editor's blog
Subscribe Now

Tektronix Moves Further Into the Chip

We were keeping track of Veridae as they came onto the scene with their debug technology, starting with Clarus, adding Corus, and Certus (even as their strategy and branding were morphing based on customer input). And then Tektronix swooped them up.

I talked with Tek’s TMM Mike Juliana about the new Embedded Instrumentation Group that formed as a result of the acquisition. It includes the engineers that had been working at Veridae, and they’re still located in Vancouver, BC (although commercialization is now done in Southern California).

Their focus is to provide non-invasive ways of providing visibility inside chips, across chips, across busses, and across clock domains. The idea of non-invasive (or non-intrusive) is to violate the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: you don’t want your observation to alter the results. In particular, performance shouldn’t change (which we all know can happen merely by adding a probe).

The products directions that they’re taking therefore fall into four categories:

–          Inside the chip (that is, the Veridae stuff)

–          Parallel busses

–          Serial busses or links

–          Software

The first three are in place today (we’ll look at a serial box in a few days). Even though they may all need to be used together, for now, the three don’t cohabitate in a single box: they’re separate units that collaborate by cross-triggering each other.

The software element is a future consideration.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Jun 7, 2023
We explain how semiconductor designers create reliable, safe, and secure aerospace designs by leveraging IP and standards from automotive chip designs. The post Why Aerospace Semiconductor Designers Are Taking a Page from Their Automotive Friends appeared first on New Horizo...
Jun 6, 2023
At this year's DesignCon, Meta held a session on '˜PowerTree-Based PDN Analysis, Correlation, and Signoff for MR/AR Systems.' Presented by Kundan Chand and Grace Yu from Meta, they talked about power integrity (PI) analysis using Sigrity Aurora and Power Integrity tools such...
Jun 2, 2023
I just heard something that really gave me pause for thought -- the fact that everyone experiences two forms of death (given a choice, I'd rather not experience even one)....

featured video

The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Electronic Design

Sponsored by Cadence Design Systems

In this video, we talk to Paul Cunningham, Senior VP and GM at Cadence, about the transformative role of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in electronic designs. We discuss the transformative period we are experiencing with AI and ML and how Cadence is revolutionizing how we design and verify chips through “computationalizing intuition” and building intuitive systems that learn and adapt to the world around them. With human lives at stake, reliability, and safety are paramount.

Learn More

featured paper

EC Solver Tech Brief

Sponsored by Cadence Design Systems

The Cadence® Celsius™ EC Solver supports electronics system designers in managing the most challenging thermal/electronic cooling problems quickly and accurately. By utilizing a powerful computational engine and meshing technology, designers can model and analyze the fluid flow and heat transfer of even the most complex electronic system and ensure the electronic cooling system is reliable.

Click to read more

featured chalk talk

Inductive Position Sensors for Motors and Actuators
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Microchip
Hall effect sensors have been quite popular for a variety of applications for many years but inductive positions sensors can provide better accuracy, better noise immunity, can cost less,  and can reject stray magnetic fields. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with Mark Smith from Microchip about the multitude of benefits that inductive position sensors can bring to automotive, robotic and industrial applications. They also check out the easy to use kits that can help you get started using them for your next design.
Dec 19, 2022
22,902 views