Hot Topic:
Intellectual property (IP)

EDN

• ARM IP group wrestles complexity of 32-nm physical design
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Oct 27, 2009
  A presentation at the recent ARM Developers' Conference reveals the extent to which library developers will shield chip designers from the challenges of 32-nm lithography.
• IP quality lies beyond compliance testing
  
  Author: By Navraj Nandra, Synopsys Inc | Date: Oct 8, 2009
  Of course you want your standard-interface IP to pass compliance testing. But that accomplishment is just the beginning. Complete quality assurance for IP cores has far more challenges.
• CoreEL named Virage Logic representative in India
  
  Date: Jul 1, 2009
  Virage Logic Corp has announced it has expanded its presence in India with the appointment of CoreEL as its sales representative.
• In search of a better DRAM: evolving to floating bodies
  
  Author: By Serguei Okhonin, PhD, Innovative Silicon | Date: Sep 17, 2009
  Widely investigated floating-body memories appear to be compelling replacements for conventional DRAMs. A new floating-body memory uses the intrinsic bipolar transistor to store significantly greater charge.
• A modest proposal for IP
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Jun 11, 2009
  The US patent system needs fixing to the point that there are debates over just whose interests we should fix first.
• Tool bundles target FPGAs
  
  Author: By Graham Prophet, Europe Editor | Date: Jun 25, 2009
  Xilinx this year introduced two families of Virtex-6 and Spartan-6 FPGAs that enable targeted-design platforms. The company is now adding domain-specific-tool support to the targeted-platform concept. Xilinx’ ISE (integrated software environment) Design Suite 11.1 offers interoperable
• Motorola joins Via Licensing joint licensing program for near field communications
  
  Date: Jul 1, 2009
  Via Licensing Corp has announced that Motorola Inc has joined its joint licensing program for patents related to the practice of near field communications (NFC) as a licensor.
• Akya reveals dynamically reconfigurable logic technology
  
  Author: By Graham Prophet, EDN Europe | Date: May 28, 2009
  IP-based offering reduces risk and increases flexibility of custom chip designs.
• Accellera, Spirit Consortium merger hints at future of ESL design
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Jun 11, 2009
  The merger aims to bridge the language-based design and IP-assembly worlds and will exploit the fact that the two organizations have been working in complementary areas of front-end design and verification.
• EDAC reports easing in fall of EDA revenues in Q1
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Jul 15, 2009
  EDA revenue was down 10.7% year over year in Q1, but, according to EDA Consortium Chairman and Mentor Graphics CEO Walden Rhines, that may actually be moderately good news.
• Virage Logic intends to acquire ARC International
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Aug 18, 2009
  The acquisition would add configurable CPU cores and the company's development environment, and perhaps more significantly, several powerful clusters of application-specific hardware and software IP to the Virage portfolio, complementing the company's strengths in foundation digital IP, memory IP,
• Start-up offers dynamically reconfigurable logic technology
  
  Author: By Graham Prophet, Europe Editor | Date: Aug 6, 2009
  Start-up Akya is offering IP (intellectual property) to allow IC designers to include reconfigurable logic on their ASSPs (application-specific standard products) or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits). The company delivers both reconfigurable-logic fabric and IP blocks to execute
• SanDisk, Samsung ink patent cross license, flash supply agreements amidst memory industry turmoil
  
  Author: By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News | Date: May 27, 2009
  The renewed patent cross-license agreement includes rights to both SanDisk's and Samsung's patents covering multi-level cell flash memory and flash storage systems, but does not license either companies patent claims specific to 3-D memory technology.
• High-level software for embedded-system design: doing your job?
  
  Author: By Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief | Date: Jul 9, 2009
  Domain experts are gaining more control of embedded-system design, but electronic- and code-design skills remain key to successful projects.
• Intel to pay AMD $1.25B to end legal battle
  
  Author: By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News | Date: Nov 12, 2009
  Intel and AMD agree to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes.The rivals also obtain patent rights from a new five-year cross license agreement.
• E Ink, Freescale enter IP agreement for eBook silicon
  
  Author: By Ron Wilson, Executive Editor | Date: Oct 20, 2009
  Freescale will integrate E Ink’s Vizplex display controller IP onto Freescale’s ARM-based microcontroller SoCs.
• Take Your Intellectual Property to an Auction
  
  Author: Jon Titus | Date: Jun 12, 2009
  Titus regularly contributes articles on electronics and measurement. He has extensive experience designing with microprocessors and microcontrollers, and developed data-acquisition and instrument-control systems and taught many courses on software and hardware design. A recipient of the George R.
• NXP, Virage licensing deal sees IP exchange, employees transfer, R&D center development
  
  Author: By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News | Date: Oct 12, 2009
  At the multifaceted agreement's core is the transfer of a part of NXP’s CMOS IP rights and certain engineering talent and equipment to Virage Logic, a move that is expected to significantly reduce costs at NXP as the company continues its efforts to focus on high-performance mixed signal.
• Three indicted for counterfeit IC sales to US Navy
  
  Author: By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News | Date: Oct 13, 2009
  Counterfeit ICs falsely bearing markings from the likes of Intel, ADI, and National Semiconductor were allegedly brought into the United States and sold by three family members in California, according to a US Attorney’s Office indictment.
• Tapeout on EDN: Electronic Design, News, Strategy
  
  In Tapeout, experienced physical design consultant Pallab Chatterjee offers case studies, observations, and hands-on personal experience on the technology and art of back-end IC design.