From Silicon IP to Virtual
Components (ViC)
Reuse of Silicon Intellectual Property (SIP) is nothing really new,
since it started in the early eighties with the hierarchical design
of Microcontroller families around reuse of some standard microprocessor.
Typically the 6805 family exemplified this structured design process,
which really took off with the advent of CMOS enabling sufficiently
low-power consumption as opposed to the previous NMOS technology.
SoCs are doing to ICs what SBCs (Intel's old trademark for "Single
Board Computers") did to unstructured system design in the seventies.
As a matter of fact the first high volume SoC was the Smartcard in the
early eighties, and the most successful core thus is the legacy 8051
which was found most prevalent in them.
The Smartcard exceptional usage made it meaningful that it included
pure logic, while in most cases an inner analog PLL or analog to-digital
converters are necessary. The DOLPHIN challenge thus is tougher: to
enable Mixed signal Systems-on-Chip (SoC), while reducing Time-To-Market
and increasing Reliability and Yield!
Also notice that the Smartcard typifies the most common SoC which is
not a Central Processing Unit but in reality a Peripheral Controller!
Growth of the SoC activity is hampered by its fundamental quandary:
- Who is in charge of the whole? And what yield to expect? And what
reliability?
Notice that our view of a SoC is all encompassing, up to MEMS
which entails "Micro Electro
Mechanical STRUCTURES" (not Systems!)
A dynamic market of Information Appliances with innovative new structures
for mass volumes shall demand the ability to move fast and reactively,
from a comprehensive technology-centric base toward dynamically adjusted
system targets!
While using the term IP as a motto has led to a fuzzy perception of
any new way of doing business, and has led to confusion between old-fashioned
custom design centers or olden days' macrocell library users, as opposed
to true ViC Providers. VSIA strives to contribute to a better
structuring of the semiconductor industry.
For access the site of VSIA
A local site of which our province of the Dolphin can
pride itself for its professional role in promoting SIP and SoC Integration
is that of Design & Reuse.
For access the site of D&R.
A true ViC is to SIP (Silicon IP!) what editing a poem
is to repeating a quote extracted from its context in a book:
- available SIP within a silicon proven IC is only assured
to work within its previous context of use, and must be turned into
a finished design at the cost of a "context-free specification"
and of "general-purpose testing" per VSIA standards,
- guarantee of reusability by the Provider requires
control of internal procedures per ISO-9001 standards for adapting
technological processes needed by users at foundries of their choice,
- such a ViC must then be documented for transferability
with "standard deliverables" per VCX requirements for professional
trading.
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Next paragraph:
FLIP™ for FabLess IP
