The Week In Review: Design


Tools Synopsys rolled out a new version of its software technologies for static and formal verification, which it says increases performance by up to five times. Also new are improved debug and low-power verification with native power simulation, and an integrated IP portfolio. Cadence uncorked a new version of its PCB and packaging environment, which it says speeds up timing closure by as ... » read more

2014 Accellera Standards Are Built on Powerful Shoulders


By Adam Sherer Looking out at the fresh snow coating the landscape here in Buffalo, it’s tempting to look toward 2014 and focus only on the fresh and new. However, if I’ve learned anything about this city from the day I arrived here as a freshman EE in 1984, it’s that you don’t bury your foundation. Instead, you recognize it as your greatest strength, the powerful shoulders upon whic... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 8


How do you choose an embedded operating system—and do you even need one? Mentor’s Colin Walls looks at the options, and the reason why there are no simple answers. Cadence’s Richard Goering has evidence that Facebook is gaining in popularity for engineer. He’s not the first person to recognize this shift, but the big unanswered questions are, ‘What’s the average age of those use... » read more

Where Is 2.5D?


After nearly five years of concentrated research, development, test chips and characterization, 2.5D remains a possibility for many companies but a reality for very few. So what’s taking so long and why hasn’t all of this hype turned into production runs instead of test chips? Semiconductor Engineering spent the past two months interviewing dozens of people on this subject, from chipmakers ... » read more

Blog Review: Nov. 27


Synopsys’ Brent Gregory is looking at real-world experiments to figure out which EDA software is better. Make sure to check out his stats. Cadence’s Brian Fuller interviews two Samsung engineers in a video about the image technology in smart phone cameras and just how far it’s progressed. Hint: Don’t forget to charge your phone on your next vacation. Mentor’s Colin Walls points ... » read more

IEEE 1801 UPF Tutorial


This tutorial from DVCon 2013 covers the basics of Accellera UPF and then focuses on the features of IEEE 1801 that enable the description of more sophisticated power management systems. The tutorial also provides recommendations regarding migration from Accellera UPF to IEEE 1801 and the methodology changes that are required. And, it presents a UPF-based design flow highlighting the practical ... » read more

Community, Collaboration And Standards


EDA tools/methodologies and semiconductor IP creation are strongly driven by standards. Dating back to the 1980s, standards have helped shape electronic design industry – from the way we design silicon to the way we do business. Indeed, [getentity id="22024" comment="Accellera"] was formed from a merger of two leading standards bodies in the early 1990s, [getentity id="22025" comment="VHDL In... » read more

The Problem With EDA Standards


In the EDA industry, does standard mean the same as it does in most industries? The Free Dictionary defines it as: Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence. In the EDA industry, a standards body is the place where EDA companies and customers come together to try and bring about convergence, often in a new or emerging... » read more

Standards Watch


This may sound odd to anyone outside of the SoC world, but as more functionality and more components move from PCB to chip—or at least the same package—what’s happening in the standards world is mirroring what’s going on in semiconductor design and manufacturing. The rule of thumb in the standards world is that as new techniques and technologies are introduced, the number of standard... » read more

IP-XACT Becoming More Useful


Accellera created analog/mixed signal extensions to the IEEE IP-XACT standard, and the standards group will recommend an update to the overall standard later this year to make it more useful for IP integration. IP-XACT has been considered a great idea since its introduction in 2009 because it allows IP makers to add metadata to their IP—information needed to integrate it into complex desig... » read more

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