Can AI Create Missing Models?


Key takeaways Models are an essential part of EDA flows, each capturing necessary detail while retaining good execution performance. Models have been expensive to create, maintain and verify, restricting their utilization, but AI may be able to significantly reduce their cost. A deeper question remains. Should AI be used to create models that help existing flows, or should AI be used... » read more

Mastering 3D-IC Verification Complexity


The semiconductor industry's transition from traditional 2D integrated circuits to 2.5D and 3D-IC configurations represents more than an incremental advancement. This architectural shift, driven by the need to push beyond conventional scaling limitations, introduces a cascade of verification challenges that legacy methodologies struggle to address. As designs incorporate multiple stacked dies, ... » read more

Disturbance In Verification


When writing my recent story about agentic verification, there was one quote from Abhi Kolpekwar, senior vice-president and general manager at Siemens EDA, that really struck a chord. He was talking about the additional token costs that would be consumed when a verification engineer starts asking the agents to do what was considered to be part of their job. "Consider the total cost of owners... » read more

From Circuits to Systems: Unlocking the Power of Periodic Steady-State Analysis (eBook)


RF and mixed-signal design verification is getting harder. Heterogeneous integration means sensitive RF blocks now sit next to noisy digital logic. Advanced-node CMOS means analog functions are increasingly implemented with fast-switching digital circuits. Wireless standards keep evolving, and the documentation runs hundreds of pages. Our new ebook, From Circuits to Systems: Unlocking the P... » read more

Toward Agentic Verification


Key Takeaways: Agentic verification provides flow orchestration for common repetitive tasks. Capabilities will expand when tools can learn from a larger context, including the specification. Design houses need to fully understand the costs and benefits and plan accordingly. Agentic verification is more than a buzzword. It is a pivotal moment in the evolution of verification ... » read more

Why Your NoC Verification Strategy Must Consider Using Formal


By Ashish Darbari and Bing Xue It’d be inconceivable these days to design a modern high-performance SoC without a network-on-chip (NoC) fabric. AI hyperscalers are inherently multi-threaded and rely on using hundreds of processing elements (PEs). Crossbar-based fabric would just not scale. What also changes with the adoption of the NoC is how to handle coherency between PEs. ACE is no long... » read more

Automating Traditional PCB Layout Verification With Electrically Based Design Rule Checks


Electrical verification and sign-off of a printed circuit board (PCB) is a challenging, tedious, and manual process. If time permits, this visual inspection to catch errors that might cause costly respins is done throughout the PCB layout process, but traditionally it is performed only once at the end of the design cycle. This approach creates significant project delays when issues are discover... » read more

Faster Verification Debug With AI


Every stage of semiconductor development takes longer and requires more effort with each new generation of chips. At no stage is this more apparent than functional verification. Industry consensus is that verification consumes roughly two-thirds of development time and resources. Within verification, debug is the most challenging step, consuming a third to two-thirds of the effort. Any serious ... » read more

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence For Trusted IC Signoff


After years of behind-the-scenes work, artificial intelligence (AI) is now embedded throughout the technology world—from space exploration to everyday apps on our smartphones. There is a circular feedback loop in which we design more powerful computer chips to train AI models and use them; and then use those AI models to design even more powerful chips. The use of AI in the software used for ... » read more

ASIC Prototyping — New Design Realities Demand A New Approach


Modern ASIC design pushes prototypes to model vast RTL interactions across many FPGAs, often under high-bandwidth conditions that strain traditional systems. Verification teams also need fluid movement between emulation and at-speed prototyping, exposing any gaps in flow, tooling, or model continuity. This white paper presents an integrated solution that addresses these challenges through a uni... » read more

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