Waste Not, Want Not


Power is the new timing …. performance per watt … low-power design ... power performance trade-offs … the list of terms goes on and on, but there is no denying that power has now become the primary design objective. So what does it really take to manage power in a modern system-on-a-chip (SoC) design? Power is an “equal opportunity problem,” and all can contribute to the solution. ... » read more

Signal Integrity’s Growing Complexity


By Matt Elmore In Part 1, we reviewed the importance of simultaneous switching output (SSO) timing and the challenges associated with double data rate (DDR) simulation complexity. DDR memory interfacing has reached incredible levels of performance (17 Gb/s), requiring precise quantification and reduction of noise. In order to account for each noise contributor, we must model systems end-to-... » read more

Design For Reliability


By Arvind Shanmugavel Faster processors, lowered power targets and shrinking technology have increased the complexity of integrated circuit (IC) reliability analysis. With the 20nm node becoming mainstream, IC design teams are fast re-tooling their analysis methodologies to simulate and capture various reliability failure mechanisms. Electromigration (EM) analysis, thermal analysis and Electro... » read more

Signal Integrity’s Growing Complexity


By Matt Elmore While in the market for a memory upgrade recently, I was surprised by the availability of commercial DDR memories. You can get 8GB of DDR3 memory, transferring 17GB/s, relatively inexpensively. The progress in memory design is outstanding. From smartphones to gaming PCs, quick communication between the IC and off-chip memory is key to enabling the performance we demand in the... » read more

Preparing For 3DX


By Aveek Sarkar Undoubtedly we live in the age of mobility—smartphones, tablets, and ultra-books have transformed the way we work, live, and communicate. The worldwide smartphone market’s forecasted 24% CAGR, between 2010 and 2015 provides unique opportunities1. In emerging economies, more than 1 billion consumers are ready for the next new mobile platform2. Success in this market demands ... » read more

Stacking The Deck


By Matt Elmore Can we finally say that 3D-IC design has emerged from the realm of theory and research to actual commercial implementation? Xilinx recently announced initial shipments of its Virtex-7 H580T FPGA, described as “The world’s first 3D heterogeneous all programmable product.” The benefits of 3D implementation are many, as are its challenges. One of the hottest 3D-IC topics t... » read more

New Reliability Issues


By Arvind Shanmugavel Reliability of ICs is a topic of growing concern with every technology node migration. With the onset of the 20nm process node from different foundries, reliability verification has taken center stage in design kits—and for good reason. Reliability margins have continued to decrease and have reached an inflection point at the 20nm node. The design and EDA communities ha... » read more

The Next Steps


By Aveek Sarkar Remaining competitive in today’s semiconductor market means IC designers must meet performance, power and price targets for their design, regardless of the end application. Meeting these mutually conflicting goals requires enlisting the use of several architectural and design techniques, including three-dimensional (3D) or stacked-die architectures that can help meet perfo... » read more

Reliability Verification For Smart ICs


By Arvind Shanmugavel The electronic brains behind today’s advanced systems are smart ICs, paving the way for consumer electronics, energy, biomedical, automotive and avionics industries. Power efficiency and system integration are keys to the success of these smart systems. The IC industry has swiftly responded with state-of-the-art low-power techniques and chip integration initiatives f... » read more

A Smart System Technology Renaissance


By Margaret Schmitt Leonardo da Vinci invented fantastic machines to revolutionize how man would live, work, wage war, and travel. Describing how he conceived these designs he said, “A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.” We currently are experiencing a renaissance of our own, with the rise of s... » read more

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