RTL Restructuring Issues


Modification of modules in RTL is the last place in chip design where changes can be made relatively easily before they reach physical design, but it’s still as complicated as the design itself — and it becomes more difficult in 3D-ICs. Jim Schultz, product marketing manager for digital design implementation at Synopsys, talks about grouping and ungrouping, re-parenting, and breaking connec... » read more

Wi-Fi 7 Moves Forward, Adding Yet Another Protocol


The latest generation Wi-Fi protocol brings better speeds and data handling, but it does little to bridge various communications technologies. That, in turn, makes it more difficult and more expensive to design chips because they must integrate and support multiple wireless technologies, including different versions of the same technology. Wireless communications technologies are often victi... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


SEMICON West returned in force this week, with a focus on AI and deep learning  in semiconductor manufacturing, security, heterogenous ICs, and the march toward a $1 trillion chip market. Lam Research President and CEO, Tim Archer, opened with the keynote presentation. Fig. 1: SEMICON West panel: AI’s influence on growth, China-U.S. trade war, and the importance of climate policy were... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


DAC and SEMICON WEST rebounded this year, focusing on everything from security to chiplets and smart manufacturing. Panel at DAC conference: Left to right, ARM’s Brian Fuller (moderator), Joe Costello (Metrics, Kwikbit, Arrikto, Acromove), and Wally Rhines (Cornami). Source: Semiconductor Engineering/Ann Mutschler EDA and IP remain strong, approaching $4 billion in Q1, according to ... » read more

Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Google was hit with a class action suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleging data scraping from millions of users without consent and violation of copyright laws to train and develop its AI products. Last month, the same law firm filed a suit against OpenAI for ChatGPT. Despite calling for a pause on development of advanced AI in March, Elon Musk launched xAI, a new company focu... » read more

Ditch The Glitch


To support the ever-growing performance demands of cutting-edge applications like automotive and hyperscaler, SoC complexity continues to increase. The emergence of multi-die technology has also compounded this complexity. To keep up with these demands, design-for-test (DFT) logic must also evolve to ensure greater levels of test robustness and silicon health. The “Shift left” concept which... » read more

Pinpointing Timing Delays in Complex SoCs


Telemetry circuits are becoming a necessity in complex heterogeneous chips and packages to show how these devices are behaving post-production, but fusing together relevant data to identify the sources of problems adds its own set of challenges. In the past, engineering teams could build margin into chips to offset any type of variation. But at advanced nodes and in advanced packages, tolera... » read more

Week In Review: Semiconductor Manufacturing, Test


China retaliated against a U.S. embargo on advanced semiconductor equipment exports by restricting exports of gallium and germanium. Both metals are widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles. Despite export controls for advanced chips and equipment imposed on Chinese foundries by the U.S. and its allies, TrendForce predicts China's 300mm market share likely will increase from 24% ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Worldwide semiconductor industry sales dropped 21% year-over-year in May to $40.7 billion, mostly driven by decreases in the Americas (-22%), Asia Pacific/All Other (-23%), and China (-29%). But there also were hints of a recovery. The three-month moving average showed a 1.7% increase in sales, with the largest increases in China (+3.9%) and Europe (+2%). “Despite continuing market sluggishne... » read more

Confusion Grows Over Sensor Fusion In Autos


A key strategy for fully autonomous vehicles is the ability to fuse together inputs from multiple sensors, which is essential for making safe and secure decisions, but it's turning out to be much harder than first imagined. There are multiple problems that need to be solved, including how to partition, prioritize, and ultimately combine different types of data, and how to architect the proce... » read more

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