Author's Latest Posts


Blog Review: Feb. 20


Synopsys' Chirag Tyagi examines how Display Stream Compression 1.2 allows the commonly used MIPI DSI display interface to support 8k UHD displays in applications like infotainment and AR/VR even with the limited bandwidth of PHY layers. Cadence's Paul McLellan listens in on a panel discussion at DesignCon on how to create PDKs for silicon photonics so non-photonics experts can complete at le... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 19


Flexible energy harvesting rectenna Researchers from MIT, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, University Carlos III of Madrid, Boston University, University of Southern California, and the Army Research Laboratory created a flexible rectenna capable of converting energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity to power small devices and sensors. The device uses a flexible RF antenna to capture e... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 11


Body heat harvesting Chemists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst developed a fabric that can harvest body heat to power small wearable electronics such as activity trackers. The device works on the thermoelectric effect created by body temperature and ambient cooler air. "What we have developed is a way to inexpensively vapor-print biocompatible, flexible and lightweight polymer fil... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 6


Mentor's Harry Foster examines the impact of growing design complexity on how long designs spend in verification, the ratio of design to verification engineers on a project, and how they spend their time. Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out some of the emerging memory technologies and notes there's no clear indication which will dominate the market. Synopsys' Meenakshy Ramachandran checks ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 5


Photonic-magnetic memory Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have developed a hybrid photonic-magnetic memory device that takes advantage of the speed of optical writing and stability of magnetic drives. "All-optical switching for data storage has been known for about a decade. When all-optical switching was first observed in ferromagnetic materials - amongst the mo... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Tools & IP OneSpin revealed its latest formal app, Connectivity XL, providing formal connectivity checking to 7nm, multi-billion gate SoC designs. The app generates detailed connectivity specification tables from abstract connectivity specs through a dedicated checking engine that integrates structural and formal analysis to perform on-the-fly, automated abstractions. It supports verificat... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 30


Cadence's Paul McLellan provides a primer on embedded memory types, their tradeoffs, and the emerging technologies to keep an eye on. Mentor's Matthew Ballance takes a look at how Portable Stimulus can help create better virtual sequences. Synopsys' Taylor Armerding takes a look at what the next year holds for open source, from changes in license terms to the impact of GDPR and a broader ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 29


Neural nets struggle with shape Cognitive psychologists at the University of California Los Angeles investigated how deep convolutional neural networks identify objects and found a big difference between the way these networks and humans perceive objects. In the first of a series of experiments, the researchers showed color images of animals and objects that had been altered to have a diffe... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


M&A Ansys will acquire Helic, a provider of electromagnetic crosstalk analysis and signoff tools. Founded in 2000, Helic's tools included pre- and post-LVS EM modeling, inductor synthesis and modeling, and analysis of crosstalk risk. The company's technology will be integrated into a solution for on-chip, 3D integrated circuit and chip-package-system electromagnetics and noise analysis. Th... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 23


Synopsys' Taylor Armerding investigates what's happened with the Stuxnet malware since 2010, when it destroyed hundreds of centrifuges at an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility. Cadence's Paul McLellan provides an update on the current state of EUV and what's needed to make high-volume manufacturing possible. In a video, Mentor's Colin Walls explains software's role in embedded system pow... » read more

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