Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA) [Paperback]

Mark D. Birnbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0131828290 | ISBN-13: 978-0131828292 | Edition: 1

Today, we take for granted many electronic products such as cellular phones, digital cameras, personal stereos, and printers. But none of these microchip-based electronic products would be possible without the essential (but mostly unknown) Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software tools engineers use to create them. Introduction to Electronic Design Automation gives an overview of the EDA business in the context of the electronic product and semiconductor industries it supports. It covers both the business aspects and the engineering issues addressed by EDA tools, described in layperson's terms.While addressing non-technical readers, the book can also help many technical employees needing the "big picture".

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA)

• A unique, easy-to-understand introduction to the EDA software tools used to design IC microchips

• Includes all aspects of EDA: business, technical, tool vendor and end user views, IC and EDA industry trends

• Explains (in simple English) the concepts and terminology of IC design issues and the EDA tools that deal with them

• Covers the complete range of EDA tools from electronic system-level through front-end functional design, synthesis, and backend physical design

• Ideal for non-technical readers in sales, marketing, public relations, legal, finance, students, and new entrants to the EDA, semiconductor or related industries

Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA) demystifies this highly technical industry for anyone with a "need-to-know" about EDA. A friendly, informal introduction to EDA business and technology, clear enough for laypeople yet detailed enough for technical readers. The book also makes an excellent complementary text for cross-disciplinary engineering, business and marketing courses on VLSI Design.

Simply and clearly, veteran industry leader Mark Birnbaum introduces the design problems EDA is intended to solve, the tools that exist to solve them, the designers who use them, and what makes EDA crucial to electronic product and chip design.

• Explains how EDA fits into the electronic product and semiconductor industries

• Examines the EDA industry from both the tool user and EDA software vendor perspectives, including business models, return on investment, and tool evaluation

• Includes electronic system-level tools for defining what ICs will do, front-end functional chip-level tools for design how the IC will behave, and back-end design tools for implementing the IC physical layout

• Discusses EDA industry trends and IC design issues, including deep submicron challenges, intellectual property (IP), and system-on-chip (SoC)
• Includes EDA standards organizations and publications

Industry newcomers will appreciate the book's extensive set of appendices, including primers on electricity, semiconductor manufacturing, computing, and common dimensions, reference sources and a complete glossary with acronym pronunciation.

About the Author

MARK D. BIRNBAUM brings unique qualifications to this subject, having worked as an EDA user, manager, developer and tool vendor. Mr. Birnbaum's experience at nine major computer, semiconductor, EDA and research organizations spans the electronics design world from system products to IC chips. He has held senior positions in engineering management, consulting, R&D, product development, test, and marketing, led two standards groups, and taught microelectronics and EDA classes.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (October 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131828290
• ISBN-13: 978-0131828292
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #928,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is an insult to its readers, April 8, 2004

By 

Mat D. (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA) (Paperback)

I wanted an overview of this big industry that EDA is and this book sounded perfect... I changed my mind not too long after the first couple of pages.
The book is rather short (200 pages) even with HUGE fonts and useless appendixes (like remind the reader that 1 is "one" 10^0, 10 is "ten" 10^1 and so on)

I kept the best for the end, the entire book was written like a kid's book: it's only dialogue!!! (Ms. Newbie (sic) new to an EDA company (Sandbox) talks with other employees).
It's a complete insult to anyone's intelligence.

Stay away, don't waste your money.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Childishly written - somewhat useful content, May 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA) (Paperback)

The book is written mostly as a conversation between a new employee at an EDA company and various people. It's very hard to read, because the entire time you're repeating in your head "Does the author really think people talk this way?" It's distracting. The content is somewhat useful, if simplistic, so the book doesn't rate a "1".

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written description of this arcane field, January 8, 2004

By 

bookmanswake "bookmanswake" (Bowie, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Electronic Design Automation (EDA) (Paperback)

Excellent writing and superb Table of Contents - poor index though. Technical and non-technical audience can understand and appreciate this comprehensive review of this important industry.