Context Is Everything


With consumer and industrial IoT applications, the importance of system context to IC vendors is paramount. No more are the days of developing a chip in isolation; close partnership with systems companies is de rigueur as they provide the use case data that is foundational to development of systems that work. While this makes sense in a smartphone, it’s significantly harder to achieve in a... » read more

Automating Inter-Layer In-Design Checks In Rigid-Flex PCBs


Flexible PCBs (flex/rigid-flex) make it possible to create a variety of products that require small form factors and light weight, such as wearable, mobile, military, and medical devices. As flexible PCB fabrication technology has matured in response to demands for smaller, lighter products, new design challenges have emerged. This paper discusses some of the key challenges to address and also ... » read more

Electronic Design Creation: Overcoming PCB Design Challenges


Think of all the parts that make up the human body: legs, hands, lungs, bones, muscles, and so forth. Yet we are more than mere parts and organs, more than materials and functions. We are human beings. If one part doesn’t work smoothly, all parts are affected. This paper describes how the principle of 'gestalt,' in which an entity is more than the sum of its parts, pertains to the process of ... » read more

Can Verification Meet In The Middle?


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss these issues with; Stan Sokorac, senior principal design engineer for [getentity id="22186" comment="ARM"]; Frank Schirrmeister, senior group director for product marketing for the system development suite of [getentity id="22032" e_name="Cadence"]; Harry Foster, chief verification scientist at [getentity id="22017" e_name="Mentor Graphics"], Bernie... » read more

Pivot Is The New Watchword For Design Automation


Design Automation has been a crucial part of the semiconductor industry for more than 30 years. Without it, keeping up with Moore’s Law would have been impossible. The Design Automation industry accepted the high-risk responsibility for developing the sophisticated software and algorithms at the pace necessary to corral Moore’s Law. In a sense, Design Automation had its own Moore’s la... » read more

Tech Talk: Power Reduction


Sonics CTO Drew Wingard talks about energy processing units, and how to utilize idling circuitry to save as much as 95% of the energy spent on specific processes. [youtube vid=IZy38BfHP60] » read more

Automating System Design


Change is underway in the chip design world, creating opportunities and challenges that reach far beyond questions about whether Moore’s Law is slowing or stopping. Never before in the history of semiconductors has design been so complex and sophisticated, and never has it touched so many lives in so many interesting ways. This is all happening as a result of the chip’s enabling role in ... » read more

Are Simulation’s Days Numbered?


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the limitations of simulation in more complex designs with [getperson id="11049" comment="Michael McNamara"], CEO of [getentity id="22716" comment="Adapt-IP”]; Pete Hardee, product management director at [getentity id="22032" e_name="Cadence"]; David Kelf, vice president of marketing for for [getentity id="22395" e_name="OneSpin Solutions"]; Lauro... » read more

The Next Big Challenge


In his keynote speech at the Synopsys User Group last month, company chairman and co-CEO Aart de Geus defined IoT as the Internet of Threats. As interviews across the semiconductor industry have revealed over the past 12 months, his comment was very much on target. As more things are connected—and that includes everything from watches to toasters to cars to buildings within a city—securi... » read more

The Road To Electronics Consolidation In The Vehicle


I’ve been at Mentor for more than six months as the director of automotive marketing. It’s an exciting technology space with many great stories to tell, most stemming from the fact that the automotive industry is being disrupted like never before. Indeed, I’ve heard it said more than once that there will be more change in the next 5 to 10 years than there has been since the days of Henry ... » read more

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