High-Level Gaps Emerge


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the attributes of a high-level, front-end design flow, and why it is needed at present with Leah Clark, associate technical director for digital video technology at Broadcom; Jon McDonald, technical marketing engineer at Mentor Graphics; Phil Bishop, vice president of the System Level Design System & Verification Group at Cadence; and Bernard Mu... » read more

Ethernet: The Highway For Automotive Electronics?


What happens when technology from the fast paced communication industry makes a move into the traditional automotive industry? Semiconductor marketers and even the automotive industry are talking about revolutionary changes inside and outside the vehicle. What kinds of changes? Ethernet and sensors. There’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm over the prospect of cars with Ethernet networki... » read more

What Exactly Is The IoT?


The Internet of Things has drawn its share of attention. It has been overhyped, derided, and in some cases dismissed as the Internet of Silos. But the idea persists, and it’s catching on. So how much substance is there behind the hype? Best guess: Quite a bit. “We do see this as being a fast-growing market,” said Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research. “The number of connected ... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing


To help fab tool vendors, Imec has formally launched what it calls a “suppliers hub.” This program aims to offer an open R&D platform, which enables chip suppliers and tool makers to collaborate more deeply and in an earlier stage in the process. D2S has acquired the assets of Gauda, a developer of GPGPU-based computational lithography acceleration technology headquartered in Sunnyvale,... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A ARM said it is acquiring Duolog Technologies, a player in design configuration and integration technology for the semiconductor industry. ARM said this will expand its position for deploying complex system IP including debug and trace IP. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Tools and IP ARM’s Cortex A9 core is at the heart of a new secure processor from Broadcom aimed at endpo... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


M&A Mentor Graphics acquired Nimbic, which makes simulation software for power and signal integrity and electromagnetic interference. No purchase price was given. Synopsys’ Coverity subsidiary acquired Kalistick, which makes cloud-based software solutions to boost test efficiency. Terms of the deal were not provided. Tools and IP Sonics introduced a new development environment for... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Design, Test


Reports have surfaced that IBM’s semiconductor unit is on the block, and there has been discussion about the reasons and the aftermath. Sources say there are at least two potential buyers for the unit—Samsung and TowerJazz. Apparently, the talks between IBM-Samsung and IBM-TowerJazz have been going on for some time. Multiple sources believe that Samsung is interested in buying IBM’s advan... » read more

The Week In Review: System-Level Design


ARM and its ecosystem teamed up to create a server platform standard based on the ARMv8-A processor. The new Server Base System Architecture specification leverages a broad swath of companies in ARM’s ecosystem, including Microsoft, Red Hat, SUSE, Linaro, Citrix, AMD, Broadcom, Citrix and Cavium, as well as OEMs HP and Dell. ARM has been successful in leveraging an ecosystem to win the lion�... » read more

Localized, System-Level Protocol Checks and Coverage Closure Using Veloce


Broadcom recently developed a unified, scalable, verification methodology based on the Veloce emulation platform. In order to test this new environment, they ran a test case, which proved that they can take assertions, compile them into Veloce, and verify that they fire accurately. In so doing, they were able to provide proof of concept for their primary goal: the creation of an internal flow t... » read more

Executive Viewpoint: Qualcomm On Process Technology


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss current and future process technology challenges with Geoffrey Yeap, vice president of technology at Qualcomm. SE: You have pointed out there is a fundamental shift taking place at the 28nm logic node. This is the first node in which mobile chips have been ramped up first within the foundries, ahead of computing-based ICs. Many believe that 28nm ... » read more

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