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Cosmic Circuits acquisition by Cadence: IP battle with Synopsys has officially started!

Cosmic Circuits acquisition by Cadence: IP battle with Synopsys has officially started!
by Eric Esteve on 02-09-2013 at 6:18 am

If you have missed the announcement that Cosmic Circuits has been acquired by Cadence, dated February 7, you may want to read this PR. In any case, by reading this article you will understand why this acquisition is ringing the start of the “IP battle” between cadence and Synopsys. Let me remind you that I said in Semiwiki last September… Read More


Please Help Me Understand IBM – Common Platform Technology Forum 2013

Please Help Me Understand IBM – Common Platform Technology Forum 2013
by Zvi on 02-08-2013 at 11:00 pm

“Innovations for Next Generation Scaling”

The 2013 Forum today (Feb 5, 2013) started with a presentation by Dr. Gary Patton, VP, IBM Semiconductor Research & Development Center. Gary very clearly articulated the two irresolvable challenges the industry now faces:

  • On chip interconnect
  • Lithography

These … Read More


Another Winner at DesignCon

Another Winner at DesignCon
by Daniel Payne on 02-08-2013 at 5:44 pm

After a show like DesignConwraps up we get a chance to ask ourself what it all meant, and how was this year different than last year. Reading through many posts about DesignCon I came to discover that the Awards at DesignCon are less contentious than at CES, and also that ANSYSreceived a DesignVision awardfor the 2nd year running. … Read More


9 Micron Wooden Gate

9 Micron Wooden Gate
by Paul McLellan on 02-08-2013 at 4:55 pm

When I started in this business, we were at 3 micron HMOS. A few other things are close to that size. A red blood cells is about 9 microns, a human hair is about 100 microns. And in a bizarre “only in Japan” video, people compete to plane the thinnest shaving off a plank of wood. It turns out the answer is 9 microns. That’s… Read More


Navigating the new patent landscape

Navigating the new patent landscape
by Beth Martin on 02-08-2013 at 12:00 am

If you are considering filing a patent, you should know about the new patent rules effectinve on March 16, 2013. Most importantly, patent rights will switch from “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file.” Before we continue, I am not a lawyer; I’m just a dumb blogger. Seek actual legal advice about the new patent laws if you think… Read More


Apple and Samsung Do It Again

Apple and Samsung Do It Again
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2013 at 11:54 pm

The numbers are starting to come in for how everyone did in Q4. According to Cannacord Genuity, Apple made 69% of the profit and Samsung made 34%. What do you notice about those numbers? They add up to more than 100%. HTC supposedly made 1% of the profit and everyone else either broke even or lost money. Basically Apple and Samsung have… Read More


Tubes of the Future

Tubes of the Future
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2013 at 10:00 pm

So what is a silicon nanowire? It is basically a FET where the active element is a wire 3-20nm in diameter. So where a FinFET has the gate wrapped around 3 sides of the transistor, a nanowire (NW) has it wrapped around all four. In essence, the wire runs through the middle of the gate.

There seem to be three issues about building a silicon… Read More


ARMs in the Clouds

ARMs in the Clouds
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2013 at 7:10 pm

The most interesting session at the Linley Tech Data Center Conference last week was the last one, on Designing Power Efficient Servers. What this was really about was whether ARM would have any success in the server market and what Intel’s response might be.

Datacenters are now very focused on power efficiency and many track… Read More


Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die

Notes from Common Platform: Collaborate or Die
by Beth Martin on 02-07-2013 at 2:16 pm

FinFETs are hot, carbon nanotubes are cool, and collaboration is the key to continued semiconductor scaling. These were the main messages at the 2013 Common Platform Technology Forum in Santa Clara.

The collaboration message ran through most presenations, like the afternoon talk by Subi Kengeri of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Joe Sawicki… Read More


No EUV before 7nm?

No EUV before 7nm?
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2013 at 1:31 pm

I was at the Common Platform Technology Forum this week. One of the most interesting sessions is IBM’s Gary Patton giving an overview of the state of semiconductor fabrication. Then, at lunchtime, he is one of the people that the press can question. In this post, I’m going to focus on Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) lithography.… Read More