As promised in my May 27th blog, I visited an ESL company at DAC three weeks ago that introduced two new tools:
- Thermal Profiler
- Power Intelligence
Sensing. A Quantum Tech Ready for Market?While the quantum world revolves around quantum computing,…Read More
Beyond Tool Interoperability: The Emerging Governed Convergence Problem in Semiconductor DesignThe semiconductor industry has spent decades optimizing tools.…Read More
#DAC2026 Marks Another Pivotal Moment for the Semiconductor IndustryThe 2026 Design Automation Conference (DAC 2026) marks…Read More
IPLM: Future Forward Webinar May 19thStep into the future of semiconductor design management…Read More
From Point Solutions to Agentic AI Ecosystems: Semiconductor Process Control Depends on Its PastAgentic AI is often presented as a revolutionary…Read More
Internet of Things (IoT) Startup Showcase @ SEMICON West!
It’s hard to believe that SEMICON West is upon us once again at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. This is the premier semiconductor conference for cutting-edge equipment, processes, and materials, to solutions to today’s design and manufacturing challenges. Remember, it’s not what you know (because … Read More
Is SOI Really Less Expensive?
Introduction
There have been some claims made recently that planar Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) is less expensive than bulk planar processes and FinFETs at various nodes. Some of these claims suggest that FinFETs in particular are significantly more expensive. My company, IC Knowledge LLC produces the most widely… Read More
The “Key” to Reality
If we wanted to reduce the definition of authentication to its most Zen-like simplicity, we could say authentication is “keeping things real.” To keep something real you need to have some sort of confirmation of its identity, as confirmation is the key (so to speak).… Read More
Cliff Hou’s DAC Keynote
Cliff Hou had two major appearances at DAC this year. He gave the opening day keynote…and he wrote the forward to Dan and my bookFabless: the Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry which about 1500 lucky people got a copy of courtesy of several companies, most notably eSilicon who sponsored the Tuesday evening post-conference… Read More
The Secret Essence of an IoT Design
Today the semiconductor industry along with electronics industry is looking up to capitalize from massive expansion foreseen in IoT (Internet of Things) domain. In simple terms we can consider IoT as connectivity between machines which can communicate with each other and work as programmed. In localized applications such … Read More
Intel Invests in the Fabless Ecosystem!
During my illustrious career one of the most useful axioms that I use just about everyday day is: “Understand what people say but also understand why they are saying it.” This certainly applies to press releases so let’s take a look at what Intel unleashed during #51DAC (in alphabetical order):
ANSYS And Intel Collaborate… Read More
ARC EM DSP supports Always-on Devices
The ARC EM family is the low-power, embedded and low footprint processor part of the larger ARC processor. To target the ultra low-power markets like wearable and IoT, Synopsys has added DSP capabilities to EM5D and EM7D. To be specific, these cores are optimized for ultra low-power control and DSP, thanks to:
- Energy-efficient
Enabling Technologies that Will Shape the next Wearables
One of the benefits of spending the last 30 years working in Silicon Valley and publishing a fabless semiconductor book is that I get invitations to speak at events I would normally be attending. Being on the other side of the podium is truly a unique experience and one worth pursuing, absolutely. This month I spoke at #51DAC about … Read More
Noise-Coupled Analysis for Automotive ICs at DAC
My favorite method to learn about EDA tools at DAC is by listening to actual IC designers, so on June 3rd I heard Jacob Bakker from NXP talk about his experience with noise coupled analysis for advanced mixed-signal automotive ICs.… Read More
Crossing the Yield Cliff: IDP V6 and the Future of Manufacturing Forecasting