Power Challenges At 10nm And Below


Current density is becoming much more problematic at 10nm and beyond, increasing the amount of power management that needs to be incorporated into each chip and boosting both design costs and time to market. Current per unit of area has been rising since 90nm, forcing design teams to leverage a number of power-related strategies such as [getkc id="143" kc_name="dynamic voltage and frequency... » read more

Closing The Loop On Power Optimization


[getkc id="108" kc_name="Power"] has become a significant limiter for the capabilities of a chip at finer geometries, and making sure that performance is maximized for a given amount of power is becoming a critical design issue. But that is easier said than done, and the tools and methodologies to overcome the limitations of power are still in the early definition stages. The problem spans a... » read more

Analog’s Unfair Disadvantage


We live in an analog world, and yet digital has become the technology of choice. Mixed-signal solutions that used to contain significant amounts of analog, with just a small amount of digital signal processing, have migrated into systems where the analog to digital conversion happens at the very first opportunity. There are several reasons for this, and some of them build upon themselves. [g... » read more

Calibre Evolves Constantly


I find it truly amazing that despite the constantly changing tide in the digital IC design industry that some tools have remained in that number 1 spot for over a decade. The three tools that immediately come to mind are Synopsys’ PrimeTime and Design Compiler and Mentor’s Calibre. I remember back when I first started covering the industry in the mid-1990s that Quad Design’s Motive sta... » read more

Blog Review: May 10


Mentor's Scott Salzwedel checks out what's next for the New Horizons space probe when it comes out of hibernation later this year. Cadence's Paul McLellan provides a look at how NASA took on changing the organization's culture towards safety after the space shuttle Columbia accident. Synopsys' Robert Vamosi points to recent malware that may be affecting between 100K and 200K Windows boxes... » read more

The Week In Review: Design


Imagination has put the MIPS embedded processor and Ensigma mobile connectivity groups up for sale, refocusing on graphics after last month's announcement that Apple would no longer use the company's GPU IP. Imagination also began formal dispute resolution procedures with Apple. Tools Synopsys released new versions of its HSPICE, FineSim and CustomSim circuit simulation products, adding n... » read more

Autonomous Cars Drive New Software


Autonomous driving and other advanced features will require much more sophisticated software than what is used in vehicles today. To make this all work will require complex algorithms as well as co-designed hardware, which can make real-time decisions to avoid accidents and adjust to changing road conditions. Automobiles already take advantage of sophisticated software executed by a variety ... » read more

Blog Review: May 3


Cadence's Paul McLellan shares highlights from a recent IRDS panel, including changing the assumptions about computing and looking for the next "killer app." Synopsys' Meenakshy Ramachandran introduces the array of improvements in HDMI 2.1, from higher bandwidth to Dynamic HDR. Mentor's Minghui Fan checks out advancements in optical proximity correction and resolution enhancement technolo... » read more

What’s Next In Neural Networking?


Faster chips, more affordable storage, and open libraries are giving neural network new momentum, and companies are now in the process of figuring out how to optimize it across a variety of markets. The roots of neural networking stretch back to the late 1940s with Claude Shannon’s Information Theory, but until several years ago this technology made relatively slow progress. The rush towar... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Finance SENSORO reports receiving $18 million in Series B funding from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Sumitomo, and Tsing Capital. Nokia Growth Partners provided $10 million in first-round financing two years ago. SENSORO, which provides Internet of Things sensor devices and network technology, was established in 2013 as part of the Microsoft Accelerator program. Daylight Investors of Los An... » read more

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