category: Editor’s Note

category: IoT, Security & Automotive

Market Outlook For 2015
By Ed Sperling - 18 Dec, 2014 - Comments: 0

It's always easier to look back at what happened in the past 12 months than to try to piece together a coherent picture for what could happen over the next year. A good prediction relies on lots of data points, and even then it can be wrong. In a global industry, where geopolitical strife or pandemics can send markets tumbling or open up new ones, it's not possible to account for all the unk... » read more

Something Old, Something New
By Ed Sperling - 20 Nov, 2014 - Comments: 0

Sooner or later, everything comes back into vogue. There are only so many permutations of fashion, architecture and other designs, and eventually something has to be recycled, even if it's an antique. Technology is no different than fashion. In the late 1990s, when governments and banks were preparing for the Y2K problem, people with knowledge of assembly code were in extremely high demand b... » read more

Redefining A System…And Why It Matters
By Ed Sperling - 23 Oct, 2014 - Comments: 0

The concept of a system on chip has been around since the mid-1990s, but the actual mass implementation of this scheme is almost synonymous with the rise of the smart phone over the past decade. Put in perspective, it isn't that old, and it's about to change. Prior to the [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"], an electronic system was largely a collection of components on a PCB that included memory,... » read more

Which Comes First?
By Ed Sperling - 25 Sep, 2014 - Comments: 0

Methodologies in IC design typically follow tools. The tools enable the methodologies, and chipmakers' businesses are built around both of them. That has been the rock-solid foundation for the design and production of chips since well before the impenetrable 1-micron wall. But that approach is falling apart at 28nm, and it will continue to crumble at 16/14nm and 10nm. It simply isn't fast en... » read more

Ready To Pounce
By Ed Sperling - 21 Aug, 2014 - Comments: 0

A series of inflection points at 16/14nm and beyond is having a rather unusual effect on the semiconductor industry. Rather than forge ahead with the next nodes to gain an edge and early lead over rivals—the standard formula for success over the past five decades—the entire supply chain is poised on the edge, waiting for someone to make the first move before they take action. The problem... » read more

Improving The PPA Equation
By Ed Sperling - 24 Jul, 2014 - Comments: 0

The next generation of semiconductors may look very much like the existing generation. But like the old Porsche ads that required arrows to point to the improvements, because from the outside things basically looked the same, there should be plenty of impressive stuff inside. As the cost per transistor continues to rise at advanced nodes, the focus for most companies is no longer about shrin... » read more

Everyone Is A Programmer
By Ed Sperling - 26 Jun, 2014 - Comments: 0

There was a time when so many people didn’t know how to program their VCRs that OEMs stopped adding clocks because it was embarrassing to have them constantly blinking “12:00.” We’ve come a long way since VCRs. And that means all of us. While engineers have always enjoyed tinkering with technology, what’s changed is that everyone tinkers with technology now. Everyone programs phone... » read more

EDA Economics Changing
By Ed Sperling - 22 May, 2014 - Comments: 0

From most perspectives, there has never been a better time to be in the EDA business. Automation tools are in demand as complexity rises, and new companies jumping into the semiconductor business are starting out with commercially available tools rather than developing their own—and taking years, sometimes even decades, to replace them. EDA’s slice of the semiconductor market consistent... » read more

Follow The Investments
By Ed Sperling - 24 Apr, 2014 - Comments: 0

Where is design heading over the next few years. The best way to tell that is to find out where the development dollars are going, and foundries and tools always precede actual designs. The foundries are starting to spend money—lots of it—on finFETs and 28nm. And while they’re talking about 2.5D and 3D, the money isn’t going there just yet. In fact, there are two different processes ... » read more

Look Who’s Making Chips
By Ed Sperling - 27 Mar, 2014 - Comments: 1

The entry into the chip business by companies such as Apple, and possibly Google, Amazon and a handful of others, may seem like a land grab in the semiconductor world, but the reality is that system companies have always done their own semiconductor design. Only the names have changed. IBM made its own PC processors, and it still makes them for its high-end servers. HP made chips for its PCs... » read more

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