Reflecting Back On 2016


Anyone can make a prediction, and sometimes the more outlandish they are the more they get noticed. But at the end of the year some people hit the mark while others may have been way off. Many people simply make projections based on the current trajectory of trends, while others look for the potential discontinuities that may lie ahead. Semiconductor Engineering examines the projections made... » read more

Expose Transistor-Level Yield Limiters With Cell-Aware Diagnosis


Cell-aware diagnosis is a new and effective method to perform transistor-level diagnosis to identify defects inside standard cells. It leverages fault models derived from analog simulation and uses a fail data collection and diagnosis flow identical to that of traditional diagnosis. Cell-aware diagnosis in Tessent Diagnosis is the result of over 10 years of research in cell-aware test and was d... » read more

Blog Review: Dec. 21


Mentor's Jeff Miller and ARM's Nandan Nayampally contend that it's easier than ever to design custom SoCs. Cadence's Paul McLellan provides a basic primer on silicon photonics, from a presentation by Gilles Lamant. The US Department of Transportation is considering requiring the inclusion of vehicle-to-vehicle communication in new cars, says Synopsys' Robert Vamosi. Applied's Shekar Kr... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


Chipmakers Samsung is mulling over a plan to reorganize its System LSI division, according to a report from BusinessKorea. As part of the move, Samsung is mulling over the idea to spin off its foundry unit, according to the report. A spokeswoman for Samsung’s foundry unit said: “We don't have any comments on this story.” GlobalFoundries has added eight new partners to its FDXcelera... » read more

Using Automated Pattern Matching For SRAM Physical Verification


How often have you struggled to verify static random-access memory (SRAM) blocks in your design? And how often, no matter how much time you spend on them, do they end up causing manufacturing issues? Memory is a critical component in today’s SoC designs, often consuming 50% or more of the die area. SRAM blocks are typically assembled in a layout using a set of specific intellectual propert... » read more

Blog Review: Dec. 14


What are the technology options for 5nm? Cadence's Paul McLellan highlights an IEDM presentation by An Steegen of Imec. Synopsys' Michael Posner suggests we may not have to live with USB Type-C dongles for very long. Mentor's Craig Armenti presents some of the fundamental best practices and guidelines for rigid-flex PCB design. NXP's Joe Byrne digs into the Mirai botnet attack, arguing... » read more

SRAM Physical Verification With Calibre Pattern Matching


Traditional SRAM verification flows can require significant resources to implement and support, and still miss critical errors that result in manufacturing defects. Using the Calibre Pattern Matching automated pattern-based solution provides accurate results, avoids costly mask re-spins, and is easily updated to add newly developed SRAM IP cells. To read more, click here. » read more

Formal’s Roadmap


Formal verification has come a long way in the past five years as it focused on narrow tasks within the verification flow. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss that progress, and the future of formal technologies, with [getperson id="11306" comment="Raik Brinkmann"], president and CEO of [getentity id="22395" e_name="OneSpin Solutions"]; Harry Foster, chief verification scientist at [g... » read more

Embedded Software Verification Issues Grow


Embedded software is becoming more critical in managing the power and performance of complex designs, but so far there is no consensus about the best way to approach it—and that's creating problems. Even with safety-critical standards such as DO-178C for aerospace and [gettech id="31076" comment="ISO 26262"] for automotive, different groups of tool providers approach software from differen... » read more

Five Pitfalls In PCIe-Based NVMe Controller Verification


Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is gaining rapidly in mindshare among consumers and vendors. Some industry analysts are forecasting that PCIe-based NVMe will become the dominant storage interface over the next few years. With its high-performance and low-latency characteristics, and its availability for virtually all platforms, NVMe is a game changer. For the first time, storage devices and ... » read more

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