Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg


Shift left is evolving from a buzzword into a much broader shift in design methodology and EDA tooling, and while it's still early innings there is widespread agreement that it will be transformative. The semiconductor industry has gone through many changes over the past few decades. Some are obvious, but others happen because of a convergence of multiple factors that require systemic change... » read more

Preparing For The Multiphysics Future Of 3D ICs


3D integrated circuits (3D ICs) are emerging as a revolutionary approach to design, manufacturing and packaging in the semiconductor industry. Offering significant advantages in size, performance, power efficiency and cost, 3D ICs are poised to transform the landscape of electronic devices. However, with 3D ICs come new design and verification challenges that must be addressed to ensure success... » read more

Boost High-Performance IC Design Flows With Early Interactive Symmetry Checking


In the realm of high-performance IC (integrated circuit) design, symmetry is not just an aesthetic preference—it’s a critical factor for ensuring proper device functionality, especially in analog and RF designs. Achieving symmetry early in the design process helps to ensure consistent electrical behavior, which is essential for meeting performance goals and maintaining device reliability. H... » read more

Shift Left The Design Process With Calibre Interactive Symmetry Checking


The traditional methods of symmetry checking are due for an update. The Calibre interactive, no code symmetry checking solution helps designers capture symmetry issues very early in the design cycle to reduce the number of iterations. Calibre interactive symmetry checking shifts left the whole verification process and reduces the time needed to reach tape out. What you’ll learn: Why the... » read more

How The Semiconductor Ecosystem Is Responding To Its Global Challenges


The semiconductor industry is changing rapidly, with government support for re-shoring capacity creating new interplay among resources in Asia, the U.S., and Europe—even as the industry develops and sustains new technologies like HBM and heterogeneous integration. Geopolitical factors such as the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America) Act, the scarcity of s... » read more

Managing Complexity And A Left Shift: Reconfigurable Mixed-Signal Circuits For Complex Integrated Systems


By Björn Zeugmann and Benjamin Prautsch The chip market is growing worldwide; it’s projected to nearly double by 2030 to over one trillion dollars. Most of this market is made up of digital functions in the form of logic, microprocessors, and memory. Although analog ICs account for only around 15% of the total, they are key components for overall systems and are therefore almost always pr... » read more

Thermal Challenges Multiply In Automotive, Embedded Devices


Embedding chips into stacked-die assemblies is creating thermal dissipation challenges that can reduce the reliability and lifespan of these devices, a growing problem as chipmakers begin cramming chiplets into advanced packages with thinner substrates between them. In the past, nearly all of these complex designs were used in tightly controlled environments, such as a large data center, whe... » read more

Digital Twins Gaining Traction In Complex Designs


The integration of heterogeneous chiplets into an advanced package, coupled with the increasing digitalization of multiple industry segments, is pushing digital twins to the forefront of design. The challenge in these complex assemblies is figuring out the potential tradeoffs between different chiplets, different assembly approaches, and to be able to do it quickly enough to still hit market... » read more

Data Coherence Across Silos And Hierarchy


Shift left has become a rallying cry for the chip design industry, but unless coherent data can flow between the groups being impacted, the value may not be as great as expected. Shift left is a term that encompasses attempts to bring analysis and decision-making forward in the development process. The earlier an issue can be found, the less of a problem it ultimately becomes. But in many ca... » read more

The 3D-IC Multiphysics Challenge Dictates A Shift-Left Strategy


As the industry marches forward in a 3D-IC centric design approach (figure 1), we are facing a new problem. Sometimes referred to as “electro-thermal” or “electro-thermo-mechanical,” it really is the confluence of multiple forms of physics exerting impacts on both the physical manufacture and structure of these multi-die designs and their electrical behavior. Fig. 1: Illustration... » read more

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