The electronics industry may be in a state of perpetual insecurity, but the economy is on the rise. The knee-jerk reactions to daily stock reports are less indicative of the reality of the marketplace than the clear signal of other indicators.

For example, the steady increase in commodity prices is an indicator of the health of the economy in general, and a precursor of what is to come. China is driving demand through its need to import most of its raw materials.

It appears that the rebound we've been waiting for has arrived, and uncertainty about whether it is a blip or sustainable is irrelevant. Delivering high-performance solutions to meet the needs of the technology demands of this upswing is the key to success.

Extreme economic pressure leads to innovation. Our industry is driven by the need to bring new products to market fast and to minimize field returns. The public continues to demand the newest electronic devices, and electronics designers struggle with Moore's Law to meet that demand.

IBM recently blamed the slow time-to-yield for 300-mm wafers at 130-nanometer and 90-nm designs for its losses in the first quarter of 2004. Nvidia recently released its GeForce 6800 graphics processor, containing an incredible 222 million transistors. The key to success in design at this level of complexity is partnership between design and process-especially yield-enhancing processes-thereby providing the best performance to complete the task at hand.

The ultimate goal? Maximum yield in minimum time.

Addressing those needs in the new economic climate requires adopting technology and methodologies that allow chip designers to achieve their objectives, but they involve complex trade-offs. Design times may be longer if yield-enhancing circuits are included. If this significantly reduces the debug time, however, then total time-to-yield, design plus debug, is reduced. Slightly longer design times can be a barrier to adoption, but ultimately the time-to-market demands, especially for consumer products, make the move a necessity rather than a luxury.

This value is not always appreciated, since there is a gulf between the adopter and the beneficiary. However, a small increase in percentage yield can have a huge financial impact on the bottom line.

Yield is not the designer's problem, but as companies move toward an increasingly integrated approach to semiconductor design, yield becomes everybody's problem.

Jim Healy, President and Chief Executive Officer, LogicVision Inc., San Jose, Calif.