Archive for category: System-On-A-Chip and ASIC Design Blog

What are VLSI and its uses?

 

Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) is the process of creating an Integrated Circuit (IC) by incorporating tens of thousands of transistors into one single chip. VLSI reduces the need for more circuits in one system, especially for complex devices. The integration of technology helped reduce the size of electronic devices without affecting efficiency.

 

VLSI technology was developed in the 1970s when cutting edge computer processor microchips were under improvement. Today, it is a widely utilized technology for microchip processors and incorporated circuits (IC). Very

Large Scale Integration was initially designed to support a huge number of transistor entryways on a microchip. These transistors are integrated and implanted inside a microchip, which significantly reduced its size yet still can hold big numbers of transistors.

 

Back in the days of the vacuum tube method, electronic devices were bulky and require more power. And due to the wastage of heat and power, efficiency is decreased. The advancement of technology and electronic devices brought forth the invention of VLSI. The method helped accommodate the growing requirements of complex designs; to fabricate all components onto a single chip.

 

VLSI design flow

There are 3 major stages in the VLSI design process; behavioral, logic circuit, and layout representations.

• Behavioral representation is the first step. The process involves identifying the functionality of the device and how it is going to communicate with the exterior. A Hardware Description Language (HDL) is used to establish the behavior of the device.
• Logic circuit representation works by using functional blocks from cell libraries to integrate the behavioral representation of the VLSI design into a logic circuit representation. Once verified, the gate-level netlist is generated to develop the design layout.
• Layout representation is the final stage which determines the placing and routing of the chips. Once arranged at their best locations, building blocks are then interconnected.

 

Uses in today’s advance word:

• Computers
• Commercial electronics
• Medicine
• Automobiles
• Digital signal processing

 

What is ASIC?

 

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) is designed for one specific application only. It is a microchip designed to one special application like a pocket-sized computer. It is widely used in the design and manufacturing of electronic devices. Some examples of popular ASIC chip include a chip with microprocessor for cellular phones to work, a chip for a satellite, a chip for a talking toy bear, and a chip used for the voice recorder.

 

ASICs can be custom manufactured for specific client applications or pre-manufactured for a special product or application.

 

Types of ASIC chip designs

• Full custom design
• Semi-custom design
• Programmable ASIC

 

Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)

 

So, VLSI involves the development of ASIC. For specific applications, special chips are designed which is also called Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). These specialized chips changed the way electronic devices are designed and manufactured.

 

This method is expensive, but several industries are using this technology because this can be reconfigured if needed. Using ASIC, you can map any design, develop a design that can be modified multiple times.

 

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Have you ever wondered where the idea of the system-on-a-chip (SoC) came from? Gadgets nowadays are getting more advanced and most of them are based on SoCs. Basically, these components can be a bit hard to define.

 

 

Where SoCs Are Commonly Used

 

You will usually find SoCs in your smartphone, smart TV, tablet, and voice assistant. This includes your computer where you can see it in the hard drive, graphics cards, and network cards. The main processor chip, in many cases, an SoC with a number of CPU cores, particularly with ultra-mobile laptops. You will also find an integrated graphics processing unit in such components.

 

Other cheap single board computers are also available, including the Beagle Bone and the Raspberry Pi, most are based around a system-on-a-chip. You can only see them in devices that need SoCs.

 

 

Its Brief History

 

You may not have much information regarding the history of SoCs because most of the early developments were done in the development and research laboratories of private companies. Thus, the information has not become public because of intellectual property laws.

 

Companies developing the technology at that time called system-on-a-chip were at the cutting edge of the telecommunications industry. Moreover, these companies have been developing silicon for other companies and not for sale to design engineers.

 

Thus, the chips they have produced were using obscure codenames and part numbers not listed in catalogs that should be readily available for the public.

