Blog Review: April 9


Mentor’s Colin Walls discovered an interesting video of the software programming learning process—a teacher responding literally to commands from his students on how to make a jam sandwich. It’s harder than it looks. Cadence’s Brian Fuller captures a speech by his colleague, Sanjiv Taneja, about the need for a comprehensive verification approach and smart IP reuse. The overriding th... » read more

High Level Synthesis: Significant Differences Remain


In part 1 of this experts series on high-level synthesis (HLS), Semiconductor Engineering sat down with Mike Meredith, vice president of technical marketing at Cadence/Forte Design Systems; Mark Warren, Solutions Group director at Cadence; Thomas Bollaert, vice president of application engineering at Calypto; and Devadas Varma, senior director at Xilinx. The initial part of the discussion looke... » read more

RF Periodic Stability Analysis


The PSTB (periodic stability) analysis feature in Cadence Spectre RF Simulation Option performs stability analysis for circuits with periodically time-varying operating points. PSTB is the periodic equivalent of linear stability (STB) analysis in that it calculates the small-signal loop gain, gain margin, and phase margin around a periodic operating point. PSTB is useful in applications such as... » read more

Blog Review: April 2


Mentor’s Nazita Saye compares roadway roundabouts to networked systems. One roundabout works fine, but add in a bunch of them and you have a massive traffic jam. How many roundabouts are in your design? Cadence’s Richard Goering interviews Stan Kroliskoski, chair of the IEEE Design Automation Standards Committee, about four working groups on EDA standards and what’s ahead. Speaking ... » read more

Big Shift In SoC Verification


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss software-driven verification with Ken Knowlson, principal engineer at Intel; Mark Olen, product manager for the Design Verification Technology Division of Mentor Graphics; Steve Chappell, senior manager for CAE technology and verification at Synopsys; Frank Schirrmeister, group director for product marketing of the System Development Suite at Cadenc... » read more

New Approaches For Reliability


The definition of reliability hasn’t budged since the invention of the IC, but how to achieve it is starting to change. In safety-critical systems, as well as in markets such as aerospace, demands for reliability are so rigorous that they often require redundant circuitry—and for good reason. A PanAmSat malfunction in 1998 caused by tin whisker growth wiped out pagers for 45 million use... » read more

How Much Will That Chip Cost?


From the most advanced process nodes to the trailing edge of design there is talk about the skyrocketing cost of developing increasingly complex SoCs. At 16/14nm it’s a combination of multi-patterning, multiple power domains and factoring in physical and proximity effects. At older nodes, it’s the shift to more sophisticated versions of the processes and new tools to work within those proce... » read more

EDA Shapes Its Future


In part one of this series, Semiconductor Engineering looked at growth within the EDA industry and the types of approaches being made to expand the scope of the markets that they serve. Scope expansion comes from the creation of new tools, the growth of companies in the IP space and the various ways in which opportunities can be found in new markets. Additional growth opportunities come from so... » read more

Distortion Effects Prevail In RF Design


It’s an exciting time for consumers of wireless devices, but it’s a challenging time for system designers who must design, analyze and verify that all of the components in those wireless devices interoperate. In wireless designs, distortion effects play an important role in the performance of RF circuits, including mixers, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and power amplifiers (PAs) and managi... » read more

The Great Shift To The Left


Writing this while I am at DATE in Dresden, Germany, I am also preparing for two panels on system-level trends later today and one on software-driven verification tomorrow. I am also visiting partners and customers to discuss our current and planned technologies. A while ago I had augmented “Leibson’s Law” stating that it takes 10 years for any disruptive technology to be adopted by desig... » read more

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