How SoC Interconnect Enables Flexible Architecture For ADAS And Autonomous Car Designs


When the mobile phone era saw its fastest growth, the design teams that were the most innovative were able to introduce game-changing features before anyone else. Those companies also had the most configurable interconnect IP, allowing them to adapt to quickly changing market needs faster than their competition. Now, nearly a decade later, when autonomous driving is quickly moving into the m... » read more

Debugging Debug


There appears to be an unwritten law about the time spent in debug-it is a constant. It could be that all gains made by improvements in tools and methodologies are offset by increases in complexity, or that the debug process causes design teams to be more conservative. It could be that no matter how much time spent on debug, the only thing accomplished is to move bugs to places that are less... » read more

Inside UVM, Take Two


In this blog, my major focus is on explaining the concepts such as Sequence, Sequencer, Driver and showing how the communication takes place from sequence to sequencer and from sequencer to driver. In the previous blog, I included a top-level diagram of the UVM structure, showing different base classes. So, let’s look at the main concepts and follow the communication mechanism they use for... » read more

Deconstructing Deep Learning


I discuss AI and deep learning a lot these days. The discussion usually comes back to “what is a deep learning chip?” These devices are basically hardware implementations of neural networks. While neural nets have been around for a while, what’s new is the performance advanced semiconductor technology brings to the party. Applications that function in real time are now possible. But wh... » read more

Making Sense Of Safety Standards


If you’re involved in the design or verification of safety-critical electronics, you’ve probably heard about some of the standards that apply to such development projects. If not, then you’re probably puzzled when you read about TÜV SÜD certifying that an EDA tool satisfies functional safety standards ISO 26262 (TCL3/ASIL D), IEC 61508 (T2/SIL 3) and EN 50128 (T2/SIL 3). The industry ha... » read more

Using Data Mining Differently


The semiconductor industry generates a tremendous quantity of data, but until very recently engineers had to sort through it on their own to spot patterns, trends and aberrations. That's beginning to change as chipmakers develop their own solutions or partner with others to effectively mine this data. Adding some structure and automation around all of this data is long overdue. Data mining h... » read more

Tech Talk: 5/3nm Parasitics


Ralph Iverson, principal R&D engineer at Synopsys, talks about parasitic extraction at 5/3nm and what to expect with new materials and gate structures such as gate-all-around FETs and vertical nanowire FETs. https://youtu.be/24C6byQBkuI » read more

Verification Of Functional Safety (Part 2)


The automotive industry is grappling with a tradeoff between cost and safety. Safety is well understood in industries that are cost-insensitive, such as aerospace and medical, and the consumer industry has a long track record of driving down costs while increasing functionality. But can these two industries be brought together in a safe and effective manner to enable automobiles to achieve the ... » read more

AI And Machine Learning Drive New SoC Verification Choices


I have previously written about the choices that design teams have when choosing specific verification engines—virtual, formal, simulation, emulation, FPGA and actual silicon. As a new class of SoC is emerging for machine learning and artificial intelligence with complexities previously unheard of, they further deepen the challenge of choosing the right tool for the job. Even the choice betwe... » read more

ISO26262: The Case For Embedded Analytics In Automotive


From advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to a new generation of robots and medical systems, we are seeing an explosion in the development of cyber-physical systems. Because these systems use advanced software to interact with the physical world, safety is a paramount issue but one that is reflected in many industries by the use of safety standards based on a philosophy of risk assessment ... » read more

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