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Brian Bailey

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Brian Bailey is Technology Editor/EDA for Semiconductor Engineering.

Author's Latest Posts

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

Aging Problems At 5nm And Below
By Brian Bailey - 11 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 3

The mechanisms that cause aging in semiconductors have been known for a long time, but the concept did not concern most people because the expected lifetime of parts was far longer than their intended deployment in the field. In a short period of time, all of that has changed. As device geometries have become smaller, the issue has become more significant. At 5nm, it becomes an essential par... » read more

Configuring Processors In The Field
By Brian Bailey - 08 Jun, 2020 - Comments: 0

The convergence of two technologies, extensible processors and embedded FPGAs, is enabling the creation of processors that can be dynamically configured in the field. But it's not clear if there is a need for them or how difficult would it be to program them. This remains an open question even though there is evidence of its usefulness in the past and new products are expected to reach the mark... » read more

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