Designing high-performance VLSI chips stresses to the limit CAD tools for simulation, circuit design, timing verification, placement/routing, and physical verification. The extreme demands of aggressive designs require quick response times in tool development and support. But do vendor CAD companies care enough about this tiny market segment to supply adequate tools and support for custom design? Can in-house CAD teams really acquire the necessary expertise and manpower? Should design teams pick the best point-tools for each function or is an integrated "framework" more essential?

TE 6 - Single-Chip Integration versus Multichip Modules

Advances in VLSI integration capability now permit many different functions combined on a single chip. High-performance CPU, interface circuits, and high-density SRAM may all be combined. However, challenges in this activity _include yield, embedded-testability and cost. Equally dramatic advancements have been made in multichip-module technology. The ability to combine several types of pre-tested die in a single module has also been recognized. The optimum approach for system partitioning is open to wide discussion, since it is influenced by so many diverse technical factors. Discussion on this topic includes world-recognized experts in both fields of high-integration and of multichip packaging.

TE7 - Radio Front-End and Digital Signal Processing:

In the ultimate personal communication device, integration will be of paramount importance. However, integration requires transistors performing at radio frequencies on the same substrate as circuits performing digital signal-processing functions. Is this practical or are the technology requirements too different or too costly? Or are the cultures and practices of RF and digital designers so different that the enabling design strategy has yet to be identified?

TE 8 - Monolithic Surface-Micromachined Sensors:

Will surface-micromachined monolithic sensors become as pervasive as ICs? For this to happen, electronic sensing systems must become as pervasive as today's "pure" electronic systems, and surface-micromachined sensors must be the lowest-cost solution. "Pure" electronic systems already interact with the real-world to exchange information, but silicon plays a minor role in this interaction. Can it play a bigger role? Can sensors realized in silicon achieve the required performance and be integrated at low cost? The audience and panel will explore the state of the art and speculate on the future art.

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