edaForum03 - Preface

There is no future without microelectronics and there is no microelectronics without EDA. Investment into EDA is not only a cost factor but strategically important for mid and long term ROI. The experts in the field know what Dr. Handel Jones, CEO at IBS, Inc. wrote in his 2002 Study about the IC Industry: Design Technology Focus Increases IC Vendor Profits. The edacentrum and its annual international edaForum are fully committed to explain and justify the necessity and importance of EDA to decision makers in industry and government.

Again many outstanding Speakers from system and microelectronics industry, from EDA vendors, analysts, and academia shared their views about technical as well as business related challenges and gave answers to questions like:

How can design productivity really be measured? – Are we trading-off too much cost and flexibility for time-to-market? – What is the ROI of EDA? – Do we need new concepts for the design below 90nm? – What are the implications for technology and tools for more and more heterogeneous designs? – Is ESL design finally ready to join the mainstream? – What system level languages will survive and how can they be used best?

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rosenstiel Deputy Chairman edacentrum