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Beyond the Rulebook
What happens when the rule book is no longer useful, or worse, was never written in the first place? In today’s fast-moving electronics landscape, we’re increasingly asked to design and build what has no precedent, no proven path, and no tidy checklist to follow. This is where “Design for Invention” begins.
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From the growing role of AI in design tools to the challenge of managing cumulative tolerances, these articles in this issue examine the technical details, design choices, and manufacturing considerations that determine whether a board works as intended.
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I-Connect007 Magazine previews APEX EXPO 2026, covering everything from the show floor to the technical conference. For PCB designers, we move past the dreaded auto-router and spotlight AI design tools that actually matter.
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Cadence Advances ECAD/MCAD Convergence with Celsius Studio AI Thermal Platform
February 1, 2024 | Cadence Design SystemsEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has announced Cadence Celsius Studio, the industry’s first complete AI thermal design and analysis solution for electronic systems. Celsius Studio addresses thermal analysis and thermal stress for 2.5D and 3D-ICs and IC packaging, in addition to electronics cooling for PCBs and complete electronic assemblies. While current product offerings consist mostly of disparate point tools, Celsius Studio introduces an entirely new approach with a unified platform that lets electrical and mechanical/thermal engineers concurrently design, analyze and optimize product performance without the need for geometry simplification, manipulation and/or translation.
The industry’s first complete AI thermal design and analysis solution for electronic systems, Cadence Celsius Studio addresses thermal analysis and thermal stress for 2.5D and 3D-ICs and IC packaging, in addition to electronics cooling for PCBs and complete electronic assemblies.
The industry’s first complete AI thermal design and analysis solution for electronic systems, Cadence Celsius Studio addresses thermal analysis and thermal stress for 2.5D and 3D-ICs and IC packaging, in addition to electronics cooling for PCBs and complete electronic assemblies.
Celsius Studio brings a new system-level thermal integrity solution into the marketplace, converging electro-thermal co-simulation, electronics cooling and thermal stress into one cohesive offering. Made possible by Cadence’s acquisition of Future Facilities in 2022, best-in-class electronics cooling technology is now accessible to electrical and mechanical engineers. Additionally, the ability to employ Celsius Studio seamlessly for in-design multiphysics analysis empowers designers to identify thermal integrity issues early in the design process and efficiently leverage generative AI optimization and novel modeling algorithms to determine ideal thermal designs.
The result is a streamlined workflow that improves collaboration, reduces design iterations and allows predictable design schedules, which in turn reduces turnaround times and accelerates time to market. Celsius Studio delivers the following benefits:
- ECAD/MCAD Unification – Provides seamless integration of design files with no simplification as well as streamlined workflows for fast and efficient in-design analysis
- AI Design Optimization – Cadence Optimality™ Intelligent System Explorer’s AI technology within Celsius Studio enables fast and efficient exploration of the full design space to converge on the optimal design
- In-Design Analysis of 2.5D and 3D-IC Packages – Delivers unprecedented capacity to analyze any 2.5D and 3D-IC packages without any simplification or accuracy loss
- Micro-to-Macro Modeling – The first solution capable of modeling structures as small as the IC and its power distribution and as large as the chassis where the PCB(s) are placed
- Large-Scale Simulation – Accurately simulates large systems with detailed granularity for any object of interest including, chip, package, PCB, fan or enclosure
- Multi-Stage Analyses – Enables designers to perform multistage analyses for the design assembly process and addresses 3D-IC warpage issues for multi-die stacks on a single package
- True System-Level Thermal Analyses – Combines finite element method (FEM) with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for full-system thermal analysis from chip to package to board and end-system
- Seamless Integration – Integrated with Cadence’s implementation platforms, including Virtuoso® Layout Suite, Allegro® X Design Platform, Innovus™ Implementation System, Optimality Intelligent System Explorer and AWR Design Environment®
“Celsius Studio marks a milestone in Cadence’s expanding presence in the system analysis market by offering the first AI platform for not only chip, package and PCB thermal analysis, but also electronics cooling and thermal stress that are critical for today’s advanced packaging designs, inclusive of chiplets and 3D-ICs,” said Ben Gu, corporate vice president of R&D for multiphysics system analysis at Cadence. “Seamless integration with Cadence’s powerful implementation platforms empowers our customers to perform multiphysics in-design analysis for chips, packages and boards all the way through to complete systems.”
Customer Endorsements
“Celsius Studio enables Samsung Semiconductor engineers the ability to gain access to analysis and design insights during the early stages of the design cycle, simplifying the generation of precise and rapid thermal simulations for 3D-IC and 2.5D packages. Our collaboration with Cadence has significantly increased our product development by 30%, optimizing the package design process and reducing turnaround time.” said WooPoung Kim, Head of Advanced Packaging, Samsung Device Solutions Research America.
“Celsius Studio’s seamless integration with Cadence’s AWR Microwave Office IC design platform through BAE Systems’ custom GaN PDK is enabling fast and accurate thermal analysis throughout the MMIC design cycle, leading to increased first-pass design success and significantly improved RF and thermal power amplifier performance,” said Michael Litchfield, Technical Director, MMIC Design at BAE. Systems
“Celsius Studio enables our design team to work with detailed information early in our design cycle so that we can target and resolve thermal problems before the design is fully committed. With the reduced turnaround time, the Chipletz engineering team has been empowered to efficiently run detailed thermal simulations for 3D-IC and 2.5D packages early and often as we develop these complex designs,” said Jeff Cain, VP of Engineering, Chipletz.
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Brent Fischthal - Koh YoungSuggested Items
SEMI Appoints Julie Rogers Executive Director of the ESD Alliance
05/01/2026 | SEMISEMI, the industry association serving the global semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, announced the appointment of Julie Rogers as Executive Director of the Electronic System Design Alliance (ESDA), a SEMI Technology Community.
IBM, Dallara to Advance AI and Quantum-Powered Design for High-Performance Vehicles
05/01/2026 | IBMIBM and the Dallara Group, a world-leading racing and high-performance vehicle manufacturer, announced a collaboration to advance vehicle design and optimization using AI and explore the use of quantum computing.
SEMI ESD Alliance 2026 Outlook: Agentic AI to Transform Chip Design and Verification
05/01/2026 | SEMIThe Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), a SEMI Technology Community, announced its annual Executive Outlook event for semiconductor EDA, agentic AI and IP company executives.
EMAC Returns with Bright Electronics Manufacturing Challenge 2026
04/30/2026 | SMTAThe Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly Collaborative (EMAC) has announced the return of the Bright Electronics Manufacturing Challenge 2026, an immersive, hands-on student competition that puts real electronics manufacturing experience into the hands of the next generation of engineers.
A Designer's Focus on High Density
04/30/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007 MagazineVern Solberg is a distinguished member of the Global Electronics Association Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame and has served as chair or vice chair of many committees, developing technical standards and implementation guidelines, including the IPC-7090 series, which focuses on design for manufacturing and reliability for electronic assemblies. He’s a long-time contributor to Design007 Magazine, and he conducted a half-day tutorial at APEX EXPO 2026, where he addressed 2D, 2.5D, and 3D packaging and ultra-high density hybrid bond interconnect. I caught up with Vern at the show and asked about his pivot from addressing more standard design challenges to his focus on high-density circuits.