What’s Missing From Predictions


At this point everyone has made their predictions for the year, but there is one thing many people get wrong. Predictions are not about innovation. They are about pain and what is causing it. This industry is risk-averse, and everyone wants to continue doing what they are doing. But there comes a point when it's so painful to continue that something has to change. Having something that is... » read more

2025: So Many Possibilities


The stage is set for a year of innovation in the chip industry, unlike anything seen for decades, but what makes this period of advancement truly unique is the need to focus on physics and real design skills. Planar scaling of SoCs enabled design and verification tools and methodologies to mature on a relatively linear path, but the last few years have created an environment for more radical... » read more

Geometric-Aware Model Merging Approach To Enhance Instruction Alignment in Chip LLMs (Nvidia)


A new technical paper titled "ChipAlign: Instruction Alignment in Large Language Models for Chip Design via Geodesic Interpolation" was published by researchers at NVIDIA Research. Abstract: "Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have expanded their application across various domains, including chip design, where domain-adapted chip models like ChipNeMo have emerged. However, ... » read more

Design And Verification Issues In 2024


At the end of each year, I look back over the stories published and those that top the charts in terms of readership. I concentrate on those stories that are about the EDA tools and flows and the factors that are influencing them. These are good indicators of the problems designers and verification teams are facing today, and where they are looking for answers. This year's leading categories... » read more

Goal-Driven AI


For many, the long-term dream for AI within EDA is the ability to define a set of goals and tell the computer to go design it for them. A short while later, an optimized design will pop out. All of today's EDA tools will remain hidden, if they even exist at all. You would only be limited by your imagination. But we also know that AI is not to be trusted today, especially when millions of dol... » read more

AI-Powered Data Analytics To Revolutionize The Semiconductor Industry


In the age where data reigns supreme, the semiconductor industry stands on the cusp of revolutionary change, redefining complexity and productivity through a lens crafted by artificial intelligence (AI). The intersection of AI and the semiconductor industry is not merely an emerging trend—it is the fulcrum upon which the next generation of technological innovation balances. Semiconductor comp... » read more

Advanced Design Planning In IC Compiler II


By Rajiv Dave, CAE Manager, Synopsys. Design exploration and planning is becoming an increasingly critical step of the design creation process as growing constraints and requirements are placed upon it. IC Compiler II has been architected from the ground up with the express focus to address the three key challenges of design planning: Capacity to handle the largest design optimally yet ... » read more

Chip Industry Silos Are Crimping Advances


Change is never easy, but it is more difficult when it involves organizational restructuring. The pace of such restructuring has been increasing over the past decade, and often it is more difficult to incorporate than technological advancements. This is due to the siloed nature of the semiconductor industry, both within the industry itself, and its relationship to surrounding industries. Inc... » read more

The Good Old Days Of EDA


Nostalgia is wonderful, but there is something about being involved in the formative years of an industry. Few people ever get to experience it, and it was probably one of the most fortuitous events to have happened in my life. Back in the early '80s, little in the way of design automation existed. There were a few gate- and transistor-level simulators, primarily for test and a few 'calculators... » read more

An Entangled Heterarchy


For decades, a form of structural hierarchy has been the principal means of handling complexity in chip design. It's not always perfect, and there is no ideal way in which to divide and conquer because that would need to focus on the analysis being performed. In fact, most systems can be viewed from a variety of different hierarchies, equally correct, and together forming a heterarchy. The e... » read more

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