Problems Lurk In SoC Boundaries


Interfaces always have been a problem, because only rarely does anyone have responsibility for them. Responsibilities generally are tied to functional blocks with the prevailing notion that if all blocks do the right thing, they will also behave correctly when brought together. Design teams that believe this eventually find out the fallacy of this assumption. To make matters worse, these are of... » read more

An Architectural Choice Overdue For Change


The past appears to be a lot simpler than the present and when we look into the future, the right decisions often look highly uncertain. This is the value of hindsight, but also includes the notion that the winner gets to write history. What semiconductors look like today could have been very different if different decisions had been made 20 years ago. What if the industry had adopted a paralle... » read more

Energy Harvesting Makes Progress


The dream of a self-powered device has been around for a long time—thousands of years, in fact. The first windmills and waterwheels date back to ancient Greece and the beginning of recorded history. Self-winding timepieces date back to the late 1700s. The Foucault pendulum has been in motion in Paris, minus some brief hiatuses, since 1851. And it's been 144 years since two French physicists d... » read more

A (Possible) Killer Wearable App


Wearable products (and proposals) today seem to be primarily fads or curiosities vying for the attention of a select few — the digital elite (computer-literate, with multiple devices, and data junkies). Many of us find it hard to see these apps lasting very long. I have an idea that breaks a lot of the expectations of a wearable, but may deliver higher value. I apologize in advance for credit... » read more

Hybrid Verification: The Only Way Forward


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the state of the industry for [getkc id="10" kc_name=" functional verification"]. The inability of RTL [getkc id="11" kc_name="simulation"] to keep up with verification needs is causing rapid change in the industry. Taking part in the discussion are Harry Foster, chief scientist at [getentity id="22017" e_name="Mentor Graphics"]; Janick Bergeron, fe... » read more

The Internet Of Cores


Ever since the birth of the third-party [getkc id="43" comment="IP"] market, there has been a desire for plug-and-play compatibility between cores. Part of the value proposition of reuse is that a block has been used before, and has been verified and validated by having been implemented in silicon. By re-using the core, many of these tasks no longer land on the [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"] dev... » read more

Hybrid Verification: The Only Way Forward


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the state of the industry for [getkc id="10" kc_name=" functional verification"]. The inability of RTL [getkc id="11" kc_name="simulation"] to keep up with verification needs is causing rapid change in the industry. Taking part in the discussion are Harry Foster, chief scientist at [getentity id="22017" e_name="Mentor Graphics"]; Janick Bergeron, fe... » read more

Blog Review: Nov. 12


ARM's Eoin McCann provides a primer to software-defined networking, which uses a higher level of abstraction to create a centralized controller. This is a new twist on networking—with a bit of deja vu thrown in. Mentor's Matthew Ballance points to a perfect storm for verification—shrinking features, more layers and more embedded processors. He has some tips for how to deal with all of t... » read more

What’s Working For Power Verification


Getting power verification right — or at least good enough — is the source of frustration for many design teams. Add to this the fact that there is no one right way to accomplish it just compounds the challenge. Fortunately, there are a number of options that are working to varying degrees, starting with static verification, according to Bernard Murphy, CTO of Atrenta. “Static verifica... » read more

Designing For Energy Efficiency


Swiss watchmakers have nothing to worry about for the moment. As top-name companies crowd into the wearable market with full-featured watches, limits on battery life and frequent charges undoubtedly will limit their popularity. Smart watches look cool or clunky, depending upon your perspective, but none of them lasts long enough between charges to be a serious market contender. That's certai... » read more

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