EDA and IP

Dmitry Vasilenko, of Arrow Electronics, provides some design hints to accelerate the mechanical model of an accelerometer. Micro-mechanical systems (MEMS) have become common. They are used for acceleration measurement in a multitude of designs, from in-vehicle systems to fitness trackers. Figure 1 shows the operation principle of an accelerometer. The basis of such a sensor is a movable proof mass ...

Semidynamics has announced a customisable vector unit for RISC-V processor cores, compliant with RISC-V vector specification 1.0. Vector unit are composed of several vector cores that perform multiple calculations in parallel. In this case, Semidynamics’ vector core can be tailored to support FP64, FP32, FP16, BF16, INT64, INT32, INT16 or INT8 data types depending on requirements – the longest word-length ...

The rapid market expansion for robotics brings risks, writes Alexander Ford of intellectual property firm Withers & Rogers. Over the past decade, the robotics sector has been advancing at pace. Early-stage, experimental research projects have given way to major-scale R&D programmes aimed at finding new applications for robotics technologies in a variety of industry sectors. As it stands, we are ...

Cambridgeshire-based IC design intellectual property company Agile Analog has created a range of analogue peripheral blocks that are already wrapped in digital logic to connect them to a standard on-chip bus, such as AMBA APB. The aim is to “reduce the effort required to integrate multiple analogue IPs into any asic by allowing the IP to be dropped straight into ...

The Design and Verification Conference & Exhibition Europe (DVCon Europe) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The event will be held in Munich (14 and 15 November, followed by a SystemC Evolution day on 16 November). This year, the event will include a research track and authors from universities and research institutes are invited to contribute research papers for consideration. ...

Globalfoundries is suing IBM for allegedly sharing GloFo’s IP with Rapidus and Intel. GloFo says  that it collaborated with IBM on process development in Albany for many years and acquired the exclusive right to that technology in 2015 when IBM paid GloFo $1.5 billion to take over the ownership of IBM’s fabs. IBM has been working with both Rapidus and ...

Nicomatic has contracted SnapEDA to provide CAD models for two-row versions of Nicomatic’s CMM 220 and 320 micro connector series – a total of over eight million variants. “Options range from 4 to 60 for signal contacts and 4 to 54 for coaxial or power contacts with locking or racking fixings,” according to SnapEDA. “To generate the parts, engineers need ...

Keysight has bought Cliosoft and will add Cliosoft’s hardware design data and IP management software tools to Keysight’s EDA offering. Cliosoft’s primary focus has been managing design data, including functional IP blocks used in ICs. Cliosoft’s products expand Keysight’s EDA software offering to include process and data management (PDM) capabilities that have been adopted by more than 400 global semiconductor ...

EnSilica, the custom ASIC design and supply services specialist, has won a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to build a chip for low-cost satellite broadband from anywhere on the planet when 4G/5G isn’t available. Specifically, it will support broadband connections for moving vehicles and Internet access for unconnected places, whether remote rural locations or disaster zones. The company ...

Rebecca Dobson is corporate vice-president, EMEA, Cadence Design Systems, following a career in sales with two UK semiconductor companies. She tells Caroline Hayes about her route into electronics and how she led staff through the pandemic. Rebecca Dobson studied for a BsC in business information technology. “I was good at chemistry, so I chose something that gave me options,” she ...