Industry Expert Blogs

It is often implied that if you use an open source processor core there are no costs associated with using it. Of course, the RTL may be free of a license fee and royalties and it might be possible to access a free of charge toolchain for RISC-V, but there are plenty of hidden costs associated with using the core in a real integrated circuit design.

If you are using the core in a production design, you are almost certainly wanting to use commercial EDA tools for verification, synthesis and static analysis checks. You also need to start developing your embedded software and will need access to a suitable instruction set simulator and/or FPGA emulation. Ideally, you will also want to access comprehensive documentation and customer support for using the core. A lot of elements are needed to successfully use the core in your design.

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