The Week In Review: Design


Tools & IP Cadence unveiled its latest DSP for embedded vision and AI, Tensilica Vision Q6 DSP. The DSP is built on a 13-stage processor pipeline and new system architecture designed for use with large local memories, and achieves 1.5GHz peak frequency and 1GHz typical frequency at 16nm. Compared to its predecessor, it offers 1.5X greater vision and AI performance than its predecessor and ... » read more

Introduction To eFPGA Software


In February, we covered “Introduction to eFPGA Hardware.” Now in April, we’ll provide an introduction to eFPGA software. An eFPGA is a block of programmable logic from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand LUTs (look up tables) of programmable logic that is embedded in an SoC. The clock(s) for the eFPGA come from the SoC. The configuration of the eFPGA is done by the SoC... » read more

Tiling Is Critical For eFPGA Users: ArrayLinx Delivers


FPGA chips come in multiple sizes — modular blocks of programmable logic, DSP MACs and RAM are intermixed in different sizes and ratios then stitched together with top-level interconnect, clocking, etc and surrounded by a ring of I/Os like GPIO, SerDes, USB, etc. There is extensive engineering and top-level physical design for each distinct FPGA array and chip. eFPGA is different: Custome... » read more

The Bumpy Road To 5G


5G is coming, but not everywhere, not all at once, and not the fastest version of this technology right away. In fact, the probable scenario is that 5G will be rolled out first in densely populated urban areas, starting in 2020 or 2021, with increasingly widespread adoption over the next decade after that. But 5G is unlikely to ever completely replace 4G LTE, just as a smart phone today roll... » read more

IP And Power


[getkc id="108" kc_name="Power"] is quickly becoming a major differentiator for products, regardless of whether they are connected to a wall outlet or dependent on a battery. At the same time, increasing amounts of a chips content comes from third-party [getkc id="43" kc_name="IP"]. So how do system designers ensure that the complete system has an optimal power profile, and what can they do to ... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Startup OnScale launched with advanced CAE multi-physics solvers that are seamlessly integrated with a scalable, high performance cloud computing platform built on Amazon's AWS. The company's model is built around a Solver-as-a-Service pay-as-you-go subscription model and targets 5G, IoT/Industrial IoT, biomedical, and autonomous car markets. The company has $3 million in strategic seed fund... » read more

eFPGA: Think Differently & Experiment


New technologies are never overnight successes and usually develop in new applications. Arm and other embedded processors today are a huge success and pervasive in almost all chips. It took Arm more than five years to win the first five customers. The first applications were not competitive with Intel’s PC dominance but instead filled needs in emerging applications such as mobile phones an... » read more

Tech Talk: eFPGA Density


Chen Wang, senior vice president of engineering at Flex Logix, talks about how to improve density in embedded FPGAs. https://youtu.be/Rk0oqzWQr8I » read more

SM2: A Deep Neural Network Accelerator In 28nm


Deep learning algorithms present an exciting opportunity for efficient VLSI implementations due to several useful properties: (1) an embarrassingly parallel dataflow graph, (2) significant sparsity in model parameters and intermediate results, and (3) resilience to noisy computation and storage. Exploiting these characteristics can offer significantly improved performance and energy efficiency.... » read more

The Race To Accelerate


Geoff Tate, CEO of [getentity id="22921" e_name="Flex Logix"], sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss how the chip industry is changing, why that bodes well for embedded FPGAs, and what you need to be aware of when using programmable logic on the same die as other devices. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: What are the biggest challenges facing the chip industry... » read more

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