Managing Dynamic Power


Working with finFETs is a study in contrasts. While leakage is now under control for the first time in several process generations due to the advent of different gate technology, dynamic power density caused by tightly packed transistors and higher clock speeds has become the big issue. “FinFET technology helps with reducing static/leakage power so when your logic is not active, you can sh... » read more

SoC Integration Headaches Grow


As the number of IP blocks grows, so do the headaches of integrating the various pieces and making sure they perform as planned within a prescribed power envelope. This is easier said than done, particularly at the most advanced process nodes. There are more blocks, more power domains, more states and use-model dependencies, and there is much more contention for memories. There are physical ... » read more

Analog’s Day Of Reckoning


The numbers being touted by the semiconductor industry for IoT edge devices are staggering. How they are going to be used, who will make them, or indeed who will make money from them are much less certain. The industry seems to be clear about the content of these devices. A small processor, some flash memory or possibly even some of the new memory technologies that are coming along, a radio ... » read more

IP Integration Challenges Increase


Semiconductor Engineering sat down with Chris Rowen, CTO of [getentity id="22032" e_name="Cadence"]'s IP group; Rob Aitken, an [getentity id="22186" comment="ARM"] fellow; Patrick Soheili, vice president of product management and corporate development at [getentity id="22242" e_name="eSilicon"]; Navraj Nandra, senior director of marketing for DesignWare analog and mixed-signal IP at [getentity ... » read more

Using An Embedded Vision Processor To Build An Efficient Object Recognition System


Computer vision is a discipline that was established in the 1960s. With the advent of high-performance mobile computing platforms, we see rapid progress in computer vision capabilities. Machine vision is becoming embedded in highly integrated SoCs and expanding into emerging high-volume consumer applications such as home surveillance, games, and automotive safety. A major challenge in enabling ... » read more

DAC 2015: Day 3


The schedule for today revolves around eating and it is perfectly balanced between the big three. The morning starts with breakfast for the Cadence panel titled "Crossing the Great Divide: How to Safely Navigate the move from 28nm to 16FF+." The panel was moderated by Brian Fuller and panelists included Jayanta Lahiri from ARM, Afshin Montaz from Broadcom, Scott McCormack from Freescale, Yan... » read more

DAC 2015: Day One


It requires a certain dedication to attend technical DAC sessions on a Sunday morning, but full day workshops start before 9:00am for those dedicated to hearing about the latest work being conducted in academia and the research arm of industry. These are highly technical sessions that target academics and those serious about keeping a pulse on up and coming technologies. One such workshop wa... » read more

Executive Insight: Charles Janac


SE: One of the big stories these days is consolidation. What are you seeing on your side? Janac: There are about 230 companies doing SoCs right now. Maybe 150 should be doing that. As the game gets more expensive and more difficult, some of the companies that don't have volume may have to do something else. Consolidation is part of that. But you're also going to see movement toward platforms... » read more

IP Market Shifts Direction


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss intellectual property changes and challenges with Patrick Soheili, vice president of product management and corporate development at [getentity id="22242" e_name="eSilicon"]; Navraj Nandra, senior director of marketing for DesignWare analog and MSIP at [getentity id="22035" e_name="Synopsys"]; Kurt Shuler, vice president of marketing at [getentity i... » read more

What’s Different At 16/14nm?


Will finFETs live up to their promise? It depends on whom you ask, when you ask that question, and the intended application of a design. But across the semiconductor industry, there is general agreement that it's getting easier to work at the most advanced nodes as tools and flows are better understood and overall experience increases. There is no question that [getkc id="185" kc_name="finFE... » read more

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