EDA Unplugged: The Behind-The-Scenes Bloopers of Chip Design

Welcome to the binge-worthy series you didn't know you needed—"EDA: Silicon, Security and Shenanigans." Whether you're a chip whisperer or just here for the memes, these videos will take you from sand to silicon with more plot twists than your favorite series—and yes, the transistors have feelings, too (almost).

Designed for anyone—from engineers to educators—who's ever been fascinated by the journey from sand to smartphone.

 1. How Sand Converts to a Semiconductor Wafer? (Video)

Watch as humble beach sand gets a glow-up worthy of a makeover show. From ingots to wafers, this is the ultimate "rags to riches" story—if rags were silica and riches were 5nm chips.

2. What Is EDA? (Video)

Learn how EDA tools help engineers design chips without crying (too much).

 3. How Chip Design Is NOT Like Other Design? (Video)

Imagine building an Airbus…with tools you've never used…in 12 months…and it has to fly on the first try. This one's a reality check. Chip design isn't just hard—it's "design-an-Airbus-while-blindfolded" hard.

 4. What Is Moore's Law? (Video)

The law that says your chip will be obsolete before your coffee gets cold. A tale of exponential growth, shrinking nodes, and why your phone from last year is already a fossil.

5. What Is a Digital Twin? (Video)

It's like cloning your chip, but legal. Meet the virtual stunt double of your hardware. It does all the risky stuff—like overheating and crashing—so your real chip doesn't have to.

6. How Hardware-Accurate Manufacturing Correlated Digital Twin Process Works? (Video)

This one's for the hardcore nerds. It's got PDKs, RTLs, and enough acronyms to make your head spin. But trust us—it's the secret sauce behind "first-pass success."

 7. What Is Shift-Left Vulnerability? (Video)

Because finding bugs after tapeout is like discovering your parachute has holes mid-jump. Shift-left means testing early, failing fast, and saving your coherence. It's like flossing for your chip design—annoying but worth it.

8. EDA Security Deep Dive: Attack Types, Tools, and Testbench Techniques (Video)

Chips have more vulnerabilities than your favorite soap opera character. From side-channel attacks to glitching analog circuits, this video is a thriller. Think "Mission: Impossible," but with more transistors.

9. Accelerating Chip And Software Development with Emulation and FPGA Prototyping (Video)

Emulation: For when you want to test your chip. FPGA: For when you want to test your patience. Discover how these dynamic duos help you debug, prototype, and avoid million-dollar mistakes.

 10. What Is the End Market for Semiconductors? (Video)

Everything...your phone, your car, your fridge, your grandma's pacemaker. This video is a global tour of where chips end up. It's everywhere. Even your smart toaster.

 Watch the full video series: Introduction to Electronic Design Automation Training Course. There is also an Accelerated Learning Option available.

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Where to Watch These Videos?

Head to the ASK portal for deep dive Training Bytes, courses, and sanity-saving tips that pair perfectly with your favorite debugging snack.

Final Thoughts

Whether you're designing the next AI chip or just trying to pass your EDA certification without pulling an all-nighter (again), remember this: behind every transistor is an engineer who's probably running on espresso, hope, and a simulation that almost converged at 3:00am!

Chip design isn't just about logic gates and layout—it's about resilience, creativity, and the occasional existential crisis when your timing budget vanishes into thin air. It's a world where "tapeout" is both a milestone and a minor miracle, and debugging feels like a boss level in a game you didn't sign up for.

So next time you hear "EDA," don't just think "electronic design automation." Think "endless debugging adventure"! And maybe—just maybe—bring snacks.

Free Online Training

The Online Training is free for all Cadence customers with a Cadence ASK Account. For instructor-led training sessions, "Live" or "Blended," please contact Cadence Training.

Plus, the Cadence YouTube channel hosts a Customer Education Training Bytes channel where you can view various training bytes without a Cadence ASK account.

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