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Moore and Beyond: Global Semiconductor Primer

Moore and Beyond: Global Semiconductor Primer
by Daniel Nenni on 03-24-2013 at 8:10 pm

There are a couple of new analyst reports out that are interesting enough to blog about. I talk to the financial types on the phone every week or so explaining the semiconductor business and answering questions about the foundries and the top fabless companies. We don’t always agree on the outlook but there is always something to … Read More


Can Samsung Deliver As Promised?

Can Samsung Deliver As Promised?
by Daniel Nenni on 03-24-2013 at 8:01 pm

Samsung’s aggressive marketing is starting to hit the fabless semiconductor ecosystem so we had all better be prepared. Samsung’s 2012 marketing budget exceeded $400M which probably beats the marketing budget of the entire fabless ecosystem! The question is, will the fabless semiconductor industry be easily swayed by Samsung’s… Read More


Unlocking the Full Potential of Soft IP

Unlocking the Full Potential of Soft IP
by Daniel Payne on 03-22-2013 at 11:32 am

EDA vendors, IP suppliers and Foundries provide an eco-system for SoC designers to use in getting their new electronic products to market quicker and at a lower cost. An example of this eco-system are three companies (TSMC, Atrenta, Sonics) that teamed up to produce a webinar earlier in March called: Unlocking the Full PotentialRead More


A Brief History of Forte Design Systems

A Brief History of Forte Design Systems
by Daniel Nenni on 03-21-2013 at 8:10 pm

When Semiwiki readers see the name Forte Design Systems, they may think of the live bagpipers’ performance that closes the yearly Design Automation Conference. Forte has been the sponsor of this moving end to DAC since 2001. Step with me behind the plaid kilts for a good look at this remarkable company headquartered in San Jose, … Read More


Mixed-Signal SoC verification has integrated solution

Mixed-Signal SoC verification has integrated solution
by Pawan Fangaria on 03-21-2013 at 8:10 pm

These days when we talk of SoC verification, what comes to our mind immediately is VirtualPlatform. Of course with the increasing size, complexity and different styles of designs, it is very much a need.

However, that is supported by actual verification engines and methodologies which are varying considerable with digital, … Read More


Data Management for Designers

Data Management for Designers
by Paul McLellan on 03-21-2013 at 8:05 pm

Back when I was a programmer at VLSI Technology in the mid-1980s, I was responsible for all the data management in the VLSI Design Tools. By responsible for, I mean that I designed the whole system and wrote all the code. Prior to the 5th release of our product, there was no data management, designers simply used filenames and it was … Read More


Simon Segars to be New CEO of ARM

Simon Segars to be New CEO of ARM
by Paul McLellan on 03-20-2013 at 4:15 pm

ARM announced today that Warren East, the CEO, would be retiring at the end of June. The new CEO will be Simon Segars, currently President of ARM and the de facto #2 guy. Currently Simon is based in the US and I don’t know if he plans to return to Britain or not. But he will live what will inevitably be a lifestyle that involves crossing… Read More


View from the top: Brad Quinton

View from the top: Brad Quinton
by Daniel Payne on 03-20-2013 at 3:53 pm

Many engineers dream about starting their own company some day, and today I talked with an engineer that has gone beyond the dreaming stage to actually start an EDA company and then get that company acquired. His name is Brad Quinton and the start-up was called Veridae Systems, now part of Tektronix.


Brad QuintonRead More


Interconnect Optimization of an SoC Architecture

Interconnect Optimization of an SoC Architecture
by Daniel Payne on 03-20-2013 at 11:41 am

My last chip design at Intel was a GPU called the 82786and the architects of the chip wrote a virtual prototype using the MAINSAIL language. By using a virtual prototype they were able to:

  • Simulate bus traffic, video display and video RAM
  • Determine throughput
  • Measure latency
  • Verify that bus priorities were working
  • Optimize the
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Wally Rhines, Victor Peng and Chenming Hu to Speak at Mentor User2User Conference

Wally Rhines, Victor Peng and Chenming Hu to Speak at Mentor User2User Conference
by glforte on 03-20-2013 at 10:29 am

This year’s Mentor Graphics user group meeting, User2User, will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in San Jose, California on April 25, 2013. The featured keynote presenters include…

  • Dr. Walden C. Rhines, CEO and Chairman of Mentor Graphics, talking about “Organizing by Design”
  • Victor Peng, Senior VP, Xilinx presenting on “The
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