Archive for 2013
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
These two trend setters share their opinions on the BIG DAC themes in 2013.
I see two related trends:
1) More signoff activity earlier in the design flow
2) More focus on IP quality and usability
Both of these trends represent a maturing of design tools and business models. Because of the tremendous complexity that sub-20 nm design brings, it becomes more important to get the design right as early as possible. The tools are maturing in the earlier stages, and more designers are demanding clean reports, or sign-off level quality audits as a result. This is helping to reduce schedule delays and design costs – good for the industry.
Semiconductor IP is also maturing – both use models and business models. There is a growing focus on reporting delivered quality and robustness. This will allow IP providers that deliver the best IP to flourish. Also good for the industry. We’ll see an increase in conversations about IP providers collaborating with the rest of the ecosystem at DAC. Another good trend.
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Tags: 50DAC, Atrenta, Chip Design, DAC, DAC2013, Design Automation Conference, Design Automation Conference 2013, EDA, Electronic Design Automation, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Public-Relations/201964499825219?ref=hl, Intellectual property, IP, IPextreme, Lee PR, SoC
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Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
DAC is upon us….and in Austin, of all places – the island in the middle of Texas.
As it’s getting closer, we were wondering what the BIG theme is for the 50th DAC. So, we asked a few of our friends and colleagues in the industry. Here’s what a few of them had to say.
I expect DAC to continue to explore low power challenges, with much talk about solving FinFET issues at 14 and 10 nm. Then there is the ever expanding SoC and how to handle all of the challenges that come with greater integration and IP reuse. Finally, what’s DAC without a discussion of Moore’s Law and whether it will/won’t continue to define industry progress in the years to come?
~ Joe Desposito, Editor-in-Chief, Electronic Design
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Tags: Chip Design, DAC, Design Automation Conference, EDA, Electronic Design, Electronic Design Automation, FinFETs, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Public-Relations/201964499825219?ref=hl, Intellectual property, IP, Lee PR, Microprocessors, semiconductors, The Linley Group
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
Today we will hear from McKenzie Mortensen, of IPextreme, on print vs. digital.
 McKenzie Mortensen I’m far more on the fence about this topic than I ever thought I would be. In all honesty, I’m not completely sure where I stand. I’ll try to replicate my thought process below:
Pro Print
- I’m a literature nerd in a very big way—BA English (Writing, Rhetoric, and Culture), MA Children’s Literature, life-long bookworm. I love books—the look, the feel, the smell, the different typefaces, the weight of a volume as I’m reading… it’s a sensory experience as much as it is an intellectual one. I have actually begun collecting antique hardcovers and rare picture books over the past couple of years. From hand bound antiques to glossy coffee table volumes, books are a form of art.
- I suffer from a mild obsession with stationery and paper products in general, plus I am an avid paper-crafter. I love to scrapbook and make collages, and magazines often come in very handy for harvesting images. I love cutting up magazines and turning them into something new. I’ve done some really neat things with old book pages also (only from damaged volumes, of course—I could never kill a book without it being a humane death).
- There are certain circumstances when I would not feel comfortable having a tablet with me. For example, when I’m going to the beach or hanging out by the pool, the last thing I want to take with me is my iPad. A cheap paperback or a magazine seems a better choice in a wet, sandy environment where damage is likely.
- I have a lot of bookworm friends, and one of our favorite things to do is trade books. Until it’s possible to lend a book to a friend digitally, I will need print copies of my favorites so that I can share them with people I know will appreciate them.
- Books come from bookstores and libraries, and if I could live in either one, I totally would. The atmosphere is simultaneously calming and invigorating to me, a heady blend of paper, ink, and curiosity.
Pro Digital
- I thought I would always be firmly a print girl, but I run into problems when I travel; as a fairly quick reader, I usually need to take more than one book with me on a trip in order to ensure that I’ll have sufficient reading material. As you can imagine, my carryon bags have been rather weighty at times. I started using my iPad only for travel to avoid the 50-pound hand luggage problem.
