In the Valley & thinking about FD-SOI for your next chip design? Epic (and free) symposium 13 April

In the Valley & thinking about FD-SOI for your next chip design? Epic (and free) symposium 13 April
by Adele Hars on 04-02-2016 at 7:00 am

If you’re in the chip biz in Silicon Valley, check out the SOI Consortium FD-SOI Symposium on April 13th in San Jose. They’ve been running these things since 2009, and I have to say that this one is the most comprehensive to date. Headliners include Cisco, Sony, NXP, SigmaDesigns, ARM, Ciena plus the big FD-SOI foundries,… Read More


The Latest in Static Timing Analysis with Variation Modeling

The Latest in Static Timing Analysis with Variation Modeling
by Tom Dillinger on 03-30-2016 at 12:00 pm

In many ways, static timing analysis (STA) is more of an art than a science. Methodologists are faced with addressing complex phenomena that impact circuit delay — e.g., signal crosstalk, dynamic I*R supply voltage drop, temperature inversion, device aging effects, and especially (correlated and uncorrelated) process… Read More


What SOC Size Growth Means for IP Management

What SOC Size Growth Means for IP Management
by Tom Simon on 03-22-2016 at 12:00 pm

Whether or not in the past you believed all the of rhetoric about exploding design complexity in SOC’s, today there can be no debate that SOC size and complexity is well beyond something that can be managed without some kind of design management system. As would be expected, development of most larger designs relies on a data management… Read More


Cadence is again the best EDA company to work for!

Cadence is again the best EDA company to work for!
by Daniel Nenni on 03-10-2016 at 7:00 am

We wrote about the history of Cadence in preparation for our book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” in 2012. EDA played a key role in enabling the fabless semiconductor revolution and Cadence was right there at the beginning. Famed EETimes editor Richard Goering helped us with the book and the Cadence… Read More


Design Verification Challenges: Past, Present and Future!

Design Verification Challenges: Past, Present and Future!
by Daniel Nenni on 02-26-2016 at 7:00 am

Next week I will be at DVCON which is not to be confused with DEFCON the community of black and white hat hackers that challenge our online privacy on a daily basis. DVCON is the premier conference for the functional design and verification of our beloved electronic devices. The big draw next week of course is the keynote by Dr. Walden… Read More


DDR4 is a complex interface to verify — assistance needed!

DDR4 is a complex interface to verify — assistance needed!
by Tom Dillinger on 02-16-2016 at 7:00 am

The design of parallel interfaces is supposed to be (comparatively) easy — e.g., follow a few printed circuit board routing guidelines; pay attention to data/clock/strobe signal lengths and shielding; ensure good current return paths (avoid discontinuities); match the terminating resistances to the PCB trace impedance;… Read More


Pathfinding to an Optimal Chip/Package/Board Implementation

Pathfinding to an Optimal Chip/Package/Board Implementation
by Tom Dillinger on 02-04-2016 at 4:00 pm

A new term has entered the vernacular of electronic design engineering — pathfinding. The complexity of the functionality to be integrated and the myriad of chip, package, and board technologies available make the implementation decision a daunting task. Pathfinding refers to the method by which the design space of technology… Read More


Evaluating the Performance of Design Data Management Software

Evaluating the Performance of Design Data Management Software
by Karim Khalfan on 01-29-2016 at 12:00 pm

In the wake of increased global competitiveness and shorter time-to-market windows, there has been a renewed focus by design management on the underlying data management infrastructure of the design teams. An increasing number of systems-on-chip (SoCs) now have some type of analog, digital and/or RF modules, making it imperative… Read More


The Fine Art of Engineering

The Fine Art of Engineering
by Nazita Saye on 01-28-2016 at 12:00 pm

There’s a small art gallery near the office. It features a new set of paintings by a local artist every two weeks. As I walk by I tend to check out what’s hanging in there. Sometimes I turn up my nose at what I see – a bit too wacky, a bit too abstract, a bit too paint by numbers. Sometimes I walk in to take a closer look but leave the shop empty-handed… Read More