By Caroline Hayes, Senior Hayes
The cost of scaling 3D monolithic devices; automation validation; an enterprise wide behavior model; connectivity vs. Wi-Fi design; what’s happening in the China fabless semiconductor market.
There is something afoot in monolithic 3D circles, detects Zvi Or-Bach, MonolithIC 3D, as he tracks disquiet about a feasible roadmap for the technology. Costs and scaling are clashing, he illustrates his case with some effective charts, including one from ARM, but ends on an optimistic note for the industry.
At Mentor, Jay Gorajia vents his frustration at the disruption to communication flows between design and manufacturing oganizations. He makes an effective case for automation to create consistent DFx reports which are configured specifically for each customer.
Continuing something of a crusade for model-based systems engineering, Todd McDevitt, Ansys, has some sound advice for enterprise-wide dynamic modeling. The checklist has some useful links to webinars and web pages.
An interesting interview with Richard Stamyik, ARM, by ChipDesign’s own John Blyler gets the root of cellular connectivity for M2M and IoT and how it differs from WiFi embedded design.
If you have the travel bug, and believe it’s a case of “Go east, young man” these days, then Richard Goering, Cadence, advises you not to pack those bags, just yet. He reports from the DAC 2014 China Fabless Semiconductor Panel, relating some challenges to some preconceptions, such as production and consumption in the region and investment.
Maybe Michael Posner saw one-too-many films on his travels to SNUG in Israel. His blog begins with a picture of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Zorro, the mysterious swordsman-avenger, but quickly moves on to a namesake with a different spelling: the Zoro Hybrid Prototype for early software development. His enthusiasm is infectious, (even if the film link is tenuous!), and the content is clearly set out to inform.