Trends:System-on-Chip and IP Trends

System-on-Chip and IP Trends

A major CEO recently noted that his company was designing three times more complex chips in only two-thirds of the time, compared to only a few years previously. Trends in system-on-chip (SoC) and IP development which affect EDA tools include:

System-on-Chips (SoCs). Larger complex chips now include most of the system electronics. This is an increasing trend. System chips usually include multiple memory blocks, one or more microprocessors, logic, and several I/O interfaces on the same chip. (See Appendix F for more on SoCs and IP.)

Design Re-use. The requirements of short TTM have driven the increased re-use of existing design blocks. Integrating these blocks into SoCs is changing the design methodology. (See Appendix F.)

Intellectual Property (IP). The design, acquisition, and use of IP blocks have become an emerging industry. IP includes memory blocks, microprocessor blocks, I/O interfaces, RF, analog, and programmable blocks. Concatenation of smaller IP blocks into larger function IP blocks is also increasing. The integration of blocks from different EDA design methodologies is a major issue.

Memory Blocks. The types and sizes of customizable memory are increasing. Many system chips have multiple blocks of memory. Some chips are 70-90% memory. So more EDA tools are being developed to model multi-memory systems and interfaces.

On-chip Buses. There is increased use of on-chip buses to simplify interfaces between IP blocks.

Customized Processors. These are becoming more prevalent. Several companies provide IP architectures to support custom-made processors. These sometimes have special instructions and architecture for a specific application.

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