D&R Industry Articles (March 2012)

Featured Article

Unified C-programmable ASIP architecture for multi-standard Viterbi, Turbo and LDPC decoding

This paper describes an ASIP decoder template suitable for multi-standard Viterbi, Turbo and LDPC decoding. We show architecture fitness for WLAN, WiMAX and 3GPPLTE standards, although various other standards can also be mapped, since the architecture is capable of supporting any interleaver pattern and programmable in C. The ASIP core consists out of a SIMD with multiple slots each with their dedicated functionality. Because of their block based approach and possible parallelization decoding strategy, both Turbo and LDPC were mapped using the same concept. Support for Viterbi decoding is made possible through a dedicated decoding pipeline with radix-4 to boost performance well above the tough throughput and latency requirements of the 802.11n standard.

Featured Article

Virtual Platforms and RPB for faster System Verification

As the size of the SoC grows, virtual platform might comprise 3rd party components simulated with different methodologies. Co-Simulation comes in place, where components are simulated with various tools running simultaneously. These components exchange information in time steps and control signals. When running verification software stacks on co-simulation platform, higher simulation speed is expected for quick verification or debugging. However it would be limited by the component running at low simulation speed. If the time step information, data and control information from such component could be captured and reused in next simulations/re-simulation, the simulation speed of co-simulation platform would be increased for faster verification and debugging. This paper presents a method for faster co-simulation verification where the signal data and time stamp is captured and re-used in next simulations. This method introduces RPB (Record and Post Block) for Capture and Re-Use of the timestamps, data and control signals.

Featured Article

Developing Silicon IP with Open Source Tools

This article reviews the history of key advances in ICs and EDA tools. The common theme presented in this article for the driver of technology innovation is the requirement to develop the most advanced microprocessor possible. Today, a low-cost, high-value-added business model can efficiently serve the market for IC subsystems licensed as intellectual property (silicon IP) in the form of compilable source code. Alternatively, for larger SoC designs, engineering budgets can be shifted from the purchase of a relatively small number of high-cost EDA tool licenses to open source EDA technologies that can be run on massive compute-server farms. The two business models are not theoretical, but realistic. The author explains how his company (Crack Semiconductor) developed commercially successful cryptographic silicon IP using entirely open source EDA technologies and how another company (SiCortex) pushed the limits of IC design and open source EDA tools by simulating and verifying a massively parallel supercomputer.

Featured Article

Software generated BCH as a way to solve challenges of providing multiple configuration IP

This article describes the idea of generating synthesizable IP core by a software tool taking an error correction algorithm of BCH (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem) as an example. First, it gives an overview on the challenges associated with the error correction module flexibility being a trigger to study the subject. It is followed by a short introduction of NAND Flash memory and Error Correction Codes (ECC) supplemented by BCH algorithm description. In the next chapters specific implementation details are provided accompanied by highlights of configuration parameters and procedure conducted to generate selected architecture of module. Finally, the article concludes giving a very simple example how the application takes full set of parameters and translate it into the RTL source code.