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SICAS is dead (and WSTS isn’t feeling too good)

SICAS is dead (and WSTS isn’t feeling too good)
by Bill Jewell on 03-13-2012 at 8:16 pm

The SICAS (Semiconductor Industry Capacity Statistics) program has been discontinued after the release of the 4Q 2011 data, available through the SIA at http://www.sia-online.org/industry-statistics/semiconductor-capacity-utilization-sicas-reports/

The latest report stated: “Due to significant changes in the… Read More


CDNLive: the Keynotes

CDNLive: the Keynotes
by Paul McLellan on 03-13-2012 at 2:24 pm

There were three keynotes at CDNLive this morning, and one theme ran through them: collaboration. In fact there was one specific instance of collaboration that all three people mentioned. Taping out an ARM Cortex-A15 in TSMC 20nm technology using a Cadence tool flow.

Lip-Bu, Cadence’s CEO, went first. He had some numbers… Read More


The Coming Gamer Tablet from…… Apple!

The Coming Gamer Tablet from…… Apple!
by Ed McKernan on 03-13-2012 at 11:25 am

After the introduction of the NEWiPAD, Apple has placed itself just two short steps away from dominating the computer market – including PCs. One step, which is widely reported, is a smaller iPAD with an 8” screen that aims for a $299 price point. Amazon will take the rest of the market under $299. The second step is purely speculation… Read More


More Growth in EDA

More Growth in EDA
by Daniel Payne on 03-12-2012 at 6:53 pm

I love to read good news about growth in EDA especially when our industry has seen single-digit growth for several years now. What I read on March 8th from ClioSoft stated a 53% increase in bookings for 2011, now that’s what I call growth.

ClioSoft provides Hardware Configuration Management (HCM) software to EDA users typically… Read More


Virtual Prototype your SoC including FlexNoC

Virtual Prototype your SoC including FlexNoC
by Eric Esteve on 03-12-2012 at 1:10 pm

Designing larger than ever SoC, integrating multiple ARM’s Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A9 microprocessor cores as well as complexes IP functions like HDMI controller, DDR3 Memory controller, Ethernet, SATA or PCI Express controller are pushing designers to search for better price, performance and area tradeoffs and the SoC interconnect… Read More


Book Review – iWoz

Book Review – iWoz
by Daniel Payne on 03-12-2012 at 11:01 am

I bought my first personal computer in 1979, it was a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I with just 16KB of RAM, a BW monitor and casette tape for storage. The reason that I chose the Radio Shack over the Apple II was that it cost less, so I was always interested in Apple products and the engineers behind them since the early days. It was pure delight… Read More


My Design Automation and Test in Europe Conference Agenda (DATE 2012)

My Design Automation and Test in Europe Conference Agenda (DATE 2012)
by Daniel Nenni on 03-11-2012 at 7:00 pm


As this blog is being posted I’m on my way to Dresden for the 2012 Design Automation and Test Conference. DATE used to bounce between Munich and Paris, I have attended many times but not in the past couple of years. No excuse really, just busy with other things.
DATE 2012 Highlights in Dresden include E-Mobility and More-than-Moore… Read More


Power Issues for Chip and Board: webinar

Power Issues for Chip and Board: webinar
by Paul McLellan on 03-10-2012 at 4:24 pm

Last month Brian Bailey at EDN moderated an interesting webinar about power issues. Unusually, it combined two different domains: doing things by modeling and actually taking measurements off real chips and boards. The two participants were Arvind Shanmugavel from the Apache subsidiary of Ansys, and Randy White from Tektronix.… Read More


Common Platform Technology Forum: Peering into the Future

Common Platform Technology Forum: Peering into the Future
by Paul McLellan on 03-10-2012 at 9:00 am

Next Wednesday is the Common Platform Technology Forum. “Common Platform” is a name that only a committee could have come up with, giving no clue as to what it actually is. As you probably know, there are various process clubs sharing the costs of technology development (TD) and one of them consists of IBM, Samsung and… Read More


Elpida and Japan Inc

Elpida and Japan Inc
by Paul McLellan on 03-09-2012 at 2:17 pm

Last week, the Japanese memory company Elpida filed for bankruptcy. There is worldwide overcapacity in DRAM and somebody had to go. Its strength and the weakness was that it was much more outward facing than most of the Japanese semiconductor and electronic industry. So it had to compete globally and wasn’t up to the task.… Read More