Author: vlsifacts

How AI Will Transform the Semiconductor Industry by 2030: Key Trends and Predictions

June 23, 2025June 23, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just transforming the world of software – it is rapidly reshaping the semiconductor industry from the inside out. Over the next five years, AI is expected to have a massive impact across chip design, manufacturing, supply chain management, and market competition. In this post, we’ll explore how AI is driving…

AI for VLSI

Is an “initial” Block Synthesizable in Verilog?

June 20, 2025June 20, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

When working with Verilog for digital design, one common question that arises is whether the initial block is synthesizable. The short answer is generally no. initial blocks are primarily meant for simulation and testbench purposes, not for actual hardware synthesis. What is an initial Block? The initial block in Verilog is used to set initial values for signals or variables at the very…

Verilog

Intel Layoffs 2025: What will be the future of the semiconductor industry?

April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

The semiconductor industry is in turmoil once again. Intel Corporation, a major name in chipmaking, is planning to cut more than 20% of its workforce in 2025. This news has come from a Bloomberg report, which says that these layoffs are part of a major restructuring led by new CEO Lip-Bu Tan. So let’s look…

News

What is a Neural Processing Unit (NPU)

May 11, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

A neural processing unit (NPU) is a specialized type of microprocessor designed to accelerate the performance of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and machine learning algorithms. These chips have been developed with the goal of accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models. NPUs can perform complex matrix calculations and parallel processing much more…

Information

What is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)

April 7, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

What is a DSP? A DSP is optimized for handling numerical calculations and manipulating signals in the digital domain. It typically consists of an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), a multiplier-accumulator unit, and a program memory unit. The ALU performs basic arithmetic and logical operations on the input signals, while the multiplier-accumulator unit performs more complex…

Information

What is a Hardware Accelerator

March 31, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

A hardware accelerator is a specialized processor that is designed to perform specific tasks more efficiently than a general-purpose processor. Hardware accelerators are often used to speed up tasks that are computationally intensive, such as graphics rendering, machine learning, and cryptography. Hardware accelerators are becoming increasingly popular in modern computing systems because they can improve…

Information

What is a GPU? A Specialized Graphics Processor

March 26, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

A GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, is a specialized type of processor designed to handle complex mathematical and graphical computations. Unlike the CPU, which is optimized for general-purpose computing, the GPU is designed specifically to accelerate graphics-intensive tasks, such as 3D rendering, video encoding, and scientific simulations. The GPU consists of thousands of small processing…

Information

What is a CPU – The Brain of your Computer

March 23, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

A CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the primary component of a computer that performs most of the processing tasks. It is often referred to as the “brain” of the computer, as it controls and executes instructions that are stored in memory. The CPU is responsible for performing arithmetic and logical operations, managing the flow…

Information

Logic Levels in Digital Circuits

March 20, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

In digital systems, any signal value is represented in binary form (either logic ‘0’ state or logic ‘1’ state). To represent these two logic states, two different levels of voltage or two different levels of current are considered. Here, we will consider voltage for understanding. You can also consider current in the same way. If…

Digital Electronics

Hamming Codes

March 20, 2023June 19, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

Hamming Code is yet another error detection and correction code. In this code, the parity bits are added to increase the Hamming distance between the valid code words. Here, the parity bits are arranged in a way that different error bits produce different error results. This enables the Hamming Code to both detect and localize…