Author's Latest Posts


Blog Review: July 19


Synopsys' Prishkrit Abrol provides a detailed explanation of how the USB Type-C connector works. Mentor's Ricardo Anguiano examines how the RISC-V ecosystem is expanding and latest developments in the open source toolchain. Cadence's Gopi Krishnamurthy explains the lane margining requirements of the PCIe 4.0 specification. ARM's Chet Babla unravels some claims about Narrowband IoT, Cat... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 18


Ad hoc "cache hierarchies" Researchers at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University designed a system that reallocates cache access on the fly, to create new "cache hierarchies" tailored to the needs of particular programs. Dubbed Jenga, the system distinguishes between the physical locations of the separate memory banks that make up the shared cache. For each core, Jenga knows how long it would t... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A Ansys acquired Computational Engineering International (CEI), the developer of a suite of products that helps analyze, visualize and communicate simulation data. Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Cray Research, the company's program covers a wide range of data formats. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. IP Efabless launched an open source framework that allows community members... » read more

Blog Review: July 12


Mentor's Puneet Sinha points to five big engineering stumbling blocks in building commercially-viable autonomous vehicles. Synopsys' Anders Nordstrom checks out some exotic applications of formal verification. Cadence's Paul McLellan listens in on a talk by Cadence's Michelle (Xuehong) Mao on how the company's deep neural network, CactusNet, works for optimizing network architecture. S... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 11


3D chip integrates computing, storage Researchers at Stanford University and MIT developed a prototype 3D chip that integrates computation and data storage, based on carbon nanotubes and resistive RAM (RRAM) cells. The researchers integrated over 1 million RRAM cells and 2 million carbon nanotube FETs, making what the team says is the most complex nanoelectronic system ever made with emergi... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Numbers EDA industry revenue increased 10.5% in Q1 2017 to $2.168 billion, the highest Q1 growth level since 2011, according to EDAC. The four quarters moving average increased by 10.6%. CAE, the biggest category, grew 14%, while IP—primarily macro cells and memory—grew 15%. The Americas and Asia-Pacific both reported double digit growth. The industry is hiring, too: tracked companies incr... » read more

Blog Review: July 5


Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out the current state of System-in-Package technology and how different products incorporate SiP. Synopsys' Robert Vamosi digs into the differences between two major recent ransomware outbreaks, WanaCry and Petya. A Mentor staff writer shares some highlights from this year's DAC. ARM's Rene Haas examines what consumers think about AI and the impact it wil... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 3


Transient electronics Researchers at Vanderbilt University took a new approach to transient electronics, creating circuits that, rather than requiring active behavior to destruct, will dissolve if not kept above a certain temperature. Using silver nanowires embedded in a polymer that dissolves in water below 32 degrees Celsius – between body and room temperature – the team made a simple... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Tools Mentor released new software for automated set-up of PCB DFT rules. The tool extracts relevant PCB design technology from the design data to determine the correct PCB technology classification, then maps the PCB classification to the constraints associated with the applicable manufacturing processes to run only the checks necessary for the design. IP Synopsys improved the convolu... » read more

Blog Review: June 28


Mentor's Craig Armenti notes the benefits, and challenges, of investing in modular design in the PCB domain. Cadence's Paul McLellan covers a DAC chat with CEO Lip-Bu Tan on the rise of advanced packaging and investments in AI and autonomous driving. Synopsys' Jim Hartnett examines some of the challenges and tradeoffs involved in building good security practices in hospital environments. ... » read more

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