Re: [SI-LIST] : Some Semiconductors are Unnecessarily Fast

[email protected]
Tue, 13 Jul 1999 22:31:34 -0500

I have invested in silicon solutions to edge rate problems prudently to the knee
on the expense/return curve (at least where I think the knee is) and then
invested in signal integrity to make the most of the resulting silicon.
Basically, if it's important, invest in it somewhere.

Joe

CEC Analysis and I/O Design
Phone: 507.253.0762 Fax: 507.253.4966
[email protected]

"Roy Leventhal" <[email protected]> on 07/13/99 12:26:29 PM

Please respond to [email protected]

To: [email protected]
cc: (bcc: Joe Cahill/Rochester/IBM)
Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] : Some Semiconductors are Unnecessarily Fast

D.C., Joe,

I certainly do appreciate your comments because we're getting to some core
issues here.

What do you propose? Obviously, we need to be educated consumers and you need to
be educated suppliers if we are to mutually suceed. I'm not asking suppliers to
backstop users mistakes or vice-versa.

There's nothing as long or expensive as a failed project unless it's a product
that does come out and nobody wants.

I hate to use teamwork, early simulation, communication, etc., they're so
overworked. But, if there is no magic bullet I guess we have to keep stressing
them.

If we don't suceed together, we shall surely all fail individually.

So, what do you propose?

Roy

"D. C. Sessions" <[email protected]> on 07/13/99 11:10:41 AM

Please respond to [email protected]

Sent by: "D. C. Sessions" <[email protected]>

To: [email protected], [email protected]
cc: (Roy Leventhal/MW/US/3Com)
Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] : Some Semiconductors are Unnecessarily Fast

Roy Leventhal wrote:
>
> Joe,
>
> Somebody else will always benefit from a first developer's effort that
advances
> the state of the art. It's the nature of the game. I, personally, have never
> seen long term big winners among companies that have tried to control the
> technology. The winners seem to be nimble, fast adapters of the best that is
out
> there.
>
> I wouldn't give away my secrets., they'll leak away soon enough. By then, I
> wan't to be on to the next innovation. Not possible if I'm fixing dumb
problems.

Perhaps you misunderstood. The issue is that adding slew-controlled drivers
to the driver library is expensive. Si companies at present aren't doing it
because there's no perceived demand, so the only way to get the slew-controlled
drivers is to commission their design. For the first OEM (company A) to do
this it's a hit to both the budget and the schedule, which has to be traded off
against doing more SI work in-house.

OTOH Company B, who book their order six weeks later (as the cells make pre-Si
qual) now has gained six weeks of schedule disadvantage relative to their
competitor A, and can send the NRE that they didn't have to plonk down to
their stockholders.

IOW it's the implementation, not the state of the art _per_se_, that costs
without necessarily providing competitive benefit (or even negative
benefit.)

> [email protected] on 07/12/99 10:42:13 PM
>
> Please respond to [email protected]
>
> Sent by: [email protected]
>
> To: [email protected]
> cc: (Roy Leventhal/MW/US/3Com)
> Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] : Some Semiconductors are Unnecessarily Fast
>
> As both a signal integrity engineer and a driver designer I can say that the
> problem Roy speaks of can be solved technically rather easily. However it
> involves a business tradeoff. Specify something 'odd' to your semiconductor
> partner, pay NRE to achieve your ideal edge rates, pay a higher parts cost for
> your 'special' part and then have your vendor sell your design to your
> competitors OR invest in comparitively cheaper SI tools and engineers. I think
> SI engineers will be gainfully employed for quite some time.
>
> Joe
>
> CEC Analysis and I/O Design
> Phone: 507.253.0762 Fax: 507.253.4966
> [email protected]
>
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--
D. C. Sessions
[email protected]

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