The Set Top Box Is Getting A Retrofit


Will processors jumpstart 8K? System-on-chip (SoC) designers and home device makers are experimenting with AI techniques to upscale high-definition or even standard-definition programs in a way that looks natural and realistic. Here’s how it works. Rather than stretching an image over a wider battery of pixels (causing pixelation) or filling in the new pixels by extrapolating informatio... » read more

If These Chips Could Talk: Actionable Insights From Path Margin Monitors


One of the most important current trends in electronics is the gathering and analysis of big data to reap benefits in cost, power, performance, and reliability. This is becoming common in the chip development flow. For example, data harvested from simulation regressions can aid in debug and reaching coverage goals. Machine learning (ML) uses the results of many passes through implementation (lo... » read more

Reliable DRC Voltage Text Annotation Means Faster And More Accurate DRC Verification


As the potential for complex interactions between voltage domains grows significantly with the increase in design density at each new process node, the complexity of spacing checks in design rule checking (DRC) also increases. To minimize these types of risk, many simple spacing checks have evolved to become voltage-aware DRC (VA-DRC) checks that incorporate voltage values to determine the requ... » read more

Architecting Faster Computers


To create faster computers, the industry must take a major step back and re-examine choices that were made half a century ago. One of the most likely approaches involves dropping demands for determinism, and this is being attempted in several different forms. Since the establishment of the von Neumann architecture for computers, small, incremental improvements have been made to architectures... » read more

Design-Aware Data Management For Hybrid Cloud


Working from home is quickly becoming the norm. A recent survey by FlexJobs found that 70% of people would prefer a remote working environment over a traditional one. Working from home has become even more popular in the semiconductor design industry. Companies are now implementing design-aware data management for hybrid cloud to meet evolving design data management requirements. Why has workin... » read more

Increasing Performance With Data Acceleration


Increasing demand for functions that require a relatively high level of acceleration per unit of data is providing a foothold for in-line accelerator cards, which could mean new opportunities for some vendors and a potential threat for others. For years, either CPUs, or CPUs with FPGA accelerators, met most market needs. But the rapid increase in the volume of data everywhere, coupled with t... » read more

The Era Of Fluid Simulations In Hollywood


With the magnificent real images of water pouring from the sky and the after-fire fumes from a car, there is no escaping from the laws of physics in movies either! Fluid simulation in the '50s and '60s was modeled mathematically before the computer graphics industry made its appearance. In the early ’90s, computer graphics (CG) in movies such as Waterworld and Titanic were restricted to wi... » read more

Driving Toward A Sustainable Future


While the automotive industry has been focused on developing innovative electric vehicle (EV) designs for years, there is a new sense of urgency today. Worldwide sales of EVs are increasing quickly1, growing by 46% in 2020 and by 160% in the first half of 2021. Consumer demand is an important factor, but equally important are government mandates. In 2021, the European Union introduced strict... » read more

Automated DRC Voltage Annotation Provides Faster And More Accurate Verification For Voltage-Aware Spacing Rules


Accurate and repeatable reliability verification is now essential for both advanced node designs and the increasingly complex products being produced at established nodes. To ensure compliance with all process, reliability, and power management requirements, voltage-aware DRC applies variable spacing requirements, based on either the absolute voltage or delta voltage values, to accurately evalu... » read more

Research Bits: April 13


Washable battery Researchers from the University of British Columbia developed a washable, flexible, and stretchable battery. “Wearable electronics are a big market and stretchable batteries are essential to their development,” said Dr. Ngoc Tan Nguyen, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s faculty of applied science. “However, up until now, stretchable batteries have not been washable. Th... » read more

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