Optimization Driving Changes In Microarchitectures

By Ann Mutschler - 23 Sep, 2021 - Comments: 0

The semiconductor ecosystem is at a turning point for how to best architect the CPU based on the explosion of data, the increased usage of AI, and the need for differentiation and customization in leading-edge applications. In the past, much of this would have been accomplished by moving to the next process node. But with the benefits from scaling diminishing at each new node, the focus is s... » read more

Containing The Explosion In Data

By Brian Bailey - 23 Sep, 2021 - Comments: 0

The amount of data that could be kept for every design is gargantuan, but even that may not be enough these days as lifecycle management, continuous verification, regulatory requirements, and globalization add to the data that needs to be stored. But data has no value if it cannot be found or used in ways that provide more benefit than the cost of storing it. "Data management is not unique t... » read more

RISC-V Processor Verification: Case Study

By Imperas - 22 Sep, 2021 - Comments: 0

Abstract: The open RISC-V instruction set architecture is gaining traction with both semiconductor vendors and systems companies. A key question is how to verify the RISC-V processor implementation, especially when developing the RTL and/or adding custom instructions? This paper reports on the techniques used and lessons learned for the verification of a RV64IMACBNSU RISC-V processor by an exp... » read more

Modeling Chips From Atoms To Systems

By Ann Mutschler - 26 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 1

Complexity in hardware design is spilling over to other disciplines, including software, manufacturing, and new materials, creating issues for how to model more data at multiple abstraction levels. Challenges are growing around which abstraction level to use for a particular stage of the design, when to use it, and which data to include. Those decisions are becoming more difficult at each ne... » read more

Steering The Semiconductor Industry

By Brian Bailey - 26 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 2

Progress in semiconductors has been one of the most successful engineering feats, and the industry has ridden an exponential curve longer than anything else in history. It is also a highly conservative industry that has pushed away many disruptive changes in favor of small incremental changes that minimize risk. There have been significant changes over the decades, and they often required a ... » read more

Continuous Education For Engineers

By Brian Bailey - 29 Jul, 2021 - Comments: 0

Continuous education is essential for engineers, but many companies don't recognize the value or they are unwilling to provide the necessary resources. This should be a line of questioning before every new hire makes the decision about where they want to work, because it not only affects their future career, but also impacts the value they can provide to that company during the course of the... » read more

Week In Review: Design, Low Power

By Jesse Allen - 23 Jul, 2021 - Comments: 0

Tools Cadence unveiled Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer, a new machine learning-based tool to drive the Cadence RTL-to-signoff implementation flow. The tool aims to use reinforcement learning to find flow solutions that otherwise might not be explored and applies models to future designs. The company says it can improve productivity up to 10X and PPA up to 20% with optimization of the flow f... » read more

Debug: The Schedule Killer

By Brian Bailey - 30 Jun, 2021 - Comments: 0

Debug often has been labeled the curse of management and schedules. It is considered unpredictable and often can happen close to the end of the development cycle, or even after – leading to frantic attempts at work-arounds. And the problem is growing. "Historically, about 40% of time is spent in debug, and that aspect is becoming more complex," says Vijay Chobisa, director of product manag... » read more

Data Centers On Wheels

By Ann Mutschler - 28 Jun, 2021 - Comments: 2

Automotive architectures are evolving quickly from domain-based to zonal, leveraging the same kind of high-performance computing now found in data centers to make split-second decisions on the road. This is the third major shift in automotive architectures in the past five years, and it's one that centralizes processing using 7nm and 5nm technology, specialized accelerators, high-speed memor... » read more

Rocky Road To Designing Chips In The Cloud

By Ann Mutschler - 24 Jun, 2021 - Comments: 0

EDA is moving to the cloud in fits and starts as tool vendors sort out complex financial models and tradeoffs while recognizing a potentially big new opportunity to provide unlimited processing capacity using a pay-as-you-go approach. By all accounts, a tremendous amount of tire-kicking is happening now as EDA vendors and users delve into the how and why of moving to the cloud for chip desig... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

3.5D: The Great Compromise

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

by Ed Sperling

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.

by Karen Heyman

Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

Alongside high-NA EUV will be better-performing photoresists, reduced roughness using passivation and etch, and lateral etching to reduce tip-to-tip dimensions.

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?

by Brian Bailey

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.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

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

by Bryon Moyer

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