March 2009

March 2, 2009

Multiple cross clock domain verification

Today’s system-on-chip designs often need to encompass multiple asynchronous clocks. This raises the problem of verification for the resultant clock domain crossings. It is becoming apparent that functional simulation alone is not up to the task. Instead, engineers need to consider hybrid methodologies, combining structural and functional verification approaches. The use of assertions is also […]

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March 1, 2009

Automating sawtooth tuning for differential pairs

Length matching within a differential pair can be one of the more tedious tasks facing a PCB designer. This article describes how a team at communications and consumer electronics semiconductor company Broadcom overcame this by using the automation options available within their design tools. While the article describes automation tailored to a specific task, the […]

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March 1, 2009

Ahead of the game

The 2009 Embedded World conference and exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany (March 3-5) has managed to maintain much of its scale despite the global downturn. Some speakers have apparently been pulled out by their companies—the most notable contingent, sadly, coming from the USA—but overall the exhibition has expanded by 5% in terms of its physical size […]

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March 1, 2009

A profitable discipline

The software food chain Software has become a ubiquitous part of many products and services, some of which are distributed and used on a massive scale. Think of cloud computing, online banking and the engines for today’s cellphones and cameras. Competition requires that such new products are developed more quickly than ever before and yet […]

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March 1, 2009

FPGA-based speech encrypting and decrypting embedded system

The Texas A&M team describes an FPGA embedded system design project intended to assess the technology’s suitability for use in real-time, high-performance applications. The test application is a speech encryption system intended for use in military and high-security environments. The team used a Xilinx Virtex II Pro platform FPGA for the project, and was also […]

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March 1, 2009

The power-aware OS

The article describes the context and need for embedded operating systems that are more responsive to the power management demands placed on today’s electronic devices. It reviews the design objectives for the two main types of power management, reactive and proactive, and examines how both can be implemented. For system developers designing portable electronic devices, […]

March 1, 2009

TrustMe-ViP: trusted personal devices virtual prototyping

As the market continues to push for higher performance at lower cost, trusted personal devices (TPDs) must also be able to exchange greater volumes of data, voice or streaming video at ever higher bit rates, while transmitting and receiving securely under multiple telecommunication standards. Reductions in cost and time-to-market can only be achieved by integrating […]

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March 1, 2009

Rapid design flows for advanced technology pathfinding

The paper describes several innovative modifications to standard design flows that enable new device technologies to be rapidly assessed at the system level. Cell libraries from these rapid flows are employed by a design flow description language (PSYCHIC) for the exploration of highly speculative ‘what if’ scenarios. These rapid design flows are used to explore […]

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March 1, 2009

Mainstream not niche

Green design will be one of the enduring themes of 2009, or so we are told. As hard-faced as it might sound, though, it is hard to see this theme getting the attention it needs right now. My problem with the whole concept is that it currently seems to attract a premium at just about […]

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March 1, 2009

Choose, but choose wisely

The consumer sector has become a reliable bellwether for the state of the electronics industry. However you slice it, the latest data does not paint a pretty picture. With the publication of its latest U.S. market forecast, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) provided data that put the typical knock-on effect of a recession into concrete […]

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