Well, PCI-SIG has done it once again. They’ve doubled the peak maximum bandwidth of the PCI Express (PCIe) bus by releasing the PCIe 6.0 specifications on January 11. A 16-lane PCIe 6.0 connection has a peak bidirectional bandwidth of 256 Gbytes/sec. That’s pretty darn fast. How’d they do it? The simple answer is that they ripped a page from the high-speed Ethernet spec and adopted PAM4 … Read More → "PCI-SIG’s PCIe 6.0 Spec Continues the Long, Happy Evolution of PCI Express"
Early microprocessors straddled two major computing epochs. During the first epoch, stretching from the late 1960s through the 1970s, computer system engineers designed and implemented minicomputer processor architectures and processor boards using TTL parts, bipolar PROMs, stone knives, and bearskins. Each minicomputer maker – including Digital Equipment Corp (DEC), Data General (DG), Prime, Computer Automation, IBM, Burroughs, HP, Four-Phase, NCR, and Univac – had their own, proprietary minicomputer … Read More → "Happy 50th Birthday to the 8-bit Intel 8008 Microprocessor"
If you are anything like me, you dream of having the ability to create and automatically populate your printed circuit board (PCB) prototypes in the comfort of your own office. Well, in fact you can, because BotFactory’s SV2 combines a conductive ink printer, solder paste extruder, pick-and-place machine, and reflow bed into a single product that allows you to prototype your PCBs in a matter … Read More → "BotFactory: All-In-One PCB Printing and Assembly"
I’ve recently been chatting with folks from Synopsys and Concertio, and now my head is so full of “stuff” regarding things like hyper-convergent chip design, reliability analysis, real-time performance optimization, and silicon lifecycle management that I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.
I’ve told this tale before (and I’ll doubtless tell it again), but … Read More → "When Reliability Analysis Meets Silicon Lifecycle Management"
Back in the day, 60 years ago, I built a lot of Heathkit test equipment including two oscilloscopes, two analog multimeters, an audio signal generator, an RF generator, an adjustable single-voltage power supply, and an automotive tester. I also built a Heathkit stereo receiver (that was a disaster), a digital clock with a Panaplex gas-discharge display (sure wish I still had that), and a microwave oven. Mid-century … Read More → "Book Review: Designing Electronics that Work"
