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Brian Bailey

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Brian Bailey is Technology Editor/EDA for Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

Engineering Within Constraints
By Brian Bailey - 30 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 0

One of the themes of DAC this year was the next phase of machine learning. It is as if CNNs and RNNs officially have migrated from the research community and all that is left now is optimization. The academics need something new. Quite correctly, they have identified power as the biggest problem associated with learning and inferencing today, and a large part of that problem is associated with ... » read more

Open-Source Verification
By Brian Bailey - 30 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 1

Ask different people what open-source verification means and you will get a host of different answers. They range from the verification of open-source hardware, to providing an open-source verification infrastructure, to providing open-source stream generators or reference models, to open-source simulators and formal verification engines. Verification is about reducing risk. "Verification is... » read more

A Virtual DAC Experience
By Brian Bailey - 24 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 0

This has been the first virtual conference for me, and I will say I was not sure what to expect. I did moderate a panel for it, but that was pre-recorded because the panelists did not care to be awake and performing live for what would have been 3 a.m. for them. I hosted a virtual happy hour, I conducted many interviews, attended sessions, keynotes and other events, but one thing stands out to ... » read more

Vtech: Bus Performance, FPGA Debug
By Brian Bailey - 15 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 0

It has been a long time since I was able to talk about a new verification company, but today I can introduce you to Verification Technology, or Vtech for short. If you do a search for them, you will probably find a company that sells baby monitors and kids toys. This is not that company. So, let's make sure you have the right web address to start with https://vtech-usa.com/ or https://vtech-inc... » read more

Maximizing Value Post-Moore’s Law
By Brian Bailey - 13 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 0

When Moore's Law was in full swing, almost every market segment considered moving to the next available node as a primary way to maximize value. But today, each major market segment is looking at different strategies that are more closely aligned with its individual needs. This diversity will end up causing both pain and opportunities in the supply chain. Chip developers must do more with a ... » read more

Designing For Extreme Low Power
By Brian Bailey - 09 Jul, 2020 - Comments: 3

There are several techniques available for low power design, but whenever a nanowatt or picojoule matters, all available methods must be used. Some of the necessary techniques are different from those used for high-end designs. Others have been lost over time because their impact was considered too small, or not worth the additional design effort. But for devices that last a lifetime on a si... » read more

Gaps Emerging In System Integration
By Brian Bailey - 29 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 0

The system integration challenge is evolving, but existing tools and methods are not keeping up with the task. New tools and flows are needed to handle global concepts, such as power and thermal, that cannot be dealt with at the block level. As we potentially move into a new era where IP gets delivered as physical pieces of silicon, this lack of an accepted flow will become a stumbling block. ... » read more

And The Survey Says…
By Brian Bailey - 25 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 0

Some of you may have received an email recently that looks something like this. Others may be getting it in a little while. This is an invitation to participate in a survey that is important for the industry, and I encourage you not to ignore it. Let me explain a little. This survey has quite a long history. It all started in 2002 when Collett International conducted the first survey. Ba... » read more

Open-Source Hardware Momentum Builds
By Brian Bailey - 25 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 2

Open-source hardware continues to gain ground, spearheaded by RISC-V — despite the fact that this processor technology is neither free nor simple to use. Nevertheless, the open-source hardware movement has established a solid foothold after multiple prior forays that yielded only limited success, even for processors. With demand for more customized hardware, and a growing field of startups... » read more

Interconnect Challenges Grow, Tools Lag
By Brian Bailey - 15 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 2

Interconnects are becoming much more problematic as devices shrink and the amount of data being moved around a system continues to rise. This limitation has shown up several times in the past, and it's happening again today. But when the interconnect becomes an issue, it cannot be solved in the same way issues are solved for other aspects of a chip. Typically it results in disruption in how ... » read more

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