A Packet-Based Architecture For Edge AI Inference


Despite significant improvements in throughput, edge AI accelerators (Neural Processing Units, or NPUs) are still often underutilized. Inefficient management of weights and activations leads to fewer available cores utilized for multiply-accumulate (MAC) operations. Edge AI applications frequently need to run on small, low-power devices, limiting the area and power allocated for memory and comp... » read more

Evolution Of Equalization Techniques In High-Speed SerDes For Extended Reaches


The relentless demand for massive amounts of data is accelerating the pace of high-performance computing (HPC) within the high-speed Ethernet realm. This escalation, in turn, intensified the complexity associated with designing networking SoCs, including switches, NICs, retimers, and pluggable modules. Such growth is accelerating the demand for bandwidth hungry applications to transition from 4... » read more

Analog IP Reuse


Analog integrated circuit IP is essential to how microelectronic circuits and systems interact with the environment. It enables things like signal conversion, stable power supply, and communication in state-of-the-art devices. However, designing these critical components – even though they are often a small part of complex chips – is very costly and risk-prone. And in today’s analog field... » read more

Generative AI Training With HBM3 Memory


One of the biggest, most talked about application drivers of hardware requirements today is the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) and the generative AI which they make possible.  The most well-known example of generative AI right now is, of course, ChatGPT. ChatGPT’s large language model for GPT-3 utilizes 175 billion parameters. Fourth generation GPT-4 will reportedly boost the number of... » read more

A Bridge From Mars To Venus


In a now-famous 1992 pop psychology book titled "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus," author John Gray posited that most relationship troubles in couples stem from fundamental differences in socialization patterns between men and women. The analogy that the two partners came from different planets was used to describe how two people could perceive issues in completely different and sometim... » read more

Mitigating Electromigration In Chip Design


From smartphones to laptops, we use a variety of devices every day that rely on integrated circuits (ICs), or chips, to function. These chips are made up of thousands of transistors and interconnects, which transmit electrical signals from one part of the chip to another. But as demand for speed and complexity forces more energy through ever-smaller devices, this concentrated current flow can t... » read more

Improved Arm Server Price-Performance For HPC


The availability of Amazon EC2 Hpc7g instances with the AWS Graviton3E and Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) is opening new opportunities in key areas: Manufacturing Aerospace Automotive engineering Weather prediction The new AWS EC2 instance types have AWS Graviton3E’s 64 Arm Neoverse V1 cores and 8 channels of DDR5 memory. This is alongside the AWS Nitro v5 card with EFA deliver... » read more

How Do Robots Navigate?


Have you ever been amazed by the graceful movement of robots and self-driving vehicles in unfamiliar surroundings? The latest technological advancements have introduced self-cleaning robots, autonomous vehicles with incredible navigation abilities. This entails navigating through unfamiliar surroundings, capturing clear video footage, and performing processing at the edge. What's truly remarkab... » read more

A New Approach To Design-Stage Layout Optimization Can Speed Time To Tapeout While Improving Power Management


The right tool for the job makes all the difference. Ever try hammering a nail in with a rock? How many nails did you ruin before you gave up? Or try to tighten a crucial bolt by hand? It takes forever, and you just can’t tighten it enough, so everything’s still kind of wobbly? Yeah, that’s kind of what it’s like trying to use an electronic design automation (EDA) tool to do a job it’... » read more

A Buyers Guide To An NPU


Choosing the right AI inference NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is a critical decision for a chip architect. There’s a lot at stake because as the AI landscape constantly changes, the choices will impact overall product cost, performance, and long-term viability. There are myriad options regarding system architecture and IP suppliers, and this can be daunting for even the most seasoned semicondu... » read more

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