Blog Review: July 16


Mentor’s Scott Salzwedel describes a conversation that could very well happen in the future and it raises an interesting idea. As medical electronics proliferate, will emergency medical teams need to include out systems engineers? Cadence’s Brian Fuller has a summer engineering project that resembles the Bridge Over the River Kwai. He should win an Oscar for this one. Ansys’ Bill ... » read more

Server Memory: What Drives Its Growth?


I was recently reading several analyst reports that came out after the end of last quarter, and one caught my eye: "Gartner says Worldwide Server Shipments Grew 1.4%..." It caused me to wonder, how is it possible that server shipments only grow at modest rates, while the DRAM used in those servers is growing at significantly higher rates? Putting my search engine to use, I found a series of ... » read more

Supporting LP In New Process Nodes


Manufacturing process nodes and EDA tools are advancing all the time, but not always utilized at the same pace. And from a tools perspective, there are challenges to supporting low power in new process nodes while maintaining and improving the existing process nodes. One way design teams address this is by leveraging the most advanced software on the less-than-bleeding edge designs. To th... » read more

Next Bonanza: Security Holes


Security threats—both real and potential—are beginning to reshape the semiconductor business. These threats are drawing venture capitalists back into the industry as they race for the next big opportunity. They are blurring the lines between software and hardware, as threats grow in complexity at every level of a device and its myriad and sometimes perpetual connections to the outside wo... » read more

Programmable Risk Factors


The semiconductor industry is starting to come around to the realization that security begins at the block level. Intellectual property (IP) is being seen with IP blocks that can be woven into the general-purpose system-on-chip (SoC) hardware layers to secure I/O, data, keys, and various other sensitive or critical information. But modifying hardware designs in response to the demands placed... » read more

Secure SoC Manufacturing


As mobile usage continues to permeate daily lives with increasingly sensitive data and high-value transactions, the importance of device security has become even more important. Information security begins at the point when Internet- connected devices are designed and manufactured. But today’s complex global supply chains are fraught with numerous challenges that can result in both security b... » read more

Blog Review: June 25


Is the Amazon Fire smart phone a paradigm shift? Cadence’s Brian Fuller looks at the first application-specific smart phone and why it’s noteworthy—regardless of how well it fares against phones made by Apple and Samsung. Rambus’ Deepak Chandra Sekar digs deep into interconnect technology and where the prevailing winds are blowing—copper barrier/cap/liner optimization, a slowdown i... » read more

Tougher Memory Choices


In part 1 of this roundtable, the participants talked about the investments being made in memory technologies, the role that memories play in system security and the tools support for optimizing memory architecture. Taking part in the conversation are Herbert Gebhart vice president of interface and system solutions in the Memory and Interfaces Division of Rambus, Bernard Murphy, chief technolog... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Tools Mentor Graphics uncorked a tool for IC, package and board optimization, assembly and visualization. Of particular note is a “virtual die model” capability, which can be used across multiple domains in the design process. Deals Rambus inked a patent licensing agreement with Qualcomm Global Trading, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, for memory, interface and security technologies. The secu... » read more

Low-Power, High-Performance Memory Systems


Mobile devices and their demand for rapid innovation have fundamentally and forever changed the semiconductor industry. These devices have fueled tremendous innovation in the last few years to bring about drastic improvements in performance, power and cost efficiency. They also demand condensed product development cycles, which accelerate the rate and need for innovation. The only thing that ha... » read more

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