Efficient Verification Of RISC-V Processors


For some time, application-specific instruction processors (ASIPs) have been developed for specialized applications. These have required multi-disciplinary teams with sufficient expertise to develop the instruction set, microarchitecture, and software toolchain. Few companies have had the right combination of skills to develop ASIPs so relatively few have been developed. With the advent of R... » read more

Streamline DO-254 Compliance With Model-Based Design


By Eric Cigan, MathWorks, and Jacob Wiltgen, Siemens EDA The purpose of DO-254 (formally known as RTCA/ DO-254 or ED80) is to provide guidance for the development of airborne electronic hardware. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and other worldwide aviation safety authorities require this standard to ensure that complex electronic hardware us... » read more

The Sky’s The Limit For Electric Airplanes


Together, Rolls-Royce and Electroflight are ushering in the third age of aviation, with an all-electric aircraft capable of speeds exceeding 300 mph. A primary challenge is optimizing the 1,047-pound (475 kg) battery pack for structural strength, thermal management, and other critical performance criteria. As the team raced to introduce the world’s fastest zero-emissions aircraft, multiphysic... » read more

Progress And Challenges On The CFD Vision 2030 Roadmap


After a long writing (and longer editing and approval seeking) process, the AIAA's CFD Vision 2030 Integration Committee has published its first update to the Vision's roadmap. This 71 page, thoroughly cited report assesses progress toward the Vision during 2020 and also provides a 5-year look-back. It covers the six domains along which the vision assesses progress in CFD: high performance comp... » read more

Power, Performance — Avionics Designers Want It All


Not long ago, the prevailing philosophy among chip designers for aviation systems could be summed up as, “I feel the need — the need for speed.” Today, aviation’s top guns have pulled back on the throttle a bit. There’s a more nuanced discussion balancing the need for performance versus power, with other factors coming into consideration such as safety, security certifications and ove... » read more

Fluid Dynamics Of Sonic Booms From Supersonic Aircraft


The return to supersonic flight is amongst the hottest topics in aviation today, as several companies (Boom Supersonic and Aerion, among others) are actively developing new supersonic commercial airliners targeted to enter in service in the coming years. In this context, a quiet flight over land is one of the major challenges to ensure the regulatory compliance of such airliners. Several resea... » read more

Merging Verification And Test


While the disciplines of functional verification and test serve different purposes, their histories were once closely intertwined. Recent safety and security monitoring requirements coupled with capabilities being embedded into devices is bringing them closer together again, but can they successfully cooperate to bring about improvements in both? Getting there may be difficult. Three phases ... » read more

Design Issues For Chips Over Longer Lifetimes


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the myriad challenges associated with chips used in complex systems over longer periods of time them with Jean-Marie Brunet, senior director for the Emulation Division at Siemens EDA; Frank Schirrmeister, senior group director for solution marketing at Cadence; Maurizio Griva, R&D Manager at Reply; and Laurent Maillet-Contoz, system and architec... » read more

Big Changes In Verification


Verification is undergoing fundamental change as chips become increasingly complex, heterogeneous, and integrated into larger systems. Tools, methodologies, and the mindset of verification engineers themselves are all shifting to adapt to these new designs, although with so many moving pieces this isn't always so easy to comprehend. Ferreting out bugs in a design now requires a multi-faceted... » read more

The Good, Bad And Unknowns Of Flexible Devices


Flexible hybrid electronics are beginning to proliferate in consumer, medical, and industrial applications due to their comparatively low weight, thin profile, and the ability to literally bend the rules of design. Open any smart phone today and you're likely to find one or more of these flexible boards. Unlike standard printed circuit boards, FHE devices are printed using a combination of r... » read more

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