GPUs Power Ahead


GPUs, long a sideshow for CPUs, are suddenly the rising stars of the processor world. They are a first choice in everything from artificial intelligence systems to automotive ADAS applications and deep learning systems powered by [getkc id="261" kc_name="convolutional neural network"]. And they are still the mainstays of high-performance computing, gaming and scientific computation, to name ... » read more

The Week in Review: IoT


Deals Samsung said Tuesday that it will invest about $1.2 billion in Internet of Things startups in the U.S. over the next four years. Investments will be made through the Samsung Global Innovation Center in Silicon Valley and through other Samsung units. Samsung is partnering with Intel to establish the National IoT Strategy Initiative, which will take in academic and industry members and wil... » read more

Formal Confusion


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the right and wrong ways to apply formal verification technology with Normando Montecillo, associate technical director at [getentity id="22649" comment="Broadcom"]; Ashish Darbari, principal engineer at [getentity id="22709" e_name="Imagination Technologies"]; Roger Sabbagh, principal engineer at Huawei; and Stuart Hoad, lead engineer at PMC Sierra... » read more

Formal Confusion


Formal verification has come a long way in the past five years. Tool developers changed direction and started to create self-contained apps which have led to a rapid proliferation of the technology. But formal is a diverse set of tools that can solve a variety of problems in the verification space and this has created a different kind of confusion within the industry. To find out how the indust... » read more

A Formal Transformation


A very important change is underway in functional verification. In the past, this was an esoteric technology and one that was difficult to deploy. It was relegated to tough problems late in the verification cycle, and it was difficult to justify the ROI unless the technology actually did find some problems. But all of that has changed. Formal verification companies started to use the technology... » read more

Ecosystem Vs. Ecosystem


The massive consolidation that has been underway over the past couple years is about to slow down. Interest rates are expected to increase in the very near future—the Fed has been dropping hints about this for months—ending the era of cheap capital. The cost of borrowing already is creeping up in anticipation of this, and it's happening globally because money lending is a global industry. ... » read more

The Great IoE Race Begins


Nobody knows how many tens of billions of semiconductors will be used in the IoE, but it's a sure bet it won't be a few chips replicated billions of times. Most IoE devices will need to be customized for specific applications. Many will need to be highly reliable for many years. And all of them will need to be secure and power-efficient. Yet they also will need to connect to heterogeneous ne... » read more

Will The Chip Work?


As the number of possible issues mount for integrating IP into complex chips, so does the focus on solving these issues. What becomes quickly apparent to anyone integrating multiple IP blocks is that one size doesn't fit all, either from an IP or a tools standpoint. There is no single solution because there is no single way of putting IP together. Each architecture is unique, and each brings... » read more

Security In 2.5D


The long-anticipated move to 2.5D and fan-outs is raising some familiar questions about security. Will multiple chips combined in an advanced package be as secure as SoCs where everything is integrated on the same die? The answer isn't a simple yes or no. Put in perspective, all chips are vulnerable to [getkc id="253" kc_name="side channel attacks"], hacking of memory—a risk that increases... » read more

The Price Of Consolidation


Consolidation is causing far-reaching changes across the global semiconductor ecosystem due to the size of companies being bought and the dearth of startups to replenish those being acquired. Coupled with the rising cost and difficulty of shrinking features down to advanced process nodes—many argue that is the largest driver of consolidation—the market dynamics for who's buying IP, EDA t... » read more

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