The advent of extreme fine line processes at 130nm or less presents many challenges. On the back end, optimizing a design to manage physical effects such as power, heat, and timing is more daunting than ever. At the front end, implementing a system-on-chip’s (SoC) behavior and features is becoming equally difficult. The early exploration of […]
For years, ASIC and FPGA designers have shared the goal of having totally reusable intellectual property (IP) blocks. This goal has been partially fulfilled, with the introduction of high-level hardware description languages such as VHDL and Verilog, and powerful Register Transfer Level (RTL) synthesis tools in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, with a […]
For peripheral card and system manufacturers, delivering low-latency high-performance computing solutions at affordable prices has been an insurmountable barrier. Although processor speeds and bandwidth have taken quantum leaps over the last decade, the last few inches between the adapter slot and system CPU represent a bottleneck that restricts the development of cost-effective high-performance computing solutions. […]
So far, the debate over design for manufacturing (DFM) has featured contributions from, principally, four groups: designers, manufacturers, EDA vendors and the consultancy community. It is becoming increasingly apparent that some other voices need to be heard and their positions integrated within any successful semiconductor DFM chain. One such group is fab equipment suppliers. The […]
Nanometer scaling severely inhibits the path to achieve sustainable yield. In response more responsibility for forecasting potential failures must shift to design for manufacturing (DFM) methodologies that can be applied early in the design process. Yet, while these hold much promise, manufacturing test and failure analysis remains at the forefront of determining why chips fail. […]
Companies and mask shops already have plans and policies to secure the storage and transmission of sensitive layout VLSI data. These include confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and encryption. However, traditional VLSI file formats such as GDSII never popularized the type of constructs that facilitate intellectual property (IP) protection. The OASIS format does have these constructs. […]
Introduction As semiconductor manufacturing moves into the sub-100nm realm, the need for increased cooperation and communication between design and manufacturing becomes more apparent. Manufacturing is becoming increasingly complex, and many of the principles that have guided design and manufacturing no longer apply. Some of the major changes occurring in wafer manufacturing include: The industry is […]
Introduction Considerable effort is being exerted to improve the quality and success of system-on-chip (SoC) designs. Given the demand for more and more features, lower power requirements, and need for blazing speeds to handle increasing data for video and other hungry applications, it is no surprise that complex SoCs are becoming harder to verify. A […]
Introduction Selecting the proper ADC can appear a formidable task, considering the thousands on the market. A direct approach is to go to the selection guides and parametric search engines. Enter the sampling rate, resolution, power supply voltage, and other properties. Click ‘find’. And hope for the best. But it’s usually not enough. How does […]
The IEEE Council for EDA has opened its website at www.c-eda.org. Earlier this fall, the IEEE Council for Electronic Design Automation (CEDA) took on formal existence with the election of its first officers. Design consultant and one time DAC general chair Alfred Dunlop is its launch president. He sets out why this is a great […]