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Going up…3D IC design tools

Going up…3D IC design tools
by Paul McLellan on 01-23-2012 at 6:41 pm

3D and 2.5D (silicon interposer) designs create new challenges for EDA. Not all of them are in the most obvious areas. Mentor has an interesting presentation on what is required for verification and testing of these types of designs. Obviously it is somewhat Mentor-centric but in laying out the challenges it is pretty much agnostic.… Read More


High Speed USB 3.0 to reach Smartphone & Tablets in 2012… but which USB 3.0?

High Speed USB 3.0 to reach Smartphone & Tablets in 2012… but which USB 3.0?
by Eric Esteve on 01-23-2012 at 4:32 am

If you are not familiar with SuperSpeed USB standard (USB 3.0), you may understand this press release from Rahman Ismail, chief technology officer of the USB Implementers Forum, as simply claiming that USB 3.0 will be used in smartphone & media tablet this year… but, if you are familiar with the new standard, you are just confused!… Read More


Analog Panel Discussion at DesignCon

Analog Panel Discussion at DesignCon
by Daniel Payne on 01-20-2012 at 7:59 pm

DesignCon is coming up and the panel discussions look very interesting this year. The one panel session that I recommend most is called, “Analog and Mixed-Signal Design and Verification” which is moderated by Brian Bailey, one of my former Mentor Graphics buddies and fellow Oregonian.… Read More


Acquiring Great Power

Acquiring Great Power
by Paul McLellan on 01-20-2012 at 5:11 pm

“Before we acquire great power we must acquire wisdom to use it well”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Making good architectural decisions for controlling power consumption and ensuring power integrity requires a good analysis of the current requirements and how they vary. Low power designs, and today there really aren’t… Read More


EDA Tool Flow at MoSys Plus Design Data Management

EDA Tool Flow at MoSys Plus Design Data Management
by Daniel Payne on 01-20-2012 at 4:50 pm

I’ve read about MoSys over the years and had the chance this week to interview Nani Subraminian, Engineering Manager about the types of EDA tools that they use and how design data management has been deployed to keep the design process organized. My background includes both DRAM and SRAM design, so I’ve been curious… Read More


Intel Aims for the Upper, Upper Decks

Intel Aims for the Upper, Upper Decks
by Ed McKernan on 01-20-2012 at 3:07 pm

Since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone and then the follow on iPAD, it has been Wall Streets frame of reference that Intel would be playing defense as the PC market slid into oblivion and therefore a Terminal Value should be placed on the company. Intel’s Q4 2011 earnings conference call provided a nice jolt to the analysts as Paul… Read More


The Qualcomm PUT and The FABulous Year Ahead

The Qualcomm PUT and The FABulous Year Ahead
by Ed McKernan on 01-19-2012 at 5:14 pm

Humor can arise in surprising ways and yet still be disguised to many. As I was researching Qualcomm the other day, I came upon the transcript of their last quarterly earnings and I had to laugh. In the midst of last summer’s European crises, when the Club Med (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) Sovereign Debt was trying to be rolled… Read More


What is a Hierarchical SPICE Circuit Simulator?

What is a Hierarchical SPICE Circuit Simulator?
by Daniel Payne on 01-19-2012 at 2:56 pm

Hierarchy is used in IC designs at many abstraction levels to help describe a design in a compact format:

  • Mask Data
  • IC Layout
  • Schematic Netlists
  • Gate level netlists
  • RTL netlists

But the question and focus for this blog is, “What is a hierarchical SPICE Circuit Simulator?”… Read More


NoC for faster SoC integration

NoC for faster SoC integration
by Eric Esteve on 01-19-2012 at 5:32 am

The need for Network-on-Chip (NoC) has appeared at the time where chip makers realized that they could really integrate a complete system on a single die to build a System-on-Chip (SoC). I was in charge of the development of a large IC, integrating different type of functions (Analog and Digital) to support advanced TV application.… Read More


Apple 4S nearly catches up to Android, perhaps

Apple 4S nearly catches up to Android, perhaps
by Paul McLellan on 01-19-2012 at 4:00 am

Apple’s iPhone did well in Q4 according to Neilsen who polled recent buyers of smartphones. Of people who had purchased a smartphone in the previous 3 months (roughly Q4) 44.5% chose an iPhone (up from 25.1% in October, roughly Q3). But Android retained the lead with a 46.9% share, down from 61.6% in October. How many phones… Read More