Can Mask Data Prep Tools Manage Data Glut?

By Ann Mutschler - 15 Aug, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ann Steffora Mutschler The trend to reduce critical dimension sizes has in turn increased design file sizes, especially with the addition of optical proximity correction (OPC) steps. This extra data translates to a bigger burden to be processed downstream in the flow on the way to the mask writer. At 28nm, design post-OPC data files sizes reach hundreds of gigabytes. With 20nm and below ... » read more

High NA EUV Litho May Require Larger Photomask Size

By Jeff Chappell - 18 Jul, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Jeff Chappell With extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) potentially being used in pilot production in a few years, it raises the question of larger photomasks sizes—will the industry need them, and if so, when? While there has been discussion of late about the possible need to transition to a larger mask size, veterans of the mask business may feel it's déjà vu all over again. Back... » read more

You Can’t Get There From Here

By David Abercrombie - 17 Jul, 2013 - Comments: 0

By David Abercrombie In my last article, I reviewed the aspects of cell design that are affected by double patterning (DP). This time, I’ll discuss how automatic routing is affected by DP. Let’s begin by looking at the interaction between decisions made at the cell design level and decisions made at the routing level. One key routing decision is whether or not you will allow cell-to-cel... » read more

New Reliability Issues Emerge

By Ed Sperling - 27 Jun, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Most consumers define reliability by whether a device turns on and works as planned, but the term is becoming harder to define as complexity increases and systems are interconnected. Adding more functionality in less space has made it more difficult to build complex chips, and it has made it more difficult to prevent problems in those chips. Verification coverage is a persist... » read more

The Shape Of Things To Come

By Ed Sperling - 13 Jun, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling The standard method of designing chips—by shrinking features and turning up the clock frequency—is running out of steam for many companies. It’s too difficult, too expensive, and without a commercially viable new lithography source it may become even more unrealistic for most applications. That certainly doesn’t mean Moore’s Law is ending, but it could become more o... » read more

Tech Talk: FinFETs, FD-SOI And The Future Of SoC Design

By Ed Sperling - 04 Jun, 2013 - Comments: 0

Mary Ann White, marketing manager for Synopsys' Galaxy Implementation Platform, talks with Low-Power/High-Performance Engineering about new opportunities to reduce power and improve performance, and where the pain points will be. [youtube vid=kuJdcHIRxfU] » read more

The Week In Review: May 31

By Ed Sperling - 31 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Mentor Graphics and GlobalFoundries teamed up to deliver 20nm design kits that include Mentor’s place and route tool, including verification and conflict resolution engines for double-patterning violations. The 20nm process is used for GlobalFoundries’ 14nm finFETs. Mentor also received 16nm finFET certification from TSMC for the same tools plus its physical verification pl... » read more

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

By David Abercrombie - 16 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

By David Abercrombie My previous articles included a lot of discussion about correcting error violations in double patterning (DP). This time let’s take a step back up the design flow. DP requires a design team to make some important decisions about standard cell design methodologies, or risk running into serious placement issues down the line. Understanding why this is so, and what your opt... » read more

Experts At The Table: The Growing Signoff Headache

By Ed Sperling - 09 May, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Low-Power/High-Performance Engineering sat down to discuss signoff issues with Rob Aitken, an ARM fellow; Sumbal Rafiq, director of engineering at Applied Micro; Ruben Molina, product marketing director for timing signoff at Cadence; Carey Robertson, director of product marketing for Calibre extraction at Mentor Graphics; and Robert Hoogenstryd, senior director of marketing for ... » read more

Experts At The Table: FinFET Questions And Issues

By Ed Sperling - 19 Apr, 2013 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Low-Power/High-Performance Engineering sat down to discuss the current state and future promise of finFETs, and the myriad challenges, with Ruggero Castagnetti, an LSI fellow; Barry Pangrle, senior power methodology engineer at Nvidia; Steve Carlson, group director of marketing at Cadence; and Mary Ann White, director of product marketing at Synopsys. What follows are excerpts o... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

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3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

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AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

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Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

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by Laura Peters

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

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Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

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Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

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tag: double patterning