- The illuminated screen is great for reading under any light conditions without disturbing those around me (on a dark airplane, for instance).
- I can download another book whenever I want to (well, provided I have Wi-Fi access). Simple!
- I love that I can highlight passages and make notes easily as I read. You can take the girl out of literary academia, but you can’t take literary academia out of the girl, I guess! I developed a “study as you read” method during my education that I still apply to leisure reading. Such a nerd! Another bonus in this area is that I can easily explore allusions made in the text. I can look up dates and brush up on historical events, for example, as necessary. I can do all of these things when reading a print volume, but it’s not very practical when I’m on the go.
- Reading magazines digitally affords me the huge benefit of “clickability.” If an article mentions a restaurant I’d like to try, I can instantly view their website and check out the menu. I can order products or seek more information without having to dog-ear a page and remember to look things up later.
- I can bookmark things and save images with ease, and in a very compact amount of space. Like many crafty people, I suffer from a Pinterest addiction.
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Tags: digital media, EDA, Electronic Design Automation, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Public-Relations/201964499825219?ref=hl, IPextreme, Lee Public Relations, media, print media, social media
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Monday, April 29th, 2013
We old gen folks bemoan the passing of print, even though we (in truth) haven’t cared about print for a number of years – finding the true value being on the web. I think it’s more symbolic for us old folks than anything else.
In the wake of the closing of the print editions by UBM, we decided to follow up with the new gen EDA folks we interviewed last week to get their take on this turn of events.
First up is Hannah Watanabe, of Synopsys, with her thoughts on the news…..
 Hannah Watanabe
My mind goes back and forth when it comes to the whole print versus digital media. Personally, when it comes to books, I prefer to have the print version. There is something about turning a page and being able to physically see and feel how many pages I have read and how many I have left. When I’m done with the book, I can put it on a shelf with all of the other books that I have read and feel a sense of accomplishment.
However, when it comes to magazines or monthly or quarterly publications, I much prefer to have access to a digital copy. Unlike books, which I tend to read at home with a cup of tea and a blanket, I find myself looking at magazines and other publications when I’m on the go. When I’m on the go (say waiting for a dentist appointment), I only have bits and pieces of time to read, so it is much nicer to have a digital version or a magazine or publication on my phone than the whole printed version shoved in my purse. So, in short, I think that it is a good and positive move on EE Time’s part to go completely digital. With the age of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, I’m sure that the electronic version has a much larger audience and reach. Of course, I do feel for those who are losing their jobs due to a complete migration to digital.
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Tags: EDA, EE Times, Electronics Design Automation, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Public-Relations/201964499825219?ref=hl, Lee Public Relations, media, print media, semiconductors, social media, Synopysys, UBM
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Monday, April 15th, 2013
McKenzie Mortensen |
 Darcy
Pierce |
Hannah Watanabe |
For more than several years now, Peggy Aycinena has noted the dearth of new blood entering the EDA and IP industry ranks. Those of us who started in the industry in the 1980s still seem to dominate the corporate, engineering and marketing ranks. One area where we do see an infusion of new generation folks is in the marketing communications area. So Liz Massingill and I asked three of the new generation people to allow us to put them on the spot and talk a little about what new and old generation EDA and IP people bring to the party. With us are: McKenzie Mortensen of IPextreme, Darcy Pierce of Synopsys and Hannah Watanabe of Synopsys.
Ed: McKenzie, Darcy, Hannah, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. So let’s kick off with a question about you. What does the new generation bring to EDA and IP that the old generation doesn’t?
McKenzie: We love to shake things up.
Darcy: One of the more obvious attributes that I think our generation brings to the table is a fresh perspective, especially in the “older” industry of EDA where everyone seems to have 20+ years of experience.
Hannah: I think we bring a fresh perspective on how technology is being used today, especially by those who are just entering the work force, the Generation Y people.