 

 

The SoCs in the 1970s

 

A system-on-a-chip technology was intended to provide miniaturization. It dates back to the early 1970s in the new era of the digital watch when the first LED wristwatch was announced. It took 44 logic ICs to be reduced into one chip. Some of the LED driving circuitry in that wristwatch was actually too large so that was not actually a complete system.

 

 

Development of the First SoCs in the 1980s to the 1990s

 

It was in the 1980s when the revolution of personal computing took off that caused the major developments in system-on-a-chip technology. In 1991, this technology continued to flourish with the release of the AMD286ZX/LX family of SoCs.

 

Then, the boom in the cellular phone industry has made it possible for the development of SoCs in the 1990s. At the same time, many smaller chips begin to do different peripheral functions, including audio, battery charging, keyboard, and LCD displays, among others.

 

In the late 1990s, ARM Holdings began to license its fabless processor designs to other manufacturers. The future of ARM and the mobile telecoms market is greatly accredited to the evolution of its reduced-instruction-set (RISC) CPU.

 

It was very powerful and consumes less power than its competitors. It has become ideal for the use of embedded systems as can be seen in the disk drive SoC.

 

• The early 2000s featured cheaper and smaller mobile phones
• In 2001, it was the release of the iPod that was based on the twin-core ARM SoC
• The mid-2000s was the expansion of the market in Asia
• The first iPhone was launched in 2007 that featured an SoC containing an ARM core and GPU

 

Today, the mobile phone industry has been pushing the limits of the system-on-a-chip. In fact, the SoCs gained several ARM cores, GPU cores, and RAM, as well as multimedia processing features.

 

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Linear MicroSystems, Inc. is proud to offer its services worldwide as well as the surrounding areas and cities around our Headquarters in Irvine, CA: Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Orange County, Fullerton, and Los Angeles.

Designing electronic products such as analog ASIC or custom silicon can be designed according to customer specifications. But there are myths to dispel in accordance with analog design or digital ASIC design. Here are several myths that can be busted with some of the recent changes in the semiconductor industry.

 

 

ASICs Are Expensive To Produce

 

To maximize the utilization of foundries and return on investment, steps are now taken by manufacturers to attract customers. Thus, lowering the cost of engineering.

 

Moreover, the increase in the availability of capacity on the basis of mature process nodes is keeping such costs low. This means that it is more cost-efficient to create custom silicon.

 

 

Making Custom Chips Requires Very High Volumes

 

This is not true because switching to a custom analog design for ASICs can remove the redundancy and will consolidate its functionality. Thus, it generates a significant bill of material savings to easily reach well over 50%. In this case, ASICs can make good business and engineering sense even at low or medium volumes.

 

 

It Is Expensive To Design Custom Silicon

 

There are experienced design houses with existing silicon-proven IP libraries. Therefore, it can leverage and keep costs low. So design houses can deliver a turnkey experience that often is more affordable than expected.

 

 

It Is Time-Consuming To Create Custom Silicon

 

Good design houses can now leverage existing silicon-proven IP libraries. In this sense, it can greatly reduce design time. Therefore, it will have a better design process flow to speed up time-to-market.

 

 

It Requires Hard Work To Engage In Analog/Mixed-Signal

 

Those who develop the mixed-signal or analog design for ASICs are adept at identifying and addressing the implications of layout between analog and digital circuitry. So it requires system-level understanding and experience to determine which design practices would work best.

 

 

You Are At Risk To Go Out Of Business When Working With A Custom Supplier

 

It is not true that you get into supply problems when you are working with major foundries or established design houses. In fact, the risk of supply only happens when using off-the-shelf components from different suppliers.

 

 

It Is Prohibitively Expensive To License IP

 

This is the exact opposite because costs in licensing IP can be minimized. This is made possible because design houses can leverage their own libraries of IP developed in-house, as well as greater buying power. This makes it available to customers at very competitive prices.

 

 

Design Houses Only Help With Hardware

 

Actually, design houses also work with customers to support software development for the complete system, aside from just developing hardware.

