More and more companies, regardless of their vertical, are trying to get closer to their customers and see various aspects of the internet of things (IoT) as the way to do so. For a good example, here is Salesforce Wear Developer Pack which, as they say:..is a collection of open-source starter apps that let you quickly design and build… Read More
TSMC Breaks More Records in Q3 2014!
As previously predicted TSMC is having another record breaking SoC quarter. TSMC is my favorite economic bellwether and from what I can see the semiconductor industry will continue to grow this year and next at a rapid rate thanks to TSMC and the fabless semiconductor ecosystem:
We have set a new record of revenue and profitability… Read More
Finding Logic Issues Early that Impact Physical Implementation
Complex SoC project teams typically use a divide and conquer approach where specialized engineers work in separate domains, like front-end or back-end. The five major engineering tasks for IC design can be described as: RTL design, synthesis, floor planning, place and route, then finally design analysis.
What if you could detect… Read More
Demler: Quad Core is Just For Marketing; Intel Will Not Succeed in Mobile
At Memcon today Mike Demler of the Linley Group (and coincidentally someone who used to work for me back at Cadence and who now run Memcon, small world) gave an interesting presentation on Trends in Mobile Processors. A mobile application processor (AP) is a highly integrated SoC to run the applications in a mobile device. Mostly… Read More
Did we forget non-volatile memory?
In our rush to shrink SoC nodes more and more to achieve better performance and more complex devices, we may have forgotten a passenger in the back seat: non-volatile memory. There has been little discussion of this in the pages of SemiWiki until now. Let’s give it a closer look.
Embedded flash has usually been associated with microcontrollers,… Read More
"How do I …?" Fast help for specific EDA software questions
It’s a question that we ask all the time. How do I replace a door? How do I set up a printer? For most questions in today’s world, you can open a browser, type a question into your favorite search engine…and voilà, there you go! Ten seconds of typing, a few more sorting through the results, and you have an answer (or many answers!). This … Read More
Mentor Wins v Synopsys
Just a couple of days ago I read a curious press release.Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), today announced that a Portland, Oregon jury delivered a verdict in favor of Mentor in a trial in which Mentor asserted infringement of one of its patents against Emulation and Verification Engineering S.A. (EVE) and Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:… Read More
EDA and the Nobel Prize in Physics!
What does EDA and the Nobel Prize for Physics have in common? Our very own Dr. Walden Rhines (CEO of Mentor Graphics):
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 was awarded jointly to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving… Read More
GPU Benchmarks? Try to See the Complete Picture…
We all know benchmarks, but do we really understand benchmark results? Benchmark users should always look beyond the simple score when making in-depth technical analysis and request to see all the facts. There are many graphics benchmarks to choose from but let’s name today these three below:
3DMark Ice Stormfrom Futuremark… Read More
How ST Designs with Layout Dependent Effects (LDE)
I first visited STat their Agrate, Italy site where Flash memory development is done. At DACthis year Antonio Bogani talked about how ST designs with LDE while using EDA tools and a PDK (Process Design Kit) from Cadence. They recorded the 17 minute presentation, and you can view it herewithout having to register. Antonio’s… Read More
The Data Crisis is Unfolding – Are We Ready?