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FinFET Design Enablement

FinFET Design Enablement
by Daniel Payne on 03-10-2015 at 1:00 pm

We read about FinFET technology in the semiconductor press daily now, thanks to Intel introducing their TriGate transistors starting in 2011 and creating a race with foundries and IDMs to switch from planar CMOS nodes. To get some perspective about the progress of FinFET IP and EDA tools I spoke with two experts from Synopsys, Swami… Read More


2015, the Year of the Sheep…And the 16nm FPGA

2015, the Year of the Sheep…And the 16nm FPGA
by Paul McLellan on 03-10-2015 at 7:00 am

If you live in California anyway, with its large Asian population, you can’t have helped noticing that it was the Lunar New Year a couple of weeks ago, the start of the year of the sheep. A couple of days after the New Year, Xilinx announced their new families of what they now call FPGAs, 3D ICs and MPSoCs. But which the rest of us … Read More


Why did Mentor Acquire Tanner EDA?

Why did Mentor Acquire Tanner EDA?
by Daniel Nenni on 03-09-2015 at 11:30 pm

You have to love when a professional journalist leaks a story and cites a “source close to the acquisition.” News flash: Anyone “close” to the acquisition is under NDA which is a legally binding agreement, not very professional if you ask me. Bloggers however can write whatever they want but since I was actually “close” to … Read More


MIPI Ecosystem talk at Seattle this week

MIPI Ecosystem talk at Seattle this week
by Eric Esteve on 03-09-2015 at 7:02 pm

Sunday 8, March 2015. D-day minus one before the MIPI Alliance Face to Face meeting, starting in Seattle on Monday 9[SUP]th[/SUP] for five days. MIPI members are joining from all around the world to attend this one week meeting. If you take a look at www.mipi.org you will see the names of the 263 members from MIPI. A strong ecosystem… Read More


Apple Watch Announcement

Apple Watch Announcement
by Daniel Payne on 03-09-2015 at 1:00 pm

Rock music, invitation only tickets, hollywood lighting, journalists from around the world, live streaming on the web, yes, another typical Apple-orchestrated product launch on Monday, March 9th at the Yerba Buena Center in California.

Up first was a video about Apple’s store opening in West Lake China with superb cinematography.… Read More


Voltage Limbo Dancing: How Low Can You Go?

Voltage Limbo Dancing: How Low Can You Go?
by Paul McLellan on 03-09-2015 at 7:00 am

All chips these days have to worry about power. Indeed it is typically the top of the priority list of concerns, above performance and even area. Transistors are effectively fast and free, but you can’t have too many of them (at least turned on at once). The most obvious way to reduce power is to lower the supply voltage. This … Read More


Is Cadence the Best EDA Company to Work for?

Is Cadence the Best EDA Company to Work for?
by Daniel Nenni on 03-08-2015 at 7:00 am

Apparently that is the case. Honestly my choice would have been Mentor but I can easily make an argument for Cadence based on my discussions with the foundries and their top customers but more on that later.

Fortune Magazine last week added Cadence to the 2015 list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” citing a cultural transformation… Read More


Semiconductor in China: Is 3rd Time a Charm?

Semiconductor in China: Is 3rd Time a Charm?
by Paul McLellan on 03-07-2015 at 7:00 am

China has recently announced extremely ambitious plans for becoming more self-sufficient in semiconductors. Today China is about 1/3 of the worldwide IC market but about 90% of that is imported. Think of something like the iPhone assembled in Shenzen with chips from TSMC, Samsung, Hynix, Toshiba/Sandisk , Micron and more (Taiwan,… Read More


Is Semiconductor Technology a Strategic Industry?

Is Semiconductor Technology a Strategic Industry?
by admin on 03-06-2015 at 7:00 pm

Dependence on electronics is acute in all fields today. This includes both civilian and military use. Whether the technology used is state of the art or classic in nature, importance is pointed to the necessity of solid state electronic hardware in everyday life. In such an environment the need to ensure the availability of semiconductors… Read More


Intel and Samsung in Barcelona

Intel and Samsung in Barcelona
by Paul McLellan on 03-06-2015 at 7:00 am

This week it was Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Everyone who is anyone in mobile is there. Unfortunately I’m not since Barcelona is one of my favorite cities to visit. Two companies that set high expectations before the show were Samsung and Intel.

Samsung announced the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones on Sunday.… Read More