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Tags: EDA, Electronic Design Automation, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lee-Public-Relations/201964499825219?fref=ts, Intellectual property, IP, IPextreme, social media, Synopsys
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Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Cary Chin, Director of Technical Marketing at Synopsys, has an intriguing take on how to approach verification now that the mandate for design project managers is to meet the low power requirement of the target end-product. Chin says that if we look at verification in terms of fine and broad “granularity,” users will meet their verification goals with a lot less angst and anguish. However, at first glance, I had no idea what Chin was talking about…which is why we asked him to join us and talk about this idea.
Ed: Cary, you’ve been recently talking about granularity in verification, especially in terms of low power. What does this all mean?
Cary: When I think of granularity in low power design, I’m thinking about the size of the “chunks” that we manipulate to improve the energy efficiency (or “low power performance”) of a design. For example, in most of today’s low power methodologies, large functional blocks are the boundaries we work within – we can shut down these blocks or manipulate the voltage to save energy when peak performance isn’t required. This boundary level isn’t just a matter of convenience; our tools and methodologies for both implementation and verification can only deal with certain levels of complexity, so we are confined in many dimensions in how we can pursue finer granularity.
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Tags: EDA, Electronic Design Automation, granularity, hardware, low power, low-power verification, Moore's Law, power, RTL, semiconductors, software, Synopsys, UPF, verification
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
 In a casual conversational exchange I overheard last week at DVCon (which reminded me of what Steve Jobs said to John Scully – “Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life or do you want to…change the world?” – someone asked if the other’s company wanted to dink out press releases forever or if the company wanted to tell a story that mattered to its audiences.
This conversation got me thinking……There’s nothing wrong with sending out press releases but companies get optimal effect and value when they issue press releases for more than mere information distribution.
What would that be? To reinforce, substantiate or bolster the company’s story. Sending out press releases (or saying, writing or doing any outbound efforts) ought to convey at least one of the company’s message points.
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Tags: Apple, Chip Design, EDA, Electronic Design Automation, PR, public relations, Semiconductor IP, semiconductors
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Monday, February 25th, 2013
So you thought our blog last week was our last prediction? Just kidding.
We actually have one more prophesy……from Michel Courtoy, esteemed EDA executive, entrepreneur and angel investor.
“As a member of the EDA community, when I look at 2013, I see a key dynamic in our customer base: chip = SoC. Across the board now, designs are created by combining multiple IPs from different sources that include embedded processors, multiple interfaces and memories. This is true across the spectrum from simple microcontrollers, to multi-function chips for consumer devices, all the way to the most complex multi-core microprocessors. Hence technologies that accelerate the design and verification of SoCs will thrive while technologies targeting the IP-level will find a saturated market.
Internal to the EDA market, we have been bombarded with messages of gloom triggered by the consolidation that has eliminated most ‘mid-size’ EDA suppliers, leaving mainly the ‘Big 3 and the 100 dwarfs’. Well, this might be the opportunity that the start-ups need: where will the Big 3 fill their shopping cart now when looking for new technologies? To stay competitive, the Big 3 have to go back to acquiring start-ups and find a way to monetize new technologies in their sales channel. This will reinvigorate the ecosystem for EDA start-ups and lead to more innovation.
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Tags: EDA, MIchel Courtoy, Semiconductor IP, SoC, System on Chip
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Monday, February 11th, 2013
Today’s prediction comes from Ravi Ravikumar, Vice President of Marketing at ICScape Inc. Ravi, who has over 18 years of experience in marketing, business development & project/program management in the EDA and semiconductor industries, gives his two cents on timing and power closure for 2013…..
“If you think timing and power closure were difficult issues at 40 and 28nm, they are going to get worse at 20nm. The traditional means of addressing timing/power closure as a post-implementation step using custom scripts that call on sign-off STA and physical implementation tools to achieve closure is taking too many iterations at 28nm.
As geometries reduce below 28nm, timing/power are more difficult to close due to design-related complex physical requirements, process and manufacturability issues like double/triple patterning and VT cell spacing rules create more R/C effects, impacting timing and power. Power issues in-turn lead to temperature and reliability problems. Design closure becomes a multi-dimensional task.
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Tags: design closure, EDA, Electronic Design Automation, ICScape, power, semiconductors, Timing
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