Pushing The Performance Boundaries Of ARM Cortex-M Processors For Future Embedded Design


One of the toughest challenges in the implementation of any processors is balancing the need for the highest performance with the conflicting demands for lowest possible power and area. Inevitably, there is a tradeoff between power, performance, and area (PPA). This paper examines two unique challenges for design automation methodologies in the new ARM Cortex-M processor: How to get maximum per... » read more

System-Aware SoC Power, Noise And Reliability Sign-off


In globally competitive markets for mobile, consumer and automotive electronic systems, the critical success factors are power consumption, performance and reliability. To manage these conflicting requirements, design teams consider multiple options, including the use of advanced process technology nodes — especially FinFET-based devices. These advanced technology nodes allow chips to operate... » read more

Server Memory: Should We Be Concerned About The Power?


After my last blog post, Server Memory: What Drives its Growth, I had a couple of people ask me, “If server memory has increased by so much in the last four years, what effect has that had on the server memory subsystem power consumption?” It’s a good question. In last month’s blog, I calculated that the maximum memory per CPU has increased from 18GB (2010, highest-end Nehalem 45nm C... » read more

Designing For Security


Some level of security is required in SoC today, whether it is in hardware, software or — most commonly — both. Of course, there is a price to pay from a power and performance perspective, but thankfully just a small one in most cases. The explosion of consumer devices has driven the need for increased security features in smart cards, smart phones, personal computers, home networks, and... » read more

System-Aware SoC Power, Noise And Reliability Signoff


In globally competitive markets for mobile, consumer and automotive electronic systems, the critical success factors are power consumption, performance and reliability. To manage these conflicting requirements, design teams consider multiple options, including the use of advanced process technology nodes — especially FinFET-based devices. These advanced technology nodes allow chips to operate... » read more

The Power Of eDRAM


In last month’s article we looked at different aspects of technology nodes and the multiple techniques that are used to keep scaling on its path of increasing density. From an energy standpoint, it’s expensive to move data around and with the high bandwidth that’s needed to keep processors “fed,” engineers are looking at ways to keep data closer to the processing logic and minimize th... » read more

New Uses For Emulation


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the changing emulation landscape with Jim Kenney, director of marketing for emulation at Mentor Graphics; Tom Borgstrom, director of the verification group at Synopsys; Frank Schirrmeister, group director of product marketing for the System Development Suite at Cadence; Gary Smith, chief analyst at Gary Smith EDA; and Lauro Rizzatti, a verification ... » read more

Do SoCs Need Earthquake Insurance?


RTL sign-off is not a new term, but with SoCs that can be comprised of up to 90% IP blocks combined with the complexities that advanced manufacturing process nodes bring, RTL sign-off activities become a process that demands a more comprehensive approach. “There is a fundamental shift going on in chip design in general in that there is a bigger focus on so-called system on chip (SoC) desig... » read more

What’s Wrong With Power Signoff


Reducing power has emerged as the most pressing issue in the history of technology. On one hand, it’s the biggest opportunity the electronics industry has ever seen. On the other, the abuse of cheap power has been linked to global warming, human catastrophe, and geopolitical strife. In all cases, the semiconductor increasingly finds itself at the vortex of all of this, and making chips more e... » read more

Building An Efficient, Tightly-Coupled Embedded System Using An Extensible Processor


The increasing demand for better filtering and processing capabilities of the processor within embedded systems results in a trend to shift from 8-bit microcontroller tightly coupled embedded systems towards 32-bit processor bus-based embedded systems. As a consequence, the power, performance and area (PPA) ratio of these systems also shifts in favor of performance at the cost of power and area... » read more

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