Architecturally Optimizing Memory Bandwidth


Making sure that an SoC’s [getkc id="22" kc_name="memory"] bandwidth is optimized is a crucial part of the design process today given its significance toward overall system performance. There are many ways to approach this issue, and all of them can have a direct bearing on the competitiveness of a chip in terms of both power and performance. So where should you start? “Number one, c... » read more

Reality Check: A Guide To Understanding Optimized Processor Cores


The performance of the processor core in an SoC is often a key product differentiator. It's not just about performance though - power and cost are equally important considerations. In today's markets, SoC developers have to hit aggressive power, performance and area goals to remain competitive. This white paper discusses the many interacting parameters that determine the optimum implementation ... » read more

Partition Lines Growing Fuzzy


For as long as most semiconductor engineers can remember, chips with discrete functions started out on a printed circuit board, progressed into chip sets when it made sense and eventually were integrated onto the same die. The primary motivations behind this trend were performance and cost—shorter distance, fewer mask layers, less silicon. But this equation has been changing over the past ... » read more

Tools And Flows In 2015


This year more than 26 people provided predictions for 2015. Most of these came from the EDA industry, so the results may be rather biased. However, ecosystems are coming closer together in many parts of the semiconductor food chain, meaning that the EDA companies often can see what is happening in dependent industries and in the system design houses. Thus their predictions may have already res... » read more

Power Is Now Every Engineer’s Concern


Every semiconductor engineer by this point recognizes the need to reduce power inside of SoCs and software. What they don't always see, though, is the chain of events those efforts are beginning to set off—unpredictable, difficult to model, and altogether more difficult to contain. There is no doubt that more functionality on mobile devices requires new ways of designing SoCs, including re... » read more

User Case Study


Whenever more than one clock is employed in an SoC (which is all SoCs), the risk of errors from clock domain crossings (CDC) – signals (or groups of signals) that are generated in one clock domain and consumed in another – is incredibly high. Unfortunately, CDC bugs are nearly impossible to catch with conventional simulations. Thus, all too often they escape into silicon. Debugging them in ... » read more

SoCs For Safer Cars


Renesas electronics has been developing a specialized automotive electronics business and recently rolled out an LSI (large-scale integration) management system including LSI, R-Car (an SoC for next-gen entertainment) and V2H (vehicle-to-home) for ADAS (Advance Driving Assist System) systems. These management systems have higher management functionality than traditional systems. Figure 1. ... » read more

Tech Talk: IP Integration Part 2


Sonics CTO Drew Wingard talks about the challenges of integrating IP into SoCs in this second of two parts. [youtube vid=ipQkPjJMcgY] » read more

Redefining A System…And Why It Matters


The concept of a system on chip has been around since the mid-1990s, but the actual mass implementation of this scheme is almost synonymous with the rise of the smart phone over the past decade. Put in perspective, it isn't that old, and it's about to change. Prior to the [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"], an electronic system was largely a collection of components on a PCB that included memory,... » read more

Taking The Mystery Out Of IP, SoC And Automotive System Debug


I recently had to take my car to the dealership because the gas-saving "auto-shut-off-while-stopped" feature wasn't working. The dealer explained that the reason it took two days to debug was because it "touched on many systems" in the car. In the end, they realized the battery wasn't fully charged and blamed it on my short 10-mile commute. Whether that was an honest answer or an example of ... » read more

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