CAST Compression IP Webinar 800x100 (2)

OneSpin Launchpad, the App Store for Formal Verification

OneSpin Launchpad, the App Store for Formal Verification
by Paul McLellan on 05-21-2015 at 7:00 am

Formal verification is qualitatively different from most other verification. A simulation can pass or fail. But while formal verification can prove that the circuit is correct, or incorrect, it can also return “not proven” which means either that the algorithms realized that they were not powerful enough to prove… Read More


Global Electronics Trending Upward

Global Electronics Trending Upward
by Bill Jewell on 05-21-2015 at 12:00 am

Global electronics production is on a generally positive trend. The chart below shows three-month-average change versus a year ago (3/12 change) for electronics production by country or region in local currency. Total industrial production is shown for Europe and South Korea since electronics production data is not available.… Read More


NFV opens gate for ARM server stampede

NFV opens gate for ARM server stampede
by Don Dingee on 05-20-2015 at 5:00 pm

A couple of years ago, our own Paul McLellan gave us a report on the 2013 Linley Microprocessor Conference with a provocative headline: “Server Shift to ARM Becomes a Stampede”, a title right off one of the Linley slides. 64-bit ARMv8 architecture was relatively new to the game, and ARM share in networking platforms was just a sliver… Read More


How Microtechnology Will Change Just About Everything

How Microtechnology Will Change Just About Everything
by Tom Simon on 05-20-2015 at 1:00 pm

When I hear the term micro-technology my first thought is of accelerometers and gyroscopes. However as I’ll explain shortly, micro technology is being applied to a lot more than smartphones and quadcopters. The fruits of development in this area will affect industry, medical, energy, transportation and many other sectors. … Read More


High-Voltage Power Design

High-Voltage Power Design
by admin on 05-20-2015 at 7:00 am

Most of what is talked about on SemiWiki is silicon design. After all for regular SoCs it is the only game in town. But for high voltage power applications (think automotive for one big market) there are other more esoteric technologies becoming more attractive.

Silicon has been the material of choice for high-voltage power applications… Read More


The Future of Chip Design in the Internet Age

The Future of Chip Design in the Internet Age
by Mike Gianfagna on 05-20-2015 at 1:00 am

Huge designs, spectacular design costs, astronomical capital expenditure. Welcome to the present day semiconductor industry. As discussed in my prior post, the days of democratized silicon access have been replaced by an elite market. Custom chips are once again a rich person’s game. Does it have to stay this way? I personally… Read More


A Key Partner in the Semiconductor Ecosystem

A Key Partner in the Semiconductor Ecosystem
by Pawan Fangaria on 05-19-2015 at 5:00 pm

Often we hear about isolated instances of excellence from various companies in the semiconductor industry which contribute significantly in building the overall ecosystem. While the individual excellence is essential, it’s rather more important how that excellence is utilized in a larger way by the industry to create a ‘value… Read More


Custom IC Panel: Winning the Custom IC Design Race!

Custom IC Panel: Winning the Custom IC Design Race!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-19-2015 at 12:00 pm

Back in the day, EDA companies enabled the foundries. Seriously, those pesky little foundries chased us EDA companies around like puppies who needed a walk. Now, emerging EDA and IP companies are the puppies and we chase the foundries. Solido Design Automation is one of the hardest working puppies that I have ever helped with strategic… Read More


Ten Things to Do in San Francisco the Way the Locals Do

Ten Things to Do in San Francisco the Way the Locals Do
by Paul McLellan on 05-19-2015 at 7:00 am

DAC is in San Francisco, of course, and perhaps you have a day or two to do explore the city. Guidebooks will tell you to visit most of these places but there are much better ways to see them than they typically recommend. Follow these instructions and pretend you are a local.

1. Ride a Cable Car. But don’t wait in line for 45 minutes at Union… Read More


SemiWiki at #52DAC: Nominated for Best Paper Award!

SemiWiki at #52DAC: Nominated for Best Paper Award!
by Eric Esteve on 05-18-2015 at 7:00 pm

Blogging for Semiwiki is a very good exercise to prepare a paper submission at DAC. Writing a short article using about 600 words to pass one message, and try to deliver this message as clearly as possible. Writing a paper for DAC is very similar, as you have to be synthetic and develop a thesis in 5 slides, no more, as it’s a time limited… Read More