Soft IP Qualification

Soft IP Qualification
by Paul McLellan on 10-14-2011 at 3:10 pm

At the TSMC Open Innovation Platform Ecosystem Forum (try saying that three times in a row) next week (on Tuesday 18th), Atrenta will present a paper on the TSMC soft IP qualification flow. It will be presented by Anuj Kumar, senior manager of the customer consulting group.

More and more, chips are not put together what we think of … Read More


Global Semiconductor Alliance Ecosystem Summit Trip Report!

Global Semiconductor Alliance Ecosystem Summit Trip Report!
by Daniel Nenni on 10-10-2011 at 7:06 pm

Being an internationally recognized industry blogger (IRIB) does have its benefits, one of which is free invites to all of the cool industry conferences! The presentations are canned for the most part but you can learn a lot at the breaks and exhibits if you know the right questions to ask, which I certainly do.

The GSA Semiconductor
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Analog IP Design at Moortec

Analog IP Design at Moortec
by Daniel Payne on 09-28-2011 at 12:34 pm

Stephen Crosher started up Moortec in the UK back in 2005 with the help of his former Zarlink co-workers and they set to work offering AMS design services and eventually created their own Analog IP like the temperature sensor shown below:

We spoke by phone last week about his start-up experience and how they approach AMS design.… Read More


Samsung versus Apple and TSMC!

Samsung versus Apple and TSMC!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-28-2011 at 6:56 am

Apple will purchase close to eightBILLION dollars in parts from Samsung for the iSeries of products this year alone, making Apple Samsung’s largest customer. Samsung is also Apple’s largest competitor and TSMC’s most viable competitive foundry threat so it was no surprise to see Apple and TSMC team up on the next generations of… Read More


TSMC and Dr. Morris Chang!

TSMC and Dr. Morris Chang!
by Daniel Nenni on 09-05-2011 at 6:14 pm

While I was in Taiwan last month battling a Super Typhoon, Morris Chang was in Silicon Valley picking up his IEEE Medal of Honor. Gordon Moore, Andrew Grove, and Robert Noyce all have medals. The other winners, including 10 Nobel prize recipients, are listed HERE. An updated wiki on Dr. Morris Chang is located HERE.

The 12+ hour plane… Read More


Solido – Variation Analysis and Design Software for Custom ICs

Solido – Variation Analysis and Design Software for Custom ICs
by Daniel Payne on 08-15-2011 at 7:11 pm

Introduction
When I designed DRAM chips at Intel I wanted to simulate at the worst case process corners to help make my design as robust as possible in order to improve yields. My manager knew what the worst case corners were based on years of prior experience, so that’s what I used for my circuit simulations.… Read More


Intel Briefing: Tri-Gate Technology and Atom SoC

Intel Briefing: Tri-Gate Technology and Atom SoC
by Daniel Nenni on 07-17-2011 at 3:00 pm

Sorry to disappoint but my 2 hours at the Intel RNB was a very positive experience. It is much more fun writing negative things about industry leaders because I enjoy the resulting hate mail and personal attacks, but the candor and transparency of the Intel guys won me over. They even asked ME questions which was a bit telling. I also… Read More


TSMC Versus Intel: The Race to Semiconductors in 3D!

TSMC Versus Intel: The Race to Semiconductors in 3D!
by Daniel Nenni on 06-26-2011 at 4:00 pm

While Intel is doing victory laps in the race to a 3D transistor (FinFet) @ 22nm, TSMC is in production with 3D IC technology. A 3D IC is a chip in which two or more layers of active electronic components are integrated both vertically and horizontally into a single circuit. The question is which 3D race is more important to the semiconductor… Read More


TSMC Conference Call is a 6.5 on the Richter Scale

TSMC Conference Call is a 6.5 on the Richter Scale
by Daniel Nenni on 04-28-2011 at 12:17 am

TSMC continues to drive the economic recovery with impressive Q1 numbers and an even more impressive Q2 and Q3 outlook. TSMC is my economic bellwether due to its diverse customer base and shear volume of consumer electronics silicon. The big surprise in the 1 hour Q1 conference call is a new Giga Fab (#15) ground breaking this year… Read More


Wanted: FPGA start-up! …Dead or Alive?

Wanted: FPGA start-up! …Dead or Alive?
by Eric Esteve on 04-05-2011 at 6:23 am

The recent announcement from Tabula about the $108 million raised in its Series D round of funding is putting the focus on FPGA technology, and FPGA startups in particular. Who are these FPGA startups, what is their differentiation, where is the innovation, in the product or the business model?

When you say FPGA, you first think:Read More