IC Analog IC Layout 800x100

The Power of the Platform!

The Power of the Platform!
by Daniel Nenni on 11-16-2011 at 10:06 am

The Nintendo Wii is one of the most successful gaming platforms with the most diverse set of games — from fun games that can be enjoyed by the whole family to fitness programs that can be used by adults. They beat the dominant Sony Playstation and the Microsoft Xbox by thinking outside the box and creating a platform that was really… Read More


Who is winning the cell-phone wars?

Who is winning the cell-phone wars?
by Paul McLellan on 11-15-2011 at 2:17 pm

Answer: it depends how you count. Units, market share, revenue, profit.

According to Gartner, Android has doubled its market share and now run just over half of the world’s smartphones. Android handset sales actually tripled during the year, selling 61 million last quarter, not that far off a million a day.

iPhone sales … Read More


Formally verifying protocols

Formally verifying protocols
by Paul McLellan on 11-15-2011 at 1:19 pm

I attended much of the Jasper users’ group a week ago. There were several interesting presentations that I can’t just blog about because companies are shy, and some that would only be of interest if you were a user of Jasper’s products on a daily basis.

But for me the most interesting presentations were several… Read More


Media Tablet & Smartphones to generate $6 Billion market in… power management IC segment by 2012, says IPnest

Media Tablet & Smartphones to generate $6 Billion market in… power management IC segment by 2012, says IPnest
by Eric Esteve on 11-15-2011 at 10:59 am

With worldwide annual media tablet shipments forecast changing –growing- almost every quarter, the latest from ABI research calling for shipment to approach 100 million units in 2012 and passing 150 million in 2014, with the same kind of forecast for smartphone passing 400 million units this year (438 million) and approaching… Read More


Jen Hsun Huang’s Game Over Strategy for Windows 8!

Jen Hsun Huang’s Game Over Strategy for Windows 8!
by Ed McKernan on 11-15-2011 at 6:00 am

It is always a treat to listen to the nVidia earnings conference call as Jen Hsun Huang offers his take on the industry as well as a peek at his company’s future plans. Invariably a Wall St. analyst will ask about Windows 8 and Project Denver – the code name for the ARM based processor designed to run Windows 8 with great graphics performance… Read More


Not your father’s Tensilica

Not your father’s Tensilica
by Paul McLellan on 11-14-2011 at 5:27 pm

Tensilica has been around for quite a long time. Their key technology is a system for generating a custom processor, the idea being to better match the requirement of the processor for performance, power and area as compared with a fully-general purpose control processor (such as one of the ARM processors). Of course generating… Read More


Semiconductor Power Consumption and Fingertop Computing!

Semiconductor Power Consumption and Fingertop Computing!
by Daniel Nenni on 11-13-2011 at 4:38 pm

Can semiconductor devices change the temperature of the earth? The heat from my Dell XPS changes the temperature of my lap! A 63” flat screen TV changes the temperature of my living room. I just purchased six of the latest iPhones for my family (under duress) and signed up for another two years with Verizon, so our carbon footprint … Read More


Physical Verification of 3D-IC Designs using TSVs

Physical Verification of 3D-IC Designs using TSVs
by Daniel Payne on 11-12-2011 at 10:36 am

3D-IC design has become a popular discussion topic in the past few years because of the integration benefits and potential cost savings, so I wanted to learn more about how the DRC and LVS flows were being adapted. My first stop was the Global Semiconductor Alliance web site where I found a presentation about how DRC and LVS flows were… Read More


SPICE Circuit Simulation at Magma

SPICE Circuit Simulation at Magma
by Daniel Payne on 11-11-2011 at 11:36 am

All four of the public EDA companies offer SPICE circuit simulation tools for use by IC designers at the transistor-level, and Magma has been offering two SPICE circuit simulators:

  • FineSIM SPICE (parallel SPICE)
  • FineSIM PRO (accelerated, parallel SPICE)

An early advantage offered by Magma was a SPICE simulator that could be … Read More


Old standards never die

Old standards never die
by Paul McLellan on 11-09-2011 at 4:14 pm

I just put up a blog about the EDA interoperability forum, much of which is focused on standards. Which reminded me just how long-lived some standards turn out to be.

Back in the late 1970s Calma shipped workstations (actually re-badged Data General minicomputers) with a graphic display. That was how layout was done. It’s… Read More