A Versatile Design Platform with Multi-Language APIs

A Versatile Design Platform with Multi-Language APIs
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-19-2016 at 7:00 am

In one of my whitepapers “SoCs in New Context – Look beyond PPA”, I had mentioned about several considerations which have become very important in addition to power, performance, and area (PPA) of an SoC. This whitepaper was also posted in parts as blogs on Semiwiki (links are mentioned below). Two important… Read More


Replacing the British Museum Algorithm

Replacing the British Museum Algorithm
by Paul McLellan on 09-14-2015 at 7:00 am

In principle, one way to address variation is to do simulations at lots of PVT corners. In practice, most of this simulation is wasted since it adds no new information, and even so, important corners will get missed. This is what Sifuei Ku of Microsemi calls the British Museum Algorithm. You walk everywhere. And if you don’t walk to… Read More


Moving up Verification to Scenario Driven Methodology

Moving up Verification to Scenario Driven Methodology
by Pawan Fangaria on 09-11-2015 at 12:00 pm

Verification complexity and volume has always been on the rise, taking significant amount of time, human, and compute resources. There are multiple techniques such as simulation, emulation, FPGA prototyping, formal verification, post-silicon testing, and so on which gain prominence in different situations and at different… Read More


A Complete Simulation Platform for Mobile Systems

A Complete Simulation Platform for Mobile Systems
by Pawan Fangaria on 08-23-2015 at 7:00 am

If we take an insight into the semiconductor industry, we can easily find that mobile systems are the main drivers of this industry. The Smartphone business has remained at the top since a good number of years. Although the Smartphone sales growth has started showing a sign of stagnation, it is still a main contributor with a solid… Read More


My Tryst with Semiconductors and EDA

My Tryst with Semiconductors and EDA
by Pawan Fangaria on 08-19-2015 at 4:00 pm

Yes, today I realize it feels like a tryst with semiconductors. In actual meaning; it wasn’t a love affair with semiconductors, but I must say the greatest thing it taught me about how it approaches towards perfection. And that became the guiding principle in my life; how can I do something better. Of course nothing is perfect in life… Read More


How PowerArtist Interfaces with Emulators

How PowerArtist Interfaces with Emulators
by Pawan Fangaria on 07-16-2015 at 5:00 pm

Last month in DAC I could see some of the top innovations in the EDA world. EDA is a key enabler for advances in semiconductor designs. Among a number of innovations worth mentioning (about which I blogged just after DAC), the integration of Mentor’s Veloce with ANSYS’ PowerArtist for power analysis of live applications caught my… Read More


How Emulation Enables Complex Power Intent Modeling

How Emulation Enables Complex Power Intent Modeling
by Pawan Fangaria on 07-15-2015 at 12:00 pm

As the number of CPU, GPU, and IP is growing in an SoC, power management is becoming more and more a complex task in itself. A single tool or methodology may not be enough for complete power management and verification of an SoC. In an SoC, there can be multiple modes of operations involving hardware and software interactions, different… Read More


Gary Smith Passed Away Last Friday

Gary Smith Passed Away Last Friday
by Paul McLellan on 07-07-2015 at 1:02 pm

I expect most of you have already heard the sad news through other channels: Gary Smith died last Friday, July 3rd, from pneumonia in Flagstaff, Arizona.

I must have first met Gary back in Dataquest days when I was at VLSI Technology. Gartner then acquired Dataquest and eventually shut down the EDA practice and laid Gary off. He then… Read More


Apple Watch – A Great New Design, Needs More

Apple Watch – A Great New Design, Needs More
by Pawan Fangaria on 07-06-2015 at 7:00 pm

During 52[SUP]nd[/SUP] DAC, there was a special session where a brand new Apple watch was opened and each of its components was shown with a brief description about it. I found this tear down session a great innovative idea coming from DAC organizers; actually two buzzing products, AppleWatch and DJI’s Phantom Drone were opened… Read More


SmartDV at DAC and More

SmartDV at DAC and More
by Pawan Fangaria on 07-02-2015 at 7:00 am

As we are aware about SmartDV Technologies, a fast emerging company in IP space with offices in Bangalore and San Diego, its booth in 52ndDACwas located at a prominent position in front of DAC Pavilion on the exhibits floor. So, most of the crowd coming to attend sessions in DAC Pavilion had a glimpse of SmartDV. I met Deepak Kumar TalaRead More