How To Improve Software? Start With The Hardware


By Travis Walton and Udi Maor Physicist Art Rosenfeld was working late at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab one night in 1973 when he noticed it. Despite an ongoing energy crisis, his colleagues routinely left their lights on after they left. Waste was one of the largest consumers of power in the state, he soon discovered: pilot lights consumed 10% of gas in homes. Switching from physics to ... » read more

Advancing 3D Integration


Jerry Tzou's recent presentation on 3D Fabric Technology was all about More than Moore. TSMC has other specialized technologies such as RF and eNVM, but this is a general foundational technology for hyperscale data centers, mobile, and AI. Jerry started with the motivation for using chiplets and heterogeneous chip integration. You can see in the diagram below on the left where die from node... » read more

Accelerating AI/ML Inferencing With GDDR6 DRAM


The origins of graphics double data rate (GDDR) memory can be traced to the rise of 3D gaming on PCs and consoles. The first graphics processing units (GPU) packed single data rate (SDR) and double data rate (DDR) DRAM – the same solution used for CPU main memory. As gaming evolved, the demand for higher frame rates at ever higher resolutions drove the need for a graphics-workload specific me... » read more

SiC And Industrial Servos: A Perfect Match


The automation engineers of the 1960s would look with envy at the servo technology in use today. Small, precise, and, above all, electric, they are a reflection of the compactness of the semiconductor control, sensor, and power technology we have available today. Today’s biggest challenge remains the cabling between the servo and its controller. Notoriously expensive, due to having to withsta... » read more

Using Model-Based Systems Engineering To Design Complex Systems


By Anthony Dawson and Jane Trenaman The benefits of using simulation early and often in the product development process are clear. You can verify requirements and begin studying and exploring design alternatives before prototyping and investing time in designs that ultimately won’t meet requirements. What may not be clear is how to integrate all the simulation tools that different engineer... » read more

Innovation In C-PHY


The addition of cameras and larger displays in mobile phones intensified the need to move data at higher speeds with fewer wires and low power using asymmetrical interfaces. The MIPI Alliance was formed in 2003 to standardize these interfaces and enable interoperability. The use of MIPI specifications has spread from mobile applications with extremely high-volume requirements to many other appl... » read more

Chiplets: A Solution For The Shortage Of Chips


These days, there are new reports on the shortage of chips almost every day. Currently, this issue is affecting mainly car manufacturers such as Audi, Ford, and more. But other system manufacturers, such as in the machine construction industry, are also facing this challenge. Even manufacturers of mass-produced articles such as game consoles are reporting the same problems. The problem is sure ... » read more

Trends In FPGA Verification Effort And Technology Adoption


The more we know about the bigger picture, context, historical and projected trends, or simply how other people do the same thing we do, the more efficiently and successfully we can do our specific jobs. This perspective also informs the EDA industry in how to best assist and sustain the needs of the FPGA and ASIC engineering communities. Providing this kind of information is the reason we c... » read more

Early Detection Of Reset Domain Crossing Errors


Many aspects of system-on-chip (SoC) designs are growing, including the numbers of gates, memories, clock domains, reset domains, power domains, on-chip buses, and external interfaces. A recent blog post focused on reset domain crossings (RDCs) and the requirements for effective pre-silicon verification of these trouble-prone structures. If properly applied, a solution meeting these requirement... » read more

MIPI DSI-2 With VESA DSC Drives Performance For Next-Generation Displays


The Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance was formed in 2003 to address the fragmentation in the essential video interface technologies for cameras and displays in phones. Over the years, the alliance has significantly expanded its scope to publish specifications covering physical layer, multimedia, chip-to-chip, control/data, and debug/trace and software. With its broader mission... » read more

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