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

Focus Shifts To Application-Specific Workloads


Experts At The Table: EDA has undergone numerous workflow changes over time. Different skill sets have come into play over the years, and at times this changed the definition of what it means to design at the system level. To work out what this means for designers today, and how it looks going forward, Semiconductor Engineering sat down with Michal Siwinski, chief marketing officer at Arteris; ... » read more

Chip Industry Week in Review


Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology proposed a new EUV litho technology using only four reflective mirrors and a new method of illumination optics that it claims will use 1/10 the power and cost half as much as existing EUV technology from ASML. Applied Materials may not receive expected U.S. funding to build a $4 billion research facility in Sunnyvale, CA, due to internal government... » read more

Floor-Planning Evolves Into The Chiplet Era


3D-ICs and heterogeneous chiplets will require significant changes in physical layout tools, where the placement of chiplets and routing of signals can have a big impact on overall system performance and reliability. EDA vendors are well aware of the issues and working on solutions. Top on the list of challenges for 3D-ICs is thermal dissipation. Logic typically generates the most heat, and ... » read more

What’s Next In System-Level Design?


Experts At The Table: EDA has undergone numerous workflow changes over time. Different skill sets have come into play over the years, and at times this changed the definition of what it means to design at the system level. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss what this means for designers today, and what the impact will be in the future, with Michal Siwinski, chief marketing officer at... » read more

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