 

 

Your Design Partner Dictates What Customers Must Use To Implement

 

Customers are not restricted to a particular manufacturing partner because they can choose who to work with. This is due to the fact that design houses often want to select the best partners.

 

 

 Custom Silicon Only Benefits Very Specific Niche Requirements

 

There are lots of benefits with custom silicon, including improved efficiencies to space savings, IP security, and BOM cost reductions.

 

 

 Customers Are kept In The Dark Because Design Happens In A Black Box

 

Good design houses will work at every step of the way side-by-side with the customer in order to achieve the desired system. The entire process is actually open and transparent, rather than a black-box approach.

 

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Linear MicroSystems, Inc. is proud to offer its services worldwide as well as the surrounding areas and cities around our Headquarters in Irvine, CA: Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Orange County, Fullerton, and Los Angeles.

One of the advantages of using application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs is its low power consumption. Industrial applications of ASICs are now used to achieve that and several other benefits. In the design of an optical control ASIC, for instance, the manufacturer aims to achieve low power, low-cost optical chips for applications that require image sensing capabilities, motion control, and color, light and distance measurement.

 

 

 

Low Power Image Sensor Chips

 

The industry has created a mechanism to develop image sensor chips and ICs for different applications in order to provide low power consumption, fast image updates, and high sensitivity. Each application utilizes minimal image resolution combined with smart software algorithms.

 

The single-chip optical systems are integrated within a range of industrial environments, which includes data communication, detection of motion and luminance, Internet of Things, and object tracking.

 

Engineers are able to integrate and customize optical control ASIC design based on the requirements of the customers. The optimal setup can be determined using on-chip or off-chip components.

 

Such would include the analog amplifiers, digital control communication, and sensor size. This is aimed to minimize the price, power consumption, and size.

 

 

 

Color and Light Measurements

 

The use of optical control ASIC also benefits many applications such as the capability to measure color or light. This can be done with the combination of optical filters on a chip diode and standard CMOS technology. This is beneficial for industrial and process control applications.

 

Other applications include early corrosion detection in gas pipes and steel constructions, eyewear protection, food bacteria, and humidity detection. The welding helmet is an example of efficient technology in preventing eye injuries caused by dangerous radiation from the welding process.

 

 

 

Optical Touchscreens and Industrial Applications

 

Most touchscreens might be based on capacitance sensing technology. But the use of optical control ASIC technology surpasses common expectations. This is because it enables light-based touchscreens more resistant to external mechanical impact.

 

• 3^rd dimension touchscreens
• Underwater utility
• Cost-efficient solution

 

Cutting edge optical technology is also used to provide first-rate touch experience for customers. This has been made possible with the use of advanced optomechanics and signal processing.

 

This sets new standards in touchscreen technology because you can get unique clarity in the screen. Moreover, it provides more resistance to external impact compared to traditional touchscreens.

 

The combination of a microprocessor and an optical sensor with the use of ASIC technology will enable the calculation of the coordinates of the finger when touching the screen. In other sensor applications where light disappears when moving, the photodiode Opto-ASIC principles are used. This can be seen in precision machinery and rotation control/detection in robotics.

 

 

 

Distance Measurement with Time of Flight Technology

 

Optical chip ASICs provide accurate measurement of distance on the basis of the time required for emitted photons to be reflected and measured on receiving diodes. The photodiodes become sensitive to specific wavelengths with the use of different optical filters.

 

The manufacture of optical filters will depend on the requirements of the customers. Most often, in order to obtain maximum measurement accuracy, 2-phase or 4-phase measurements are enabled for this application.

 

 

 

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Linear MicroSystems, Inc. is proud to offer its services worldwide as well as the surrounding areas and cities around our Headquarters in Irvine, CA: Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Orange County, Fullerton, and Los Angeles.

When you buy a mobile device, the multi-core