Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


Automotive, mobility Cadence is now an official technology partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team. The team will use Cadence’s Fidelity CFD Software to look at the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of the airflow around the race cars and predict how a car design will affect the airflow. Infineon uncorked its XENSIV 60 GHz automotive radar sensor for in-cabin monitoring systems. One use ca... » read more

How To Optimize A Processor


Optimizing any system is a multi-layered problem, but when it involves a processor there are at least three levels to consider. Architects must be capable of thinking across these boundaries because the role of each of the layers must be both understood and balanced. The first level of potential optimization is at the system level. For example, how does data come in and out of the processing... » read more

Design For Context And Its Impact On EDA


At the recent CEO panel, Ed Sperling used the term “Design for Context” as one of the key trends, identifying what others have referred to as “domain specific” or “workload specific.” The term struck a chord with me, as I see it in many customer meetings across various industry verticals in the context of a specific industry driving requirements for tools and IP. Undoubtedly, semico... » read more

Will Big Competition Attract More Talent For IC Companies?


Google is hiring a chip packaging technologist. General Motors is seeking a wafer fabrication procurement specialist. Facebook Reality Labs wants a materials researcher with experience in photolithography and nanoimprint techniques. Recent job postings by tech and automotive giants are enough to worry any chip company executive struggling to attract talent. But what may seem at first like a ... » read more

Blog Review: May 25


Coventor's Michael Hargrove points to the need for a new generation of deep-submicron CMOS circuits that can operate at deep-cryogenic temperatures to achieve a quantum integrated circuit where the array of qubits is integrated on the same chip as the CMOS electronics required to read the state of the qubits. Ansys' Marc Swinnen warns about dynamic voltage drop as ultra-low supply voltages, ... » read more

Embedded Software: Sometimes Easier, Often More Complex


Embedded software, once a challenge to write, update, and optimize, is following the route of other types of software. It is abstracted, simpler to use, and much faster to write. But in some cases, it's also much harder to get right. From a conceptual level, the general definition of embedded software has not changed much. It's still low-level drivers and RTOSes that run close to the hardwar... » read more

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

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