System Bits: March 22


How nanocrystal structures self assemble Researchers at MIT and the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) have discovered some of the secrets to a long-hidden magic trick behind the self-assembly of nanocrystal structures, the understanding of which could be used to create more vivid display screens and optical sensory devices. The transformation of simple colloidal particles — b... » read more

How Many Cores? (Part 2)


New chip architectures and new packaging options—including fan-outs and 2.5D—are changing basic design considerations for how many cores are needed, what they are used for, and how to solve some increasingly troublesome bottlenecks. As reported in part one, just adding more cores doesn't necessarily improve performance, and adding the wrong size or kinds of cores wastes power. That has s... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Tools Aldec updated its emulation and simulation acceleration software package for high speed prototyping boards, adding a SCE-MI Pipes-based flow for streaming large amounts of data, and a 30% speed increase for all emulation modes. Plus, Aldec's mixed-language FPGA design and simulation platform now includes a complete coverage analysis package for FPGA and ASIC designers with the addition... » read more

Blog Review: March 16


A bacterium that chows down on plastic could be a boon to reducing our huge piles of plastic waste, in this week's top five tech picks from Ansys' Bill Vandermark. Plus, silicon photonics got one step closer, keeping an eye on new neurons, and getting around with magnets. Can semiconductors be open sourced? Rambus' Aharon Etengoff considers what that would take, the potential impact on the I... » read more

System Bits: March 15


Drilling into metabolic details with big data In a development that may help researchers find new therapeutic targets for cancer and other diseases, Rice University researchers have created a fast computational method to model tissue-specific metabolic pathways. The team explained that metabolic pathways are immense networks of biochemical reactions that keep organisms functioning and are a... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Legal A federal court jury favored Synopsys in a 2013 lawsuit alleging that ATopTech violated copyright by copying elements of the command set for Synopsys' PrimeTime static timing analysis product. Synopsys was awarded $30.4 million in damages. ATopTech plans to contest the verdict, stating that other issues in the case remain to be decided. Tools Aldec unveiled the latest version of ... » read more

Blog Review: March 9


The world's largest floating solar farm will soon be complete – an array of 23,000 solar panels on a reservoir outside London. Also in this week's top five picks by Ansys' Justin Nescott, watching sharks from the sky is a drone's latest task, plus making music with a marble machine. Synopsys' Graham Etchells continues his series with a look at electromigration and its impacts on the FinFET... » read more

System Bits: March 8


Living, breathing supercomputers Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the substance that provides energy to all the cells in the human body, may also be able to power the next generation of supercomputers, according to McGill University researchers. The team has described a model of a biological computer that they have created that is able to process information very quickly and accurately using p... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Mergers & Acquisitions Synopsys acquired WinterLogic, provider of fault simulation tools used in automotive, safety and security environments for the design and verification of advanced SoCs. In announcing the deal, Synopsys highlighted fault simulation as key for ISO 26262 compliance testing. Terms were not disclosed. IP & IoT Mentor Graphics unveiled the first entirely native... » read more

Blog Review: March 2


Ansys' Bill Vandermark test drives the potential downsides of autonomous cars in his top tech articles of the week. Plus, the world's first fully robotic lettuce farm and big improvements for old technology. Synopsys' Graham Etchells takes a look at what makes FinFET layout methodology different and how 'smart' PCells can help. Mentor's John Day introduces the Open Lab Alliance, a group o... » read more

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