise servers. Their 64GB double data rate-4 modules will be used for high end computing where … Read More
A Comprehensive Power Optimization Solution
In an electronic world driven by smaller devices packed with larger functions, power becomes a critical factor to manage. With power consumption leading to heat dissipation issues, reliability of the device can be affected, if not controlled or the device not cooled. Moreover, for mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets… Read More
Networking at 52nd DAC in SFO
Yes, the 52nd DAC(Design Automation Conference) is a technical conference plus exhibition with wonderful keynote speakers and agenda, however there is a certain serendipity that occurs by just meeting people, face to face at the many networking opportunities. The best way to kick off your DAC experience is by attending the Sunday… Read More
Rockchip Bets on Arteris FlexNoC Interconnect IP to Leapfrog SoC Design
China was a virgin territory for Arteris Inc. before July 19, 2012 when Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics announced that it has licensed the Arteris FlexNoC network-on-chip (NoC)-based interconnect IP technology for its multicore SoCs for budget Android tablets. Rockchip mostly targets the tablet and set-top box (STB) markets … Read More
Moore’s Law is dead, long live Moore’s Law – part 3
In the second installment of this series we reviewed the cost drivers that have enabled the semiconductor industry to continue to cost reduce the cost per transistor year after year. In the next three installments we will discuss the product specific issues beginning with this installment discussing DRAM.… Read More
Moore’s Law is dead, long live Moore’s Law – part 2
In the first installment of this series on Moore’s law we examined what Moore’s law is and presented some data on how it has affected the industry. In this installment we will discuss the manufacturing cost reduction strategies that have made Moore’s law possible.
Manufacturing Cost Drivers
The manufacturing cost of a semiconductor… Read More
5 Expectations for the Memory Markets in 2025