January 2014 - Page 6 of 10 - Semiconductor Engineering

Put On The Future: Wearable Technology
By Various Writers - 17 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

While jogging, your shoes can record your running speed, acceleration, path and distance. While taking a subway, the ring you wear can display how far your train is and how soon it will come; it also shows you at which stop you should take a transfer and when the next train will arrive. While putting on your mask in a city with poor air quality, your mask not only protects you, but it also dete... » read more

The Next Big Threat: Power And Performance
By Ed Sperling - 17 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 3

In the shiny world of consumer electronics and powerful computers, taking a grinder to the outside of a package may sound more like safecracking than sophisticated electronic code hacking. The reality is there is more in common than most semiconductor companies would like to admit, and the starting point often is just as crude. To no small extent, systems on chip have become miniature safes.... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Design, Test
By Mark LaPedus - 17 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

A new study from Crucial.com reveals that on some days, 64% of U.S. parents spend more time with their computers than with family or close friends. TSMC posted mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2013. It also announced flat CapEx targets for 2014. TSMC also addressed Intel’s recent comments about TSMC’s finFET plans. Morris Chang, chairman of TSMC, said Intel’s comments are mislead... » read more

Week In Review: System-Level Design
By Ed Sperling - 17 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

Cadence rolled out a new version of its functional verification platform, greatly improving performance and updating it to deal with the big increases in third-party and re-used IP in designs. For IP and block verification, the company said it increased formal analysis performance by up to 20% and simulation by up to 10 times. The debugger also reduces the database size by 10 times and the time... » read more

Power Vs. Policy
By Ed Sperling - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

A trip to this year’s auto show in San Jose, Calif., was an interesting contrast to what’s being shown at CES. While there are a number of new cars hitting the market this year with greatly improved gas efficiency—notably from BMW, Honda, Chevrolet and even Cadillac—the vast majority of cars still list efficiency ratings of 30mpg or less. The flashiest cars remain in the teen range, wit... » read more

Making Waves In Low-Power Design
By Barry Pangrle - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

Barry Pangrle In a blog last April we looked at a potential candidate technology that just might be able to produce an economically feasible method for implementing delay insensitive circuits in CMOS. The basic idea behind this technology has been around since at least the 1990s and is better known as Null Convention Logic™ (NCL). Much of the work in this area was pioneered by Karl Fant and ... » read more

Which IP Is Better?
By Ed Sperling - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

As the amount of third-party and re-used IP in a semiconductor increases, so do the number of questions about which possible IP choices perform better, use the least power, or work best with other components. So far, there is no simple way to make that choice. In most cases, this is simply splitting hairs. For all the IP that goes into designs, the bulk of it is chosen based on how often has... » read more

Mostly Accurate Computing
By Ann Mutschler - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 0

“Approximate computing” is a new concept in computers, allowing them to perform calculations for certain tasks that don’t require perfect accuracy with the goal of improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption. But do the concepts apply when it comes to managing power? And is there a philosophical approach when it comes to thinking about power management? To a large extent, that... » read more

Performance Still Trumps Power
By Brian Bailey - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 2

When it comes to technology, the past was always simpler than the present and the future looks daunting. In part, this is because finding a solution to a problem allows us to discover the next problem. Over time, the previous problem becomes more understood and solutions improve to the point where it is no longer considered a problem. It was a fairly easy choice about how to implement functiona... » read more

Power’s Impact On Hierarchy Modification
By Ann Mutschler - 16 Jan, 2014 - Comments: 2

RTL restructuring in which the logical hierarchy of a design is modified is usually done to manage complex designs. When power management is added to this task, new challenges crop up. Consider switchable power or voltage domains, which are a common way to manage power is to use switchable power or voltage domains. When implementing this technique, all the logic in such a domain must hang of... » read more

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