EDA Alert: October 16, 2007

Acquisitions by EDA companies are a fact of life. Even in the worst of times, not a year goes by without a raft of them. In fact, Synopsys, Mentor Graphics, and Cadence are the result of countless mergers over the years. While the large companies do occasionally turn out innovative internally-produced products, their new technology more typically comes from startups they've acquired...

With greater complexity and smaller features, today's chip designs are getting harder than ever to test. New failure mechanisms are constantly emerging that render traditional "stuck-at" testing helpless. IC manufacturers must use test techniques that detect timing, layout, and power-related defects...

Engineering documentation such as schematics, layouts, and other technical data is the stuff of collaborative design. Such materials need to be seen by various individuals and groups within a given organization as well as by partners in other organizations. However, sharing such data in native formats isn't always convenient...

Using a design flow put together by Mentor Graphics and Altera, designers can implement complex DSP algorithms in high-performance FPGAs directly from ANSI C++ code. The flow, which is based on Altera's Accelerated Libraries for Mentor Graphics' Catapult C synthesis tool, is said to deliver 50-80% DSP Fmax performance improvements...

UMC's 65-nm RFCMOS process is not only up and running, but it's reported that several customers are engaged for this advanced RF process...

• Portable media players
• Video games
• Cell phones
• High-definition TVs
• Other

More technical Content. More exhibits. More teardowns. More of what you need to know to find the right technologies, products and components to integrate into an ever-evolving array of complex applications. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, the Power Electronics Technology Exhibition & Conference, held in the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, Texas, will give you the tools to optimize every element of the design process:

• An educational program focuses on practical, day-to-day solutions;
• A full contingent of suppliers demonstrating their latest innovations in the Exhibit Hall;
• And a conference schedule that hits all of the high notes - digital and portable power, power design, conversion and management, magnetics, alternative energy, LED drivers and more.