A Promising Future For Interconnect IP


Complexity of SoC designs continues to increase primarily due to increased demand for functionality and performance in all electronic devices. Studies that Semico Research has conducted on the SoC design landscape shows the number of discrete SIP blocks has continued to rise in response to increased market requirements from new applications and richer feature sets. Table 1: Comparison of 1st... » read more

A New Dawn For IP


The IP industry is changing again. The concept started as build once, use everywhere, but today it is more like architect once, customize everywhere. Few designs can afford sub-optimal IP for their application. The need for customized IP is driven by both leading-edge designs and the trailing markets, although for different reasons. While this customization is causing IP companies to transfo... » read more

Challenges In IP Reuse


Jeff Markham, software architect at ClioSoft, explains why IP reuse is so important in advanced process node SoC chip designs, what companies need to keep track of when working with third-party IP, and how it needs to be characterized. » read more

Finding Hardware Trojans


John Hallman, product manager for trust and security at OneSpin Technologies, looks at how to identify hardware Trojans in a design, why IP from different vendors makes this more complicated, and how a digital twin can provide a reference point against which to measure if a design has been compromised. » read more

Thoroughly Verifying Complex SoCs


The number of things that can go wrong in complex SoCs targeted at leading-edge applications is staggering, and there is no indication that verifying these chips will function as expected is going to get any easier. Heterogeneous designs developed for leading-edge applications, such as 5G, IoT, automotive and AI, are now complex systems in their own right. But they also need to work in conju... » read more

Enhancing IO Ring Checks For Consistent, Customizable Verification


The Calibre PERC IO ring checker framework eliminates manual checking by providing a robust DRC-like environment to verify all IO placement rules with sign-off quality. Running on the first LEF/DEF floorplan, the IO ring checker provides early and full coverage of IO ring placement rules, enabling changes with minimal impact on the layout. Fast, accurate debugging and correction ensures that So... » read more

Week In Review: IoT, Security, Automotive


Automotive Porsche’s electric race car, the 99X Electric, used ANSYS Technology’s system-level simulation solutions to create an advanced electric powertrain. The powertrain is also being adapted for use in Porsche’s consumer electric cars. "ANSYS system-level simulations are instrumental for optimizing the Porsche E-Performance Powertrain's motor, gearbox, power electronics and control ... » read more

Is There A Crossover Point For Mainstream Anymore?


Until 28nm, it was generally assumed that process nodes would go mainstream one or two generations after they were introduced. So by the time the leading edge chips for smartphones and servers were being developed at 16/14nm and 10/7nm, it was assumed that developing a chip at 28nm would be less expensive, less complex, and that the process rule deck would shrink. That worked for decades. Th... » read more

RISC-V Markets, Security And Growth Prospects


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss open instruction set hardware with Ben Levine, senior director of product management in Rambus' Security Division; Jerry Ardizzone, vice president of worldwide sales at Codasip; Megan Wachs, vice president of engineering at SiFive; and Rishiyur Nikhil, CTO of Bluespec. What follows are excerpts of that conversation.  Part one of this discussion is ... » read more

Power Complexity On The Rise


New chip architectures and custom applications are adding significant challenges to chip design and verification, and the problems are becoming much more complex as low power is added into the mix. Power always has been a consideration in design, but in the past it typically involved different power domains that were either on, off, or in some level of sleep mode. As hardware architectures s... » read more

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