*Additional information may be added in the notes section for each slide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Back-End Design Track submission process?
To spare experts from industry the many hours of preparation associated with a regular manuscript submission, Back-End Design Track submissions are in the form of a 6-slide PowerPoint presentation.
Based on technical program committee review, the accepted submissions will fall into two categories: (a) presentation and (b) poster. Authors of accepted submissions in the presentation category will present their work in Back-End Design Track sessions at the conference. They will also present a poster on the same subject during a Back-End Design Track poster session. Authors of accepted submissions in the poster category will present their work during a Back-End Design Track poster session.
Why Engineering Track? How is it different from the Research Track?
he Engineering Tracks are intended specifically for design engineers and practitioners, emphasizing real engineering user experiences. Whether you are an EDA tool user, hardware or software designer, application engineer, engineering manager, or a consultant, the Engineering Track is an ideal place to meet and share your experiences. This complements DAC’s strong research focus on algorithms and methodology. The Engineering Track aims to illustrate benefits and challenges of EDA tool usage, the process of creating successful hardware and software products and/or IP, and to provide educational and networking benefits for both end-users and tool developers. Naturally, the topics cut across hardware (GPU/CPU/SOC/ASIC/FPGA/Memory), system and software design, IP and automation, given the rise of highly integrated systems in today’s design projects.
What is the Back-End Design Track submission timeline?
Check the Submission Timeline above.
Are Back-End Design Track presentations and posters included in the DAC Proceedings?
No. However, Back-End Design Track posters and/or presentation slides will be made available online if the authors give permission. They will be made available on the DAC website after the conference as a part of the DAC Archive.
What kind of submissions from EDA companies make successful Back-End Design Track submissions?
The Back-End Design Track provides an EDA vendor-agnostic and objective forum for designers, IP developers and EDA tool users. To this end, Back-End Design Track submissions that are essentially marketing material from any company will be rejected. On the other hand, joint customer/vendor submissions written from the perspective of the designer/developer are encouraged and are a valuable part of the Back-End Design Track.
Do I have to use a DAC template for my extended abstract?
No. But you are required to follow the submission and formatting guidelines listed above.
May I add an additional author(s) after submission?
No. All authors should be included at submission.
My company’s legal department hasn’t approved my submission yet. Can the deadline be extended?
No. While we sympathize with your situation (many of us have been there), we have a tight schedule and are unable to accommodate late submissions. If your company permits, you may submit your work for review by the DAC technical program committee without such approval. However, you must obtain appropriate legal, copyright, and any other required permissions well-ahead of the deadline for submission of the final presentation and/or poster, if your submission is accepted for presentation in either format. You will not be able to present any work at the Back-End Design Track without suitable permission from your company.
Where do I submit?
All submissions will occur electronically through the DAC website. The original submission deadline was January 16, 2024 and that has now been extended to January 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM PT (USA).
What does a Back-End Design Track presentation entail?
Authors of accepted presentations will be allocated 15 minutes in a Back-End Design Track session: 13 minutes for the presentation, 1 minute for wrap-up, and 1 minute for Q/A. In addition, presenters are required to present a poster describing their work (see below for poster guidelines) at one of the hour-long Back-End Design Track poster sessions and be available for the entire hour to discuss their work with interested attendees. This provides an opportunity for extended discussion with interested members of the audience.
All accepted presentations are expected to submit a video of their presentation in advance of the event. This does not replace participation in the event. At least one author must attend and present at the live event.
What does a Back-End Design Track poster entail?
Authors are allocated a 42” tall x 36” wide area for a poster. Back-End Design Track poster sessions will run for one hour and may include 20-30 posters. Poster authors are welcome to distribute additional material to interested attendees at the poster session. Such material can include extended abstracts and whitepapers.
What’s the difference between a Back-End Design Track poster and a Back-End Design Track presentation?
Back-End Design Track presentations are oral presentations that are scheduled in sessions that run parallel to the rest of the DAC program and include a poster presentation at a Back-End Design Track poster session at the end of the day. If you are selected for a presentation, you must produce both a slide presentation and a poster for post-session questions and discussion.
Authors of accepted submissions in the Back-End Design Track poster category must produce a poster that will be presented during a poster session to be held at the end of the day on the exhibit floor for maximum exposure and discussion.
What topics are appropriate for the Back-End Design Track?
We seek a wide variety of contributions from system engineers, hardware designers, IP developers, systems and software developers, application engineers, automotive electronics developers, security experts, IoT experts, and EDA vendor/customer teams. Documented EDA tool use may target electronic design and system design at all levels of abstraction and across all application domains. EDA tool marketing material is strongly discouraged and will be rejected.
How are Back-End Design Track submissions evaluated?
The Back-End Design Track program committee consists of industry experts that collectively represent years of design and software development experience. A good Back-End Design Track presentation addresses innovative tool use coupled with high-quality results. Extra notes are encouraged to be included in the submission. The considerations used by the program committee in acceptance decisions include:
- Significance of results supported by clear, measurable criteria, including, but not limited to: improved quality of silicon, improved reuse, decreased design process complexity, and reduced time-to-market.
- Level of innovation in tool use, e.g., utilizing one tool to obtain results that aid another tool, writing scripts to combine tools, user-facing enhancements, intelligent data management. A submission should not mirror the help section in the tool's user manual, but instead address a creative way of using the tool.
- Ability to overcome design challenges such as scalability, integrating IP, and bridging front-end/back-end gaps.
- Validation of the proposed techniques using real designs, case studies, or established benchmarks.
- Discussion of the conceptual limitations of tools and suggestions for future tool improvement. Solid technical contributions should address both the strengths and the weaknesses of the approach.
- Quality of material including writing, illustrations, and organization.
Product marketing material is inappropriate for the Back-End Design Track.
Does the Back-End Design Track have a “Best of” award?
Yes! Best Presentation and Poster awards will be selected from the Back-End Design Track. The awards will be based on (a) the quality of the submission, (b) the presentation given at DAC, and (c) the presentation at the poster session. The final selection will be made at the conference by an award committee. The Best Presentation Award will be announced in the DAC general session. Best Poster Award winners are announced at the close of the Poster Reception.
Do Engineering Track participants have to register for DAC?
Full DAC conference registrants are automatically allowed to attend the Engineering Track. In addition, both Engineering Track speakers and any participants who want to attend only the Engineering Track sessions, Keynotes, and the Exhibit Floor at DAC can do so at a discounted registration rate via the “Engineering Special” registration package. Please see the DAC registration page for more details.
What should my slide presentation look like?
Remember that your slides must be presented in 13 minutes, plus 1 minute for wrap-up. Presenting meaningful content in a short time is challenging and requires careful thought and planning. Guidelines for preparing your final presentation are provided in the Engineering Track Speaker Resource Center. Example presentations from previous years can also be found in the DAC Archives.
My question isn’t answered here! Where can I get an answer?
Please address any unanswered questions to :
Back-End Design Track submissions may describe the overall design and/or application of tools for creating the hardware, IP and/or software components of a novel electronic system. We specifically seek contributions from system engineers, hardware designers, teams leveraging cloud for design, application engineers, and vendor/customer teams.
Topic areas span all aspects of back-end design, analysis, optimization, verification, manufacturing, and debug of modern System-on-Chips (SoCs), including major components and sub-systems. Use of Machine Learning / AI in chip design and verification tools and flows. Cloud adoption in design and verification tools and flows, including infrastructure and support.