There’s much talk in EDA about High Level Synthesis (HLS), Transaction Level Modeling (TLM) and the Universal Verification Methodology (UVM), however there’s a lower-level of abstraction, the transistor-level, where high-speed digital cell libraries are created, analog circuits are crafted, and AMS designers… Read More
What makes the world smart?
The simple answer is when everything in the world is smart. But if you think deeply, you would find that the continuous progression to make things easy in life is what makes the world smarter day-by-day – the sky is the limit. In the world of computing, consider the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century era when humanbrain was used as a computer … Read More
Coverage Driven Analog Verification
Ad hoc digital design verification approaches ran out of steam at least a decade ago when designs got intractably large to make it feasible to keep track of everything with pen and paper and excel. But analog design has remained largely ad hoc to this day. The designer runs spice, looks at the waveforms that come out and decide whether… Read More
Where have all the semiconductor drivers gone?
Tablets and smartphones have been key drivers of electronics and semiconductor growth for the last few years. However the growth rates for these devices are slowing as they have become more prevalent. Tablet shipments are expected to reach 229 million units in 2014, according to Gartner, equal to 73% of PC units. IDC projects smartphones… Read More
SIM cards and avoiding stranded IoT assets
Since pennants, drums, smoke, and horses fell out of favor to more advanced communication technology, network operators have struggled to find balance. Too few subscribers interested, and infrastructure investments completely fail. Just the right number of paying users, revenue streams provide profit and ability to invest… Read More
Mentor Aims to Improve Yield and Production Ramp for PCBs
Getting a printed circuit board from design and into production presents one of the biggest challenges in successfully launching a product. The designer’s job is to anticipate issues that can adversely affect PCB fabrication and assembly. Design rules and component libraries go part of the way, but there is a thicket of things… Read More
Codasip and Coby and Czech
At ARM TechCon I ran into Coby Hanoch who has just been appointed VP worldwide sales of a comany that I’d not previously heard of called Codasip. As the name implies they supply code, and ASIPs. Well, actually IP source code and ASIP tools. The company is based in Brno (pronounced pretty much like Bruno) in the Czech republic … Read More
Leakage Current TCAD Calibration in a-Si TFTs
Two weeks ago I blogged about amorphous silicon and how that material is well-suited for designing TFTs. Today I’m following up after watching the archived webinarpresented by Nam-Kyun Tak of Silvaco. After clicking on that link you’ll be brought to a brief sign-up page and then can watch the archived webinar in your… Read More
More Apple A9 Ridiculousness!
File this one under funny things journalists are paid to say. Last week the Korea Times reported that Apple had “designated” Samsung as the primary supplier of the next Apple SoC. In response, the Chinese Commercial Times reported that TSMC is to supply the Apple A9 chip despite competition from Samsung. Since SemiWiki readers … Read More
Not Mobile, Automotive to See Max Semiconductor Growth!
There is no denying that mobile market is almost matured, the growth in the semiconductor industry has to pick up somewhere else. Although it’s expected that worldwide cellphone subscription will exceed the world population in 2015 (already exceeded in many parts of Europe) and continue for some time (while CAGR in unique subscription… Read More
Why NA is Not Relevant to Resolution in EUV Lithography