Custom Versus Platform Design


The increase in [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"] complexity is being mirrored by a rise in complexity within the markets that drive demand for those chips. The upshot is that a push toward greater connectivity, lower power and better performance—and all for a minimal cost—has turned the pros and cons for custom design vs. platforms and superchips into a murky decision-making process. For t... » read more

First Time Success And Cost Control


First time success has been the ultimate goal for semiconductor companies due to escalating mask costs, as well as a guiding objective for the development of EDA tools, especially in the systems and verification space. These pressures are magnified for the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"] (IoT), especially the edge devices. Have system-level tools been able to contribute to first ti... » read more

Better Software. Faster! A Virtual Prototyping Case Study From Kyocera Document Solutions


From time to time I like to use this blog to provide you with an update about the "Better Software. Faster!" book that illustrates the best practices in virtual prototyping. This time, I am happy to announce that Mamoru Kani-san, senior manager, R&D department 22, software 2 R&D division of the corporate software development division of Kyocera Document Solutions, wrote a new case study... » read more

Rethinking SoC Verification


The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 represented a fundamental shift in electronic system design: moving advanced processing power off of the desktop and into the hands of users everywhere, always. This shift has led to a revolution in mobile—the expansion into the Internet-of-Things, with wearables, connected automobiles and homes. This revolution is causing profound technology challeng... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 25


Synopsys' Aron Pratt continues his series on SystemVerilog interfaces and strategies for dealing with parameterization. There are workarounds to the problems it introduces, but they come with a price. Mentor's John Day digs into Volvo's plans for autonomous autos. There are a lot of speedbumps ahead, and while it's easy to build a self-driving concept vehicle, actually getting on the road is... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Deals Arteris teamed up with Yogitech to integrate the two companies' products. They're planning a set of ISO 26262 deliverables for a series of SoC reference designs and a functional safety assessment of the Arteris FlexNoC interconnect IP. ARM and Green Hills Software collaborated on an optimized compiler for the Cortex-R5 processor. The compiler achieved a score of 1.01EEMBC Automarks/... » read more

How To Extend Litho Scaling


IC mask [getkc id="80" comment="lithography"] today is sophisticated and complex. It's also a work in progress with a lot of unknowns as the industry struggles to increase productivity while reducing risk. The bulk of the work currently is focused on trying to figure out what would be a practical scheme for patterning lithography that could be used at 10nm and 7nm, said Gandharv Bhatara, Ca... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 18


Ansys' Justin Nescott digs up the top five engineering articles of the week. A thermal mapping microwave may make finding cold centers in nuked food a thing of the past. Plus, in hospitals your next meal might be delivered by a robot. Worried about your car being hacked? Maybe you should be. Mentor's John Day pulls out important points from the recent security report on wireless-enabled vehi... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Mergers/Acquisitions ARM acquired Offspark, a Dutch company specializing in IoT communications security. Use of Offspark's PolarSSL embedded Transport Layer Security (TLS) solution is widespread in the IoT industry. PolarSSL will be rebranded mbed TLS and integrated into ARM's mbed OS. Tools Mentor Graphics is bringing together a suite of technologies that enable a multi-platform appro... » read more

Who Pays For EDA Shift Left?


While working on the predictions articles for 2015 (markets, design, semiconductors, tools and flows), a number of companies talked about the great shift left that is happening in the industry. What was surprising was the number of companies that mentioned it, and in very different ways. It is clear that shift left does not mean the same thing to all people. While they all see it addressing ... » read more

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