Where is the Monument of the Silicon Glen?

Where is the Monument of the Silicon Glen?
by Asen Asenov on 11-16-2021 at 10:00 am

NEC Plant Livingston

In 1991, I arrived in Glasgow to become a lecturer in Glasgow University, attracted by the Silicon Glen – the heart of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe. Here are few facts:

  • The larges semiconductor plant in Europe at that time was the NEC DRAM manufacturing site in Livingstone. When I visited the plant, I was mesmerized
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Build a Sophisticated Edge Processing ASIC FAST and EASY with Sondrel

Build a Sophisticated Edge Processing ASIC FAST and EASY with Sondrel
by Mike Gianfagna on 09-16-2021 at 6:00 am

Build a Sophisticated Edge Processing ASIC FAST and EASY with Sondrel

Building a custom chip for edge computing applications can be quite daunting. For starters, there is very little power available at the edge, so energy efficiency will be top of mind. The whole point of edge processing is to off-load the time-consuming and costly process of sending data to the cloud, so substantial processing capability… Read More


An FPGA-Based Solution for a Graph Neural Network (GNN) Accelerator

An FPGA-Based Solution for a Graph Neural Network (GNN) Accelerator
by Kalar Rajendiran on 08-03-2021 at 6:00 am

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Earlier this year, Achronix made a product announcement about shipping the industry’s highest performance Speedster7t FPGA devices. The press release included lot of details about the architecture and features of the device and how that family of devices is well suited to satisfy the demands of the artificial intelligence … Read More


Podcast EP24: ASIC Design at the Leading Edge

Podcast EP24: ASIC Design at the Leading Edge
by Daniel Nenni on 06-11-2021 at 10:00 am

Dan and Mike are joined by Graham Curren, founder and CEO of ASIC specialist Sondrel. Graham discusses the challenges of designing ASICs at the leading edge from a technology, design team and customer perspective. He explores where the real challenges are in building these types of chips and how Sondrel meets those challenges.… Read More


Webinar: Challenges in creating large High Performance Compute SoCs in advanced geometries

Webinar: Challenges in creating large High Performance Compute SoCs in advanced geometries
by Daniel Nenni on 05-17-2021 at 6:00 am

Sondrel Webinar 1

When we think about Compute and AI SoCs, we often focus on the huge numbers of calculations being carried out every second, and the ingenious IPs that are able to reach such high levels of performance. However, there also exists a significant challenge in keeping the vast quantities of data flowing around the chip which is solved … Read More


The Quest for Bugs: Bugs of Power

The Quest for Bugs: Bugs of Power
by Bryan Dickman on 05-16-2021 at 10:00 am

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Shooting beyond the hill…

In former times (think WW1 before GPS and satellites), an artillery battery trying to shell targets out of sight behind a hill would have to rely on an approximate grid reference and a couple of soldiers on top of the hill (who could see the target) to tell them where the shots were landing. These range finders… Read More


Digital Filters for Audio Equalizer Design

Digital Filters for Audio Equalizer Design
by Rhishikesh Agashe on 03-06-2021 at 6:00 am

Digital Filters for Audio Equalizer Design

Equalizers were initially designed and developed for movie theaters and amphitheaters or outdoor areas but now they have become ubiquitous. Equalization is essential for creating professional sound and creating real life like sound effects. Equalizers are used for controlling the energy/loudness of a particular frequency… Read More


Flex Logix Expands Its eFPGA Footprint with a Low Power Comms Design Win from OpenFive

Flex Logix Expands Its eFPGA Footprint with a Low Power Comms Design Win from OpenFive
by Mike Gianfagna on 12-21-2020 at 10:00 am

Flex Logix Expands Its eFPGA Footprint with a Low Power Comms Design Win from OpenFive

Embedded FPGA use is on the rise. The programmability offered by this kind of IP finds many applications in complex SoCs. There was a recent announcement that OpenFive had licensed Flex Logix’s eFPGA to develop a low power communications SoC. The part required a large eFPGA. The news was reported on SemiWiki here. This announcement… Read More


Sign Off Design Challenges at Cutting Edge Technologies

Sign Off Design Challenges at Cutting Edge Technologies
by Tom Simon on 12-03-2020 at 6:00 am

Power and Ground Design Challenges

As semiconductor designs for many popular products move into smaller process nodes, the need for effective and rapid design closure is increasing. The SOCs used for many consumer and industrial applications are moving to FinFET nodes from 16 to 7nm and with that comes greater challenges in obtaining design closure. einfochips,… Read More


Embedded Systems Development Flow

Embedded Systems Development Flow
by Daniel Nenni on 11-09-2020 at 6:00 am

Webinar SoC 1

Earlier this year. as part of my coverage of the virtual Design Automation Conference (DAC), I interviewed Agnisys CEO and founder Anupam Bakshi. He talked about the new products they introduced at the show and filled me in on the history of the company and his own background. Recently, Anupam presented the webinar “System Development… Read More