In the modern electronic world, it’s difficult to imagine any system working as a whole without MEMS (Micro-electromechanical Systems) such as pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones etc. working in sync with other ICs. Specifically in AMS (Analog Mixed-Signal) semiconductor designs, there can be significant… Read More
Switched-capacitor (SC) circuits are ubiquitous in CMOS mixed-signal ICs. Thermal noise, introduced by MOS switches and active amplifier circuitry, is the major performance limiter in these circuits. This webinar reviews analysis techniques to accurately analyze the noise performance of switched-capacitor circuits … Read More
This is a live Silicon Valley event and yes there is such a thing as a free lunch. This is the first in a series of live SemiWiki collaborative events. I strongly believe that, especially in the age of social media, real world experience is key to the collaboration required to be successful in modern day semiconductor design. This is… Read More
RFIC developers used to favor mature silicon processes, typically staying back a couple of nodes behind the leading edge. This bought foundries time for ‘RF-enabling’ their PDKs, and also maximized return on investment for developing RF models and infrastructure IP. Not the case any more, it seems. To address the insatiable … Read More
Competition in EDA is absolutely necessary in order for the fabless semiconductor ecosystem to thrive. AMS tools with a low learning curve, high interoperability, and a powerful user interface improve design team productivity and enable a low total cost of ownership. That is why Tanner EDA has shipped over 33,000 licenses of … Read More
Analog design seems to suffer from a huge gap when it comes to testing and verification. While some of this gap is natural – after all, often the only way to verify whether a particular design is working is to look at actual simulation waveforms – it still seems like a lot can be done to bring process into this sphere of the… Read More
TSMC has been investing in the fabless semiconductor ecosystem for 25+ years and that is why they are the #1 foundry and lead this industry (my opinion). I’m a big fan of joint webinars. Not only is it collaboration open to the masses, it is a close collaboration between the two sponsoring companies. Having worked on the TSMC… Read More
Tanner EDA is a pleasure to work with, they are big on collaboration and customers absolutely love their tools. With the Synopsys acquisition of SpringSoft, Tanner needs to step up and fill the void of the affordable Laker tools. Take a close look at their new v16 release and let me know how they are doing.
New capabilities for back-end… Read More
I reviewed the book Mixed-Signal Methodology Guidein August of this year published by Cadence, and decided to follow up with one of the authors, Michael Henrie from ClioSoft, to learn more about the importance of Design Management for AMS. Michael is a Software Engineering Manager at ClioSoft and has worked at Zarlink Semi, Legerity,… Read More
Every analog designer needs a foundry PDK (Process Design Kits) and EDA tools to design, layout and verify their AMS chip or IP. This week I had a chance to conduct an email interview with Taek-Soo Kim, VP of Technical Engineering at Dongbu HiTek in Korea. This specialty foundry supplies analog silicon worldwide.
Interview
Q: Tell… Read More
