EDA Software Design Flow Considerations For The RF/Microwave Module Designer


Miniaturization of consumer products, aerospace and defense systems, medical devices, and LED arrays has spawned the development of a technology known as the multi-chip module (MCM), which combines multiple integrated circuits (ICs), semiconductor die, and other discrete components within a unifying substrate for use as a single component. This white paper outlines the steps for implementing an... » read more

Standardizing Chiplet Interconnects


The chip industry is making progress on standardizing the infrastructure for chiplets, setting the stage for faster and more predictable integration of different functions and features from different vendors. The ability to choose from a menu of small, highly specialized chips, and to mix and match them for specific applications and use cases, has been on the horizon for more than a decade. ... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power


Cadence's digital full flow was certified for the GlobalFoundries 12LP/12LP+ process platforms. The certified tools include the Innovus Implementation System, Genus Synthesis Solution, Tempus Timing Signoff Solution, Voltus IC Power Integrity Solution, Quantus Extraction Solution, Litho Physical Analyzer (LPA), and Pegasus Verification System. Siemens Digital Industries Software's Calibre nm... » read more

Blog Review: May 18


Coventor's Gerold Schropfer considers taking an approach from the early days of computing and using MEMS technology to create computers based on micro-scale electro-mechanical logic and memory for emerging low-energy computing applications such as autonomous sensor nodes and edge computing. Synopsys' Morten Christiansen explains how USB4 differs from USB 3.2, allowing simultaneous host-to-ho... » read more

New End Markets, More Demand For Complex Chips


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss economic conditions and how that affects chip design with Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence; Joseph Sawicki, executive vice president of Siemens EDA; Niels Faché, vice president and general manager at Keysight; Simon Segars, advisor at Arm; and Aki Fujimura, chairman and CEO of D2S. This discussion was held in front... » read more

DRAM Choices Becoming Central Design Considerations


Chipmakers are paying much closer attention to various DRAM options as they grapple with what goes on-chip or into a package, elevating attached memory to a critical design element that can affect system performance, power, and cost. These are increasingly important issues to sort through with a number of tradeoffs, but the general consensus is that to reach the higher levels of performance ... » read more

The Challenge Of Optimizing Chip Architectures For Workloads


It isn't possible to optimize a workload running on a system just by looking at hardware or software separately. They need to be developed together and intricately intertwined, an engineering feat that also requires bridging two worlds with have a long history of operating independently. In the early days of computing, hardware and software were designed and built by completely separate team... » read more

Improving PPA With AI


AI/ML/DL is starting to show up in EDA tools for a variety of steps in the semiconductor design flow, many of them aimed at improving performance, reducing power, and speeding time to market by catching errors that humans might overlook. It's unlikely that complex SoCs, or heterogeneous integration in advanced packages, ever will be perfect at first silicon. Still, the number of common error... » read more

Open RAN Phase 2


I first wrote about Open RAN in my post Fourth 4G Network Goes Live in Japan. Open RAN is a program driven by a group of European operators to build specifications for common architecture instead of getting "locked into" the closed architectures sold by the big base-station vendors such as Nokia, Samsung, and Ericsson. It is analogous to what servers went through over the last few decades, m... » read more

Software-Defined Cars


Automotive architectures are becoming increasingly software-driven, a shift that simplifies upgrades and makes it easier to add new features into vehicles. All of this is enabled by the increasing digitalization of automotive functions and features, shifting from mechanical to electrical design, and increasingly from analog to digital data. That enables OEMs to add or up-sell features years ... » read more

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