Faster And Smarter LVS For The SoC Era


Development of a modern system-on-chip (SoC) device is a long and incredibly complex process. Design teams rely on a huge range of tools, technologies, and methodologies to get the job done. Given the ongoing advances in silicon technology and design architecture, the tools are in a constant state of evolution. Logic-versus-schematic (LVS) checking is one of those tools. This is one of the earl... » read more

Efficient Verification Of Mixed-Signal Series IP Using UVM


Interface IP are an integral part of systems-on-chips (SoC) that include mobile, automotive, or networking applications and are primarily used for transmitting data over a physical medium between a host and device. The mixed-signal nature of the IP makes verification a challenging task, requiring special considerations for digital and analog sections. This paper describes a robust mixed-signal ... » read more

Faster & Smarter LVS For The SoC Era


Development of a modern system-on-chip (SoC) device is a long and incredibly complex process. Design teams rely on a huge range of tools, technologies, and methodologies to get the job done. Given the ongoing advances in silicon technology and design architecture, the tools are in a constant state of evolution. Logic-versus-schematic (LVS) checking is one of those tools. This is one of the earl... » read more

Designing for FPGA Accelerators


This research paper titled "High-Level Synthesis Hardware Design for FPGA-based Accelerators: Models, Methodologies, and Frameworks" was published by researchers at Università degli Studi di Trieste (Italy), Universidad Nacional de San Luis (Argentina), and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Italy). According to the paper's abstract, "This paper presents a survey ... » read more

Traceability Is Not My Problem (Is It?)


What is all the fuss about traceability? If it is that important, should it be handled by a compliance group? Delegating to a separate team would be the preference for most design and verification team members, but it is not possible in this case. Traceability stops short of a big brother organization constantly looking over the shoulders of the development team. The more reasonable approach is... » read more

Where And When End-to-End Analytics Works


With data exploding across all manufacturing steps, the promise of leveraging it from fab to field is beginning to pay off. Engineers are beginning to connect device data across manufacturing and test steps, making it possible to more easily achieve yield and quality goals at lower cost. The key is knowing which process knob will increase yield, which failures can be detected earlier, and wh... » read more

A Holistic Approach To Energy-Efficient System-On-Chip (SoC) Design


It takes a great deal of energy to power the modern world, and demand grows every day. This is especially true for electronics, where ever increasing automation and more intelligent devices incessantly demand more power. Many applications that use chips face a variety of pressures for reduced power consumption and better energy efficiency. In response, the semiconductor and electronic design au... » read more

Software-Driven and System-Level Tests Drive Chip Quality


Traditional semiconductor testing typically involves tests executed by automatic test equipment (ATE). But engineers are beginning to favor an additional late-test pass that tests systems-on-chip (SoCs) in a system context in order to catch design issues prior to end-product assembly. “System-level test (SLT) gives a high-volume environment where you can test the hardware and software toge... » read more

Where Do Memory Maps Come From?


A memory map is the bridge between a system-on-chip (SoC) and the firmware and software that is executed on it. Engineers may assume the map automatically appears, but the reality is much more involved. The union of hardware (HW) and software (SW) demands both planning and compromise. The outcome of this merger will not be fully realized until the magical day when the system comes to life. T... » read more

Preparing For Test Early In The Design Flow


Until very recently, semiconductor design, verification, and test were separate domains. Those domains have since begun to merge, driven by rising demand for reliability, shorter market windows, and increasingly complex chip architectures. In the past, products were designed from a functional perspective, and designers were not concerned about what the physical implementation of the product ... » read more

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