Author's Latest Posts


Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 10


Balancing battery capacity and stability Researchers at Rice University are working to develop batteries that are better geared toward electric cars and more robust off-grid energy storage by digging into why lithium gets trapped in batteries, thus limiting the number of times it can be charged and discharged at full power. The team found that by not maxing out a battery's storage capacity,... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Presto Engineering, an outsourced operations provider to semiconductor and IoT device manufacturers, acquired the DELTA Microelectronics business unit of FORCE Technology. The acquisition adds DELTA's ASIC design and manufacturing to its portfolio. The two companies will retain a strong relationship: FORCE Technology has become a shareholder of Presto Engineering and Juan Farré, FORCE’s CTO,... » read more

Startup Funding: January 2020


A dozen tech startup companies started 2020 with new funding, raising +$500 million between them. Three companies received an impressive amount of investment. Stanford spinout Skylo launched from stealth with $116M in total funding and a bold plan to connect IoT devices, particularly sensors in remote or difficult-to-access environments, with hubs that link them to a network of satellites. ... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 5


Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out the different ways persistent memories can be used, as well as a basic persistent programming model and key things hardware needs to support. In a video, Mentor's Colin Walls explains what's different about operating systems for embedded applications and how to go about selecting one. Synopsys' Taylor Armerding finds troubling vulnerabilities in U.S. cri... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 4


Infrared nanoantenna Researchers at the University of Würzburg built a nanoantenna capable of generating directed infrared light. The Yagi-Uda antenna is the smallest of its type yet created. "Basically, it works in the same way as its big brothers for radio waves ," said René Kullock, a member of the nano-optics team at Würzburg. An AC voltage is applied that causes electrons in the met... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Flex Logix uncorked a new EFLX 1K eFPGA core optimized for the needs of customers on TSMC 40nm Ultra Low Power (ULP) and 40nm Low Power (LP) process technologies. It targets customers focused on low cost and power management. Using a cut-down version and the same software of the EFLX 4K, the EFLX 1K Logic core has 368 inputs and 368 outputs with 900 LUT4 equivalent logic capacity. The EFLX 1K D... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 29


Mentor's Shivani Joshi introduces the basics of PCB layout and the importance of being familiar with a manufacturer's specs. Cadence's Paul McLellan takes a look at why Design Technology Co-Optimization is increasingly necessary as 3nm approaches and new transistor types like CFET and gate-all-around are on the horizon. Synopsys' Sai Karthik Madabhushi recounts an alarming incident that h... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 28


Accelerator-on-chip Researchers at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory created an electron-accelerator-on-chip. While the technique is much less powerful than standard particle accelerators, it can be much smaller. It relied upon an infrared laser to deliver, in less than a hair’s width, the sort of energy boost that takes microwaves many feet. The team carved ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Xilinx filed a patent infringement countersuit against Analog Devices, alleging infringement of eight U.S. patents including technologies involving serializers/deserializers (SerDes), high-speed ADCs and DACs, as well as mixed-signal devices targeting 5G and other markets. The counterclaims are in response to Analog Devices' December lawsuit alleging unauthorized use by Xilinx of eight ADI pate... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 22


Synopsys' Taylor Armerding explains different types of social engineering scams that target everyone from CEOs to gamers to smart appliance users, and what training and tools can better protect people and their organizations. Mentor's Dennis Joseph points to some important things to consider if you're thinking about switching from GDS to OASIS and some tips for converting files. Cadence's... » read more

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