Articles – Page 35

Edward Keonjian: The High-IQ, Armenian-American Forrest Gump of Microelectronics, Part 1

September 18, 2023

The 1986 novel Forrest Gump and the 1994 movie based on the novel depicted a man who was present at many significant events in the 20th century. In that same way, Edward Keonjian managed to be closely associated with many developments in electronics, especially microelectronics. The fictitious character Forrest Gump supposedly had a low IQ, but he loved meeting people. The very real Edward Keonjian also loved meeting people, and he clearly had very high intelligence. … Read More →

Doing the Time Warp with Calibre DesignEnhancer

by Max Maxfield

September 14, 2023

When I worked on my first ASIC deep in the mists of time that we used to call the 1980s, we employed a traditional “waterfall” model for our design and verification flows. In this case, any activities associated with the project were broken down into linear sequential phases, where each phase depended on the deliverables from the previous one.

The term “shift left” first entered our collective consciousness … Read More → "Doing the Time Warp with Calibre DesignEnhancer"

Ray Holt and the Lost History of the First Multi-Chip Microprocessor

by Steven Leibson

September 11, 2023

During a Zoom meeting of the Computer History Museum’s (CHM) SemiSIG earlier this year, our fearless leader Doug Fairbairn mentioned that he was having trouble contacting Ray Holt to arrange a recording of his oral history. CHM’s SemiSIG records oral histories of past and present luminaries in the semiconductor industry, and Holt’s history is a rich one. After getting his EE degree at Cal Poly in 1968, Holt joined the team at Garrett AiResearch that designed the CADC (Central Air Data Computer), which was the world’s first digital electronic flight computer. It was an … Read More → "Ray Holt and the Lost History of the First Multi-Chip Microprocessor"

May the Flux (Copilot) Be with You!

by Max Maxfield

September 7, 2023

I have seen the future of electronic design. It is both awesome and scary. I’m too young for all this excitement. I have much to impart. Before we proceed further, however, let’s first remind ourselves as to the way things were in ye olden days, by which—as terrifying as it seems—I mean prior to 2023.

When I was a young sprout deep in the mists of time that we used to call the early 1970s, I created all my designs using discrete components soldered onto Veroboard (a. … Read More → "May the Flux (Copilot) Be with You!"

In Just Two Days, Intel Foundry Services Falls from Zenith To Nadir, Then Recovers

by Steven Leibson

September 6, 2023

On August 14, Intel announced that Synopsys would develop a portfolio of intellectual property (IP) for the Intel 3 and Intel 18A process nodes, which will broaden and accelerate access to Synopsys silicon IP for Intel Foundry Services (IFS), its customers, and its growing ecosystem. The support of Synopsys, one of the “big three” Electronic Design Automation (EDA) vendors and a significant player in semiconductor IP, is essential for any semiconductor foundry that wants to be taken seriously in the world market.

Just two days later, Intel announced that it was terminating its 18-month effort … Read More → "In Just Two Days, Intel Foundry Services Falls from Zenith To Nadir, Then Recovers"

Are These the Top-Performing Edge AI Processors?

by Max Maxfield

September 5, 2023

I fear I am becoming befuddled, bewildered, and bemused. It seems like every day I get to chat with a new company (well, a company new to me) that’s involved with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in some capacity or other. Some of these companies focus on the cloud, while others target the edge. Some devote themselves to the software side of things, like developing new generative AI tools, while others turn their attentions to creating hardware—chips, modules, and systems—that can execute AI/ML applications at lightning speed.

The Lunar Roving Vehicle: How Earth’s Moon Became the Cadillac Ranch

by Steven Leibson

September 4, 2023

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.” – John F Kennedy, President of the United States, September 12, 1962

“If there’s going to be a vehicle on the moon, it’s going to be a General Motors vehicle, … Read More → "The Lunar Roving Vehicle: How Earth’s Moon Became the Cadillac Ranch"

“Proving Ground”: A biography and history of the six women who invented programming for ENIAC

by Steven Leibson

August 31, 2023

ENIAC, generally and arguably considered to be the world’s first large-scale general purpose electronic computer, was the Big Bang of the computer industry. Credit for ENIAC rightly goes to two men, John Mauchly and Presper Eckert, who conceived of the machine and had major roles in developing its hardware during World War II. However, every good computer scientist knows that a computer, any computer, is not worth much without software. For ENIAC, no software and no software development process existed until six women took on the task of developing a programming process and writing the first … Read More → "“Proving Ground”: A biography and history of the six women who invented programming for ENIAC"

Teradyne’s Tactics to Tackle Twenty-First Century Test

by Max Maxfield

August 30, 2023

When I was a young sprout, I used to work for a pair of sister companies called Cirrus Designs and Cirrus Computers in the UK. While at Cirrus Designs, I learned all* about testing integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs). Meanwhile, at Cirrus Computers, I learned all* about digital logic simulation, automatic test pattern generation (ATPG), and automatic test equipment (ATE). (*When I say “all” in this context, I don’t mean I learned everything there is to know; rather, that I learned everything I could squeeze into my meager mind.)

“The Game Console 2.0” Serves up Images of 123 Home Video Game Consoles Across 9 Generations

by Steven Leibson

August 28, 2023

My engineering career started shortly after video games appeared. The first arcade video game, Computer Space, was developed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney and released in 1971. Bushnell and Dabney founded Atari the following year. Computer Space was inspired by another computer game, Spacewar!, which MIT students had programmed into a Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) PDP-1 minicomputer in 1962. Bushnell saw a version of Spacewar! running on a DEC PDP-6 minicomputer in 1969.

Atari’s first arcade game, Pong, was a copy of a table tennis game that Bushnell saw running on the first home … Read More → "“The Game Console 2.0” Serves up Images of 123 Home Video Game Consoles Across 9 Generations"