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DFM Industry Survey

DFM Industry Survey
by Beth Martin on 02-10-2012 at 1:28 pm

As part of the DFM Conference at the SPIE Advance Lithography symposium, the DFM committee is conducting an informal survey on the current state of Design For Manufacturability in the Semiconductor Industry.

Please take this anonymous 16 question survey to identify critical Design for Manufacturability (DFM) issues facing… Read More


Yes, there is such a thing as a free…model

Yes, there is such a thing as a free…model
by Paul McLellan on 02-09-2012 at 8:18 pm

I have been saying for years, ever since I started working at VaST, the biggest barrier to adoption of virtual platform technology for what I like to call virtualized software development is the availability of models. If models do not already exist when they are needed there are two issues: it takes money to develop them but, probably… Read More


DFM at SPIE Advance Litho show

DFM at SPIE Advance Litho show
by Beth Martin on 02-09-2012 at 6:40 pm

This year’s SPIE Advanced Lithography is loaded with interesting keynotes and sessions. To help me narrow down what to see, I spoke with John Sturtevant. John is co-chair of the Design for Manufacturability through Design-Process Integration conference, and the director for technical marketing for RET products at Mentor Graphics.… Read More


Why X-Fab uses 3D Resistance Extraction and Analysis

Why X-Fab uses 3D Resistance Extraction and Analysis
by Daniel Payne on 02-09-2012 at 11:18 am

At DAC in 2011 I visited an EDA company called Silicon Frontline Technology because they offered some 3D field solver tools used to create the highest accuracy netlists that can then be simulated with a SPICE circuit simulator to predict timing, power and IR drop. A recent press release with X-FAB and Silicon Frontline looked interesting… Read More


DVCon: Hardware/software Co-design from a Software Perspective

DVCon: Hardware/software Co-design from a Software Perspective
by Paul McLellan on 02-09-2012 at 4:56 am

The EDAC Emerging Companies Comittee (would that be the EDACECC?) is organizing a free panel session one evening at DVCon. It is Monday February 27th from 6pm to 8.30pm. I don’t yet have a room but it will be at the DoubleTree Hotel where DVCon is being held.

EDA companies often address hardware/software co-design from a hardware… Read More


Powering the Platforms: ARM’s 2012 Approach

Powering the Platforms: ARM’s 2012 Approach
by Don Dingee on 02-08-2012 at 4:30 pm

A client turned me on to a great new book, “The Age of the Platform” by Phil Simon. It’s about how Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have radically transformed the landscape. For me, it’s not just social networking – it’s social computing, changing how things are designed.

I’m borrowing this right from Phil’s… Read More


The Old Order Changeth

The Old Order Changeth
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2012 at 3:02 pm

It is interesting watching as changes in technology bring giants to their knees. Far and away the best book on the subject is Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma. If you haven’t read it then rush out and buy it immediately. In tech, you are not educated if you haven’t.

Two things made me think … Read More


FineSim Webinar

FineSim Webinar
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2012 at 2:00 pm

FineSim is Magma’s circuit simulator that has been doing extraordinarily well. In my opinion it is one of the big reasons that Synopsys is acquiring (presumably, still subject to approval of course) Magma. FineSim is especially strong in the memory market with over 70% of the top 5 DRAM manufacturers and the top 10 flash manufacturers… Read More


Virtuoso has got you cornered

Virtuoso has got you cornered
by Paul McLellan on 02-07-2012 at 1:33 pm

Things you don’t know about Virtuoso: we’ve got you cornered.

That is the title on a Cadence blog item last week. It is actually about variability and how to create various corners for simulation and analysis, but given Cadence’s franchise for Virtuoso, its lock-in through SKILL-based PDKs and so forth, it … Read More


Synopsys latest acquisitions: ExpertIO (VIP) and Inventure (IP)… Any counter-attack from Cadence?

Synopsys latest acquisitions: ExpertIO (VIP) and Inventure (IP)… Any counter-attack from Cadence?
by Eric Esteve on 02-07-2012 at 12:29 pm


Even if ExpertIO acquisition by Synopsys, coming after nSys acquisition a couple of months ago, will not have a major impact on Synopsys’ balance sheet, it will again change the Verification IP market landscape. The acquisition of Inventure, a subsidiary of Zuken, will have a major impact on the Interface IP market, even if it’s… Read More