Blog Review: April 27


In a video, Cadence's Chris Rowan looks at the future of neural networks, particularly the shift from cloud-based to embedded devices and what we can increasingly expect from them. Waiting for RTL? Mentor's Rich Edelman suggests a way to get tests that are missing some simple RTL running with a bit of SystemVerilog. Synopsys' Richard Solomon provides a primer on calculating the bandwidth ... » read more

Blog Review: April 13


A Lam Research staff writer discusses the transformational effects of NAND flash memory and looks at the challenges of the next step: building 3D NAND structures. With the recent reports of people lining up to preorder the Model 3, Tesla may seem like the hottest electric vehicle company right now. But Mentor's Andrew Macleod argues it may actually be BYD Auto, a Chinese company that that so... » read more

How Many Cores? (Part 2)


New chip architectures and new packaging options—including fan-outs and 2.5D—are changing basic design considerations for how many cores are needed, what they are used for, and how to solve some increasingly troublesome bottlenecks. As reported in part one, just adding more cores doesn't necessarily improve performance, and adding the wrong size or kinds of cores wastes power. That has s... » read more

Blog Review: March 16


A bacterium that chows down on plastic could be a boon to reducing our huge piles of plastic waste, in this week's top five tech picks from Ansys' Bill Vandermark. Plus, silicon photonics got one step closer, keeping an eye on new neurons, and getting around with magnets. Can semiconductors be open sourced? Rambus' Aharon Etengoff considers what that would take, the potential impact on the I... » read more

The Big Shift


The number of chipmakers that truly can differentiate their products by moving to the next process node is falling, and that pool will continue to shrink even further over the next few years. Processor companies such as Intel and IBM always will benefit from scaling and architectural changes. So will GPU companies such as Nvidia, and FPGA vendors such as Xilinx, Microsemi and Altera (now par... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 17


While there have been successes for 3D-IC, the technology has stalled trying to move into the mainstream market, says Mentor's Michael White. So what has kept it from crossing the chasm? Synopsys' Robert Vamosi takes a look at the US government's latest efforts towards improving cybersecurity. Cadence's Paul McLellan discusses the importance of software-driven hardware verification and th... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 20


How far can you go on solar power? 493 million miles, at least if you're the Juno spacecraft. Plus, winemaking gets a boost from submarine technology, in this week's top tech picks from Ansys' Bill Vandermark. Mentor's Steve Pateras digs into how automotive ICs bring a whole new set of requirements that are driving the evolution of memory BIST. If you're interested in neural networks and ... » read more

Advanced Packaging Is Real. Now What?


For the past five years, it's been clear that 2.5D, fan-outs and other forms of system-in-package were on the horizon. Exactly when they would arrive no one knew. The most common prediction was that the timing would depend on when one of the big chipmakers decided to go down that route. The theory was that the remainder of the industry would follow, ecosystem issues would be sorted out—partic... » read more

Blog Review: Jan. 13


Is it time for one of the Seven Wonders to return? In this week's top engineering and tech picks, Ansys' Justin Nescott highlights a project to rebuild the Colossus of Rhodes. Plus, new tech for cars and a hoodie for taking naps. From CES, Rambus' Aharon Etengoff expands on a talk about intelligent transportation systems and the need to balance technology which could help reduce accidents wi... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


Intel completed its $16.7 billion acquisition of Altera this week. Check out our analysis of why this may be the most important M&A deal of 2015 for the semiconductor industry, and the challenges faced in making it work. NXP uncorked its latest multi-protocol NFC frontend, incorporating ISO/IEC 15693, Felica, MIFARE and ISO/IEC 14443A/B. According to NXP, it delivers four times more outp... » read more

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