Analog Fault Simulation Challenges And Solutions


The test time for digital circuit blocks in ICs has greatly decreased in the last 20 years, thanks to scan-based design-for-test (DFT), automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) tools, and scan compression. These technologies have greatly reduced the number of test vectors applied by automatic test equipment (ATE) while maximizing the coverage of a wide range of defect types. But for analog c... » read more

Noise Killed My Chip


In the past, noise was considered an annoyance, especially for analog circuitry. But today chips are actually failing because insufficient analysis was performed. Noise types that used to be second-order effects are becoming primary factors that have to be considered. This is happening at the same time that noise margins are getting smaller, both in the amplitude and temporal dimensions. It ... » read more

Can Analog And Digital Get Along Better?


How to bridge analog and digital is getting renewed attention as the amount of analog content that needs to be processed balloons with consumer and industrial IoT applications. Solving that problem isn’t going to be easy, though. To begin with, digital designers view designs in terms of voltages. Analog designers, in contrast, look at currents. “Unless you can analyze an [getkc id="37... » read more

Are We Looking At The IoT Through Rose-Colored Glasses?


There’s been a lot of anticipation and promise associated with the explosive growth expected from the deployment of the Internet of Things. The prospect of 30 billion to 50 billion connected devices and all the associated electronics brings rosy visions of a return to double-digit semiconductor industry growth rates. Let’s take a look at the realities of the impending impact. MEMS, ... » read more

Gaps Emerge In Test Flows


Gaps are showing up in test flows as chipmakers add more analog content and push into more safety-critical applications, exposing more points at which designs need to be tested as well as weaknesses in current tools and methodologies. The cornerstone of the [getkc id="76" kc_name="IoT"], and connected devices such as self-driving cars, is a heavy reliance on [getkc id="187" kc_name="sensors"... » read more

What’s Holding Back Analog?


The uneasy relationship between digital and analog, coupled with tools that are either ineffective or outright ignored by the analog community, may be limiting the growth potential and technological advances in that market. That certainly doesn’t mean analog isn’t growing. In fact, analog is an increasingly critical component of ICs and the electronic devices they inhabit. The global ele... » read more

The Week in Review: IoT


Deals Analog Devices this week agreed to purchase Linear Technology for $60 a share in cash and stock, a proposed purchase worth about $14.8 billion. The transaction will wrap up next year, if antitrust regulators and Linear Tech’s shareholders give it the green light. Both chip companies are very active in Internet of Things technologies, with ADI acquiring Switzerland-based SNAP Sensor ear... » read more

Time To Pay The Piper


The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a German fable about a rat catcher who used his magic pipe to lure away rats. When he was not paid by the town, he used his pipe to lure away all of the town's children. I am not suggesting that exactly the same is true for the semiconductor industry and having not paid [getkc id="7" kc_name="EDA"], but I do not think they have paid enough and they will now have to ... » read more

New Drivers For Test


Mention Design for Test (DFT) and scan chains come to mind, but there is much more to it than that—and the rules of the game are changing. New application areas such as automotive may breathe new life into built-in self-test (BIST) solutions, which could also be used for manufacturing test. So could DFT as we know it be a thing of the past? Or will it continue to have a role to play? Te... » read more

Advanced Analog And Mixed Signal Design Continues Pushing The Design Envelope


As PCB design has evolved into its present form with extremely complex boards housing high speed circuitry in very small areas, analog and mixed signal (AMS) and high speed analysis can address the latest design challenges. Analog/mixed signal design More and more products incorporate more than just digital circuitry. The vast majority of products now integrate digital and analog circuitr... » read more

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