Blog Review: Oct. 9


Siemens’ Stephen Chavez looks at the key benefits and challenges to achieving a successful ECAD-MCAD collaboration. Cadence’s Nayan Gaywala shares the AXI4 locking mechanism when implementing an Xtensa LX-based multi-core system on a Xilinx FPGA platform, using a dual-core design mapped to a KC705 platform as an example. Synopsys’ Vincent van der Leest digs into SRAM PUFs and their ... » read more

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era


The widespread adoption of chiplets in domain-specific applications is creating a partitioning challenge that is much more complex than anything chip design teams have dealt with in previous designs. Nearly all the major systems companies, packaging houses, IDMs, and foundries have focused on chiplets as the best path forward to improve performance and reduce power. Signal paths can be short... » read more

Managing Performance in Modern SoC Designs


As industries like automotive, consumer electronics, telecommunications and artificial intelligence (AI) push for greater processing power, efficiency and scalability, system-on-chip (SoC) designs have rapidly evolved to meet these demands. With the growing complexity of modern SoCs, designers face the challenge of managing an increasing number of interconnected IP blocks while ensuring seamles... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Synopsys agreed to sell its Optical Solutions Group to Keysight for an undisclosed amount, in a deal deemed necessary for Synopsys to win regulatory approval for its planned acquisition of Ansys. The sale to Keysight is contingent on the Synopsys-Ansys deal going through. Meanwhile, Ansys has its own optical business. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) made the first awards for Microelectr... » read more

Chip Industry Week In Review


Infineon rolled out the world's first 300mm gallium nitride (GaN) wafer, opening the door for high-volume manufacturing of GaN-based power semiconductors. A 300mm wafer contains 2.3 times as many chips per wafer as a 200mm wafer. Fig.1: Infineon's 300mm GaN wafer. Source: Infineon The Semiconductor Industry Association released its 2024 State of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry report th... » read more

Is PPA Relevant Today?


The optimization of power, performance, and area (PPA) has been at the core of chip design since the dawn of EDA, but these metrics are becoming less valuable without the context of how and where these chips will be used. Unlike in the past, however, that context now comes from factors outside of hardware development. And while PPA still serves as a useful proxy for many parts of the hardwar... » read more

Streamlining Complex Semiconductor Designs With IP-XACT-Based Structured Assembly


Semiconductor design is rapidly evolving because technologies such as AI and machine learning (ML) applications push the boundaries of complexity and specialization. Modern chips require hundreds or thousands of IP blocks, leading to significant design challenges. Multi-die architectures, which distribute functional blocks across multiple dice, demand expert planning to ensure connectivity and ... » read more

Developing Workflows To Streamline System-Level Design


Experts At The Table: One of the big challenges facing EDA companies is explaining to customers what's possible, how to streamline their designs, and what can be accomplished at what level of risk. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk about how relationships are fundamentally changing between EDA companies and their customers Michal Siwinski, chief marketing officer at Arteris; Chris Muet... » read more

Making Cache Coherent SoC Design Easier with Ncore


As the number and variety of computing elements in SoCs grow, specific application areas require the tight connection of key processing elements through coherency. Ncore Interconnect IP from Arteris makes cache coherent SoC designs easier, saving 100’s of person-years effort per project vs DIY solutions. This white paper discusses the challenges and solutions in designing cache-coherent Sy... » read more

As EDA Processes Becomes More Secure, So Do Chips


Security is becoming a much bigger concern within chips and electronic systems, but the actual implementation remains something of an afterthought, which limits its effectiveness. There are many pieces to the security puzzle on the chip design side that go well beyond just securing the hardware or the IP. The EDA tools themselves need to be secure, as well, and so does the user data within t... » read more

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