Compiler Optimization Made Easy


In a previous blog post, we discussed the benefits of using automation to maximize the performance of a system. One use case I mentioned was compiler flag mining, and the fact that performance is available beyond the standard optimization flags provided by most compilers. Getting to this untapped performance is a difficult problem to solve, but fortunately there is an easy way. A universe of o... » read more

Scan Pattern Portability From PSV To ATE To SLT To IST


By Ash Patel and Karthik Natarajan Chip testing has become increasingly complex due to the number of variables impacting designs – from design size and complexity, to high transistor counts on advanced technology nodes, to 2.5D/3D packaging, to manufacturing variability. All of these combine to make testing today's chips and packages more complicated than ever before. The number of test pa... » read more

Testability Analysis Based On Ever-Evolving Technology


The complexity of system-on-chip (SoC) designs continues to grow, so the corresponding design-for-test (DFT) logic required for manufacturing has become more advanced. Design teams are challenged by high gate counts and an array of internally developed and third-party IP integrated into their designs. Understanding if one can create high-quality manufacturing tests for these complex designs mus... » read more

Automotive Applications Demand Silicon Lifecycle Management


Every electrical engineer learns early in university studies that automobiles are a highly demanding environment for electronics. Temperature and humidity extremes, noise and vibration, electrical interference, exposure to alpha particles, and other factors all make it hard to design and manufacture chips that will operate properly under all conditions. These challenges are exacerbated as chips... » read more

Optimizing Vmin With Path Margin Monitors


By Firooz Massoudi and Ash Patel Choosing the right operating voltage for various digital blocks within a semiconductor device is one of the most important tasks faced by chip designers. Operating voltage has major effects on performance, power consumption, and reliability. Increasing the voltage generally increases performance, but at the cost of more power and higher lifetime operating cos... » read more

Test Data Streaming For The Next Generation Of Designs


Semiconductor chips have been evolving to meet the demands of rapidly transforming applications, and so has the test technology to meet the test goals of those chips. Going back two decades or so, the applications were limited and the designs were simpler, thus the concerns about power, performance and area (PPA), turn-around time, re-use and time-to-market, etc., were important but not as crit... » read more

Are You Leaving Performance On The Table? Here Is One Sure Way To Find Out


Compute platforms are always hungry for more performance. This is a fact that we simply cannot escape. Whether you are targeting high performance computing, IoT, mobile, or the automotive market, you need to unlock the best performance for your specific workloads. This relentless quest for performance comes with an unwelcome side effect: system complexity. As hardware becomes more capable, the ... » read more

Leverage Functional Interfaces For High-Speed Test Access During All Phases Of The Silicon Lifecycle


Chip testing used to be straightforward. The development team used fault simulation to select a subset of the functional tests that could detect most possible manufacturing faults. These were translated to test patterns that ran on automated test equipment (ATE) to screen out defective dies at wafer test and bad packaged chips in final test. Lots of new technology was introduced over time, incl... » read more

Enabling SoC Visibility For Future Secure Hardware Architectures With In-Chip Environmental Monitoring


Billions of people around the world are now online and generating vast amounts of data every day. This data revolution, which is largely driven by user performance requirements, is a double-edged sword. On one hand it is enabling huge technology advancements, revolutionizing the way we connect with each other and the world around us, but on the other hand it is exposing major vulnerabilities in... » read more

Closing The Post-Silicon Timing Analysis Gap


Accurate static timing analysis is one of the most important steps in the development of advanced node semiconductor devices. Performance numbers are included in chip and system specifications from the earliest marketing requirements. The architects and designers carefully determine clock cycle times that can achieve the required performance using the chosen high-level architecture, micro-archi... » read more

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