VLSIFacts

The Traitorous Eight: How a Rebellion Sparked Silicon Valley’s Tech Revolution

July 24, 2025July 10, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In the 1950s, Silicon Valley didn’t exist. There were no billion-dollar startups. No venture capitalists in Patagonia fleeces. No Googleplex or iPhones. Just orchards and quiet suburbs in Northern California. But in 1957, a quiet revolution unfolded – one that would invent Silicon Valley as we know it. Imagine a group of eight brilliant minds,…

Stories

Step-by-Step Guide to Running Lint Checks, Catching Errors, and Fixing Them: Industrial Best Practices with Examples

July 23, 2025July 20, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In VLSI design, maintaining clean, error-free HDL code is essential for successful chip development. One of the most effective ways to ensure code quality is by running lint checks—a static analysis technique that detects potential coding issues before simulation or synthesis. This article provides a practical, step-by-step guide on how to run lint tools, interpret lint…

Verification, Verilog

Lint Check in VLSI Design: Common Linting Errors and How to Fix Them

July 22, 2025July 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In VLSI design, ensuring high-quality, error-free RTL code is critical for successful chip development. One essential step in this process is performing a lint check on your HDL code. Linting helps detect potential coding issues early, improving code reliability, readability, and synthesis results. This article explains what lint checking is, why it matters in VLSI design, highlights…

Verification, Verilog

Compilation, Elaboration, and Simulation in HDL: A Clear Guide with Examples

July 21, 2025July 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

When working with Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) such as Verilog or VHDL, understanding the design flow is crucial for successful digital circuit development. Three fundamental steps in this flow are Compilation, Elaboration, and Simulation. These steps ensure that your HDL code is syntactically correct, logically consistent, and behaves as expected before hardware implementation. In this article, we will…

Verification, Verilog

Japanese Chipmaker Rapidus Kicks Off 2nm Test Production: A Bold Step Toward 2027 Mass Production

July 20, 2025July 20, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In a major leap forward for Japan’s semiconductor industry, Rapidus Corporation has officially started test production of 2-nanometer (2nm) chips, marking a critical milestone in the country’s ambitions to reclaim its position as a global tech innovator. The Hokkaido-based startup, backed by billions in government funding and industry partnerships, has also announced that it will…

News

Understanding the 4-bit Ripple Carry Adder: Verilog Design and Testbench Explained

July 20, 2025July 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In digital electronics and VLSI design, adders are fundamental building blocks used to perform arithmetic operations. Among various types of adders, the 4-bit Ripple Carry Adder (RCA) is one of the simplest and most commonly studied designs. It is widely used to add two 4-bit binary numbers and produce a 4-bit sum along with a carry-out. This…

Digital Electronics, Verilog

Designing a Two-Stage Flip-Flop Synchronizer to Eliminate Metastability in Clock Domain Crossing

July 19, 2025July 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

Welcome back to our Clock Domain Crossing (CDC) series! In our first post, we introduced the critical challenges of CDC in digital designs. In this article, we focus on one of the most fundamental and effective techniques to tackle metastability, a core issue in CDC: the two-stage flip-flop synchronizer. Understanding metastability and how this simple synchronizer design…

Digital Electronics, SoC, Verilog

How to Design and Test a CRC Generator in Verilog Using Shift Registers and XOR

July 18, 2025July 16, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

Ensuring data integrity is a critical aspect of digital communication and storage systems. One of the most reliable and widely used error-detecting techniques is the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). If you’re working with FPGAs, ASICs, or digital systems, implementing a CRC generator efficiently in hardware is essential. In this comprehensive blog post, we’ll walk you through…

Digital Electronics, Verilog

TSMC’s Q2 Profit Soars 60% to Record Highs, Fueled by AI Boom: What’s Next for the Chip Giant?

July 18, 2025July 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

July 18, 2025 – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s leading contract chipmaker, has once again defied expectations with a staggering 60.7% surge in second-quarter net profit, reaching a record-breaking NT$398.27 billion (US$13.53 billion). This powerhouse performance, driven by unrelenting demand for advanced chips powering artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), signals TSMC’s…

News

Synopsys Acquires Ansys for $35 Billion: A New Era of “Silicon to Systems”

July 17, 2025July 17, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

July 17, 2025 – In a landmark move that’s reshaping the tech landscape, Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) has officially completed its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS), creating a powerhouse in electronic design automation (EDA) and simulation software. Announced on January 16, 2024, and finalized today after securing global regulatory approvals, this stock-and-cash…

News