Alternative Text

Ann Mutschler

  (all posts)
Ann Mutschler is senior executive editor at Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Data Management Evolves
By Ann Mutschler - 19 Jul, 2022 - Comments: 0

Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss data management challenges with Jerome Toublanc, business development executive at Ansys; Kam Kittrell, vice president of product management in the Digital & Signoff Group at Cadence; Simon Rance, vice president of marketing at Cliosoft; Rob Conant, vice president of software and ecosystem at Infineon Technologies; and Michael Munsey, senior dir... » read more

Which Fuel Will Drive Next-Generation Autos?
By Ann Mutschler - 07 Jul, 2022 - Comments: 0

With gasoline prices hitting uncomfortable highs, consumers increasingly are looking toward non-gasoline-powered vehicles. But what ultimately will power those vehicles is far from clear. Inside the cabin and under the hood, these vehicles will be filled with semiconductors. Yet what the energy source is for those semiconductors is the subject of ongoing debate. It could be batteries, hydrog... » read more

IC Reliability Burden Shifts Left
By Ann Mutschler - 23 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

Chip reliability is coming under much tighter scrutiny as IC-driven systems take on increasingly critical and complex roles. So whether it's a stray alpha particle that flips a memory bit, or some long-dormant software bugs or latent hardware defects that suddenly cause problems, it's now up to the chip industry to prevent these problems in the first place, and solve them when they do arise. ... » read more

Power Domain Implementation Challenges Escalate
By Ann Mutschler - 20 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

The number power domains is rising as chip architects build finer-grained control into chips and systems, adding significantly to the complexity of the overall design effort. Different power domains are an essential ingredient in partitioning of different functions. This approach allows different chips in a package, and different blocks in an SoC, to continue running with just enough power t... » read more

Audio, Visual Advances Intensify IC Design Tradeoffs
By Ann Mutschler - 13 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

A spike in the number of audio and visual sensors is greatly increasing design complexity in chips and systems, forcing engineers to make tradeoffs that can affect performance, power, and cost. Collectively, these sensors generate so much data that designers must consider where to process different data, how to prioritize it, and how to optimize it for specific applications. The tradeoffs in... » read more

Automotive Bandwidth Issues Grow As Data Skyrockets
By Ann Mutschler - 02 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

Bandwidth requirements for future vehicles are set to explode as the amount of data moving within vehicles, between vehicles, and between vehicles and infrastructure, continues to grow rapidly. That data will be necessary for a variety of functions, some of which are here today and many of which are still in development. On the safety side, that includes everything from early warning systems... » read more

Embedded Software: Sometimes Easier, Often More Complex
By Ann Mutschler - 25 May, 2022 - Comments: 0

Embedded software, once a challenge to write, update, and optimize, is following the route of other types of software. It is abstracted, simpler to use, and much faster to write. But in some cases, it's also much harder to get right. From a conceptual level, the general definition of embedded software has not changed much. It's still low-level drivers and RTOSes that run close to the hardwar... » read more

DRAM Choices Becoming Central Design Considerations
By Ann Mutschler - 12 May, 2022 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are paying much closer attention to various DRAM options as they grapple with what goes on-chip or into a package, elevating attached memory to a critical design element that can affect system performance, power, and cost. These are increasingly important issues to sort through with a number of tradeoffs, but the general consensus is that to reach the higher levels of performance ... » read more

Software-Defined Cars
By Ann Mutschler - 11 May, 2022 - Comments: 0

Automotive architectures are becoming increasingly software-driven, a shift that simplifies upgrades and makes it easier to add new features into vehicles. All of this is enabled by the increasing digitalization of automotive functions and features, shifting from mechanical to electrical design, and increasingly from analog to digital data. That enables OEMs to add or up-sell features years ... » read more

Big Changes In Embedded Software
By Ann Mutschler - 28 Apr, 2022 - Comments: 0

Every good hardware or software design starts with a structured approach throughout the design cycle, but as chip architectures and applications begin focusing on specific domains and include some version of AI, that structure is becoming more difficult to define. Embedded software, which in the past was written for very narrow functions with a minimal footprint, is increasingly getting blended... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →

  • Sponsors

About

Navigation

Connect With Us

Copyright ©2013-2025 SMG   |  Terms of Service  |  Privacy Policy