Electronic design automation

Electronic design automation (EDA) is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as printed circuit boards and integrated circuits. The tools work together in a design flow that chip designers use to design and analyze entire semiconductor chips. EDA is also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD).

This article describes EDA specifically with respect to integrated circuits.

History

Early days

Before EDA, integrated circuits were designed by hand, and manually laid out. Some advanced shops used geometric software to generate the tapes for the Gerber photoplotter, but even those copied digital recordings of mechanically drawn components. The process was fundamentally graphic, with the translation from electronics to graphics done manually. The best known company from this era was Calma, whose GDSII format survives.

By the mid-1970s, developers started to automate the design along with the drafting. The first placement and routing (Place and route) tools were developed. The proceedings of the Design Automation Conference cover much of this era.

Electronic Design (magazine)

Electronic Design, founded in 1952, is the largest published print magazine (circulation 141,000) for the electronic design industry published in the USA by Penton Media.

The magazine presents complete coverage of the industry from emerging technologies to large-scale trends. In Electronic Design's Techview sections, technology editors present the latest news and products in each industry: Analog & Power, Digital, EDA, Communications, Test, and Wireless.

The magazine's feature sections include Technology Reports, Engineering Essentials and Engineering Features. While Technology Reports summarize specific product trends, the Engineering Feature covers larger industry happenings. Engineering Essentials helps designers stay on top of the latest standards. And the Embedded in Electronic Design section, which appears monthly, covers embedded hardware and software systems.

Among the magazine's most popular sections are the Design Solution and Ideas For Design sections. Design Solutions are contributed by field experts and Ideas For Design are innovative solutions from readers. With the recent integration of Penton's Electrical Engineering Product News (EEPN), Electronic Design also covers components.