News Stories

Power Bits: Advanced Research

Graphene magnets, more efficient highways and better solar panels

Power Bits: Analog’s Comeback

After watching the digital side make big strides in energy efficiency, analog engineers have joined the race.

Power Bits: The Price Of Power

CES turns greener this year; Intel, TI and Nvidia all push low-power technology.

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Top Stories

Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient

Last of three parts: What drains the battery; how software can impact system-level energy consumption; where to find the low-hanging fruit.

Rethinking Good Enough

Power consumption is now considered a feature; it’s also something that is being used as a tradeoff for other features.

The Next Big Challenge

Integration of different operating systems across SoCs with a focus on power is forcing some unusual combinations—and lots of headaches.

When Worlds Collide: Saving Power In Communications Applications

Understanding total energy consumption puts a new emphasis on understanding the impact of the software used in a system. A single application can throw off everything.

What Happens When The Plug Is Pulled

Peripherals have always had the luxury of design without concern for power. As devices become more mobile that’s changing.

Status Report: Power-Aware Design Flow

Some pieces are still missing, but more pieces are available today than are being used; what needs to change.

Playing The Voltage Game

Lowering the voltage is still seen as the best way to save energy, but getting there is becoming far more complicated.

Cell Phone Radiation: Taboo Topic, Interesting Science

But it’s not just about the design of the device. It also depends on what type of network is being used and where the phone is being held.

One On One: ARM CTO Mike Muller

A candid interview about the future of Moore’s Law and the impact of power and leakage on all future designs.

3D DRAM Makers Inch Closer To Production

Mass market for devices is still at least a year away, but big name-supporters and advantages in power and speed point to a big uptick; most technical hurdles are solved.

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Technology Features

Round Tables

Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient

First of three parts: Understanding the differences between software and hardware; what the software engineer sees and can do about it; when to tackle the problem; what’s missing.

Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient

Second of three parts: Providing enough information to software teams; modeling realistic scenarios; optimizing subsystems; changing attitudes among software developers; real optimization from further down in the stack.

Experts At The Table: Making Software More Energy-Efficient

Last of three parts: What drains the battery; how software can impact system-level energy consumption; where to find the low-hanging fruit.

Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction

First of three parts: Redefining the system for power; power estimation vs. real measurements and optimization; accuracy vs. relative accuracy; the impact of increasing complexity on estimates.

Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction

Second of three parts: The challenge of user profiles; two-way communication in a hierarchical flow; power vs. energy; the uncertainties of software.

Experts At The Table: Managing Power At Higher Levels Of Abstraction

Last of three parts: What’s missing; optimization vs. analysis; challenges of mixing old IP with new IP; the increasing value of high-level synthesis for power estimation beyond 45nm.

Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges

First of three parts: Power displaces performance as top priority; iPhone vs. Android; cloud-based video; the advantages of stacked die; defining the next killer app.

Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges

Second of three parts: The impact of radios on power; thinking bigger and more holistically; making medical devices more mobile; new methodologies and tools.

Experts At The Table: Mobile Design Challenges

Last of three parts: Wide I/O and FinFETs; changes in mixed-signal designs; one CPU vs. distributed cores; re-thinking optimal design; minimum voltages.

Experts At The Table: Retrofitting Older Process Nodes

Second of two parts: EDA’s role at different nodes; why power is now important at older nodes; the impact of multiple foundries using mature processes.

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Podcasts/Videos/Webcasts

Making Software Better

What do software engineering teams need to deliver more efficient software? It isn’t always about more time.

Comparing Smart Phones

Battery life is now a competitive weapon in the mobile device market, but what really makes one phone last longer on a charge than another?

Using High-Level Synthesis To Manage Power

The benefits of looking at power much, much earlier in the design flow.

Embedded Migration

Intel’s Max Domeika talks about migration techniques for the embedded Atom processor.

One-On-One: Aart de Geus

A look at the future of EDA, IP, power, stacked die and the relentless pressure of Moore’s Law.

Power Budgets: Where Is The Low-Hanging Fruit?

What can be done to cut the power for a reasonable cost, and how do you get there?

Verification At 28nm And Beyond

New challenges grow at advanced geometries.

Billion-Gate Chips

A look at the issues facing designers at 28nm, 22nm, and in 3D stacking.

Concurrent Design

Why this approach is suddenly becoming very necessary to SoC engineers.

The Trouble With Semiconductor IP

Power and proximity issues and process variation make commercial IP much more difficult to use at advanced nodes.

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