Author's Latest Posts


System Bits: May 9


Graphene adopts exotic electronic states In a platform that may be used to explore avenues for quantum computing, MIT researchers have found that a flake of graphene, when brought in close proximity with two superconducting materials, can inherit some of those materials’ superconducting qualities. They reminded that in normal conductive materials such as silver and copper, electric curren... » read more

Resolving Privacy In The Car


As we increasing connect our vehicles — and therefore ourselves — with the outside world while driving, concerns about privacy are coming up, and for good reason. As I was researching software in the vehicle for this article, Larry Lapides from Imperas Software brought up a good point about how security and privacy in the vehicle will likely be split into two separately addressed issues.... » read more

Autonomous Cars Drive New Software


Autonomous driving and other advanced features will require much more sophisticated software than what is used in vehicles today. To make this all work will require complex algorithms as well as co-designed hardware, which can make real-time decisions to avoid accidents and adjust to changing road conditions. Automobiles already take advantage of sophisticated software executed by a variety ... » read more

What’s Next In Neural Networking?


Faster chips, more affordable storage, and open libraries are giving neural network new momentum, and companies are now in the process of figuring out how to optimize it across a variety of markets. The roots of neural networking stretch back to the late 1940s with Claude Shannon’s Information Theory, but until several years ago this technology made relatively slow progress. The rush towar... » read more

System Bits: May 2


AI systems echo human prejudices One of the concerns about the of future artificial intelligence systems includes the perception that these machine-based systems are coldly logical and objectively rational, however, this may not be the case. In fact, in a new study by Princeton University researchers has shown how machines can be reflections of their creators in potentially problematic ways. ... » read more

Design Complexity Drives New Automation


As design complexity grows, so does the need for every piece in the design flow—hardware, software, IP, as well as the ecosystem — to be tied together more closely. At one level, design flow capacity is simply getting bigger to accommodate massive [getkc id="185" kc_name="finFET"]-class designs. But beyond sheer size, there are new interactions in the design flow that place much more emp... » read more

System Bits: April 25


Graphene used as copy machine for cheaper semiconductor wafers MIT researchers reminded that in 2016, annual global semiconductor sales reached their highest-ever point, at $339 billion worldwide while in that same year the semiconductor industry spent about $7.2 billion worldwide on wafers. Now, a technique developed by MIT engineers may vastly reduce the overall cost of that wafer technology... » read more

Cloud Computing Chips Changing


An explosion in cloud services is making chip design for the server market more challenging, more diverse, and much more competitive. Unlike datacenter number crunching of the past, the cloud addresses a broad range of applications and data types. So while a server chip architecture may work well for one application, it may not be the optimal choice for another. And the more those tasks beco... » read more

System Bits: April 18


RISC-V errors Princeton University researchers have discovered a series of errors in the RISC-V instruction specification that now are leading to changes in the new system, which seeks to facilitate open-source design for computer chips. In testing a technique they created for analyzing computer memory use, the team found over 100 errors involving incorrect orderings in the storage and retr... » read more

Understanding Voltage Drop Mechanics


As a fundamental concept of electronic design, voltage drop ranks highly as one to understand well. I particularly appreciate when industry folks come up with creative ways to get the point across. Jerry Zhao, a product management director at Cadence and I were discussing how to best manage dynamic and static voltage drop, but I first asked him to explain the difference between the two. I p... » read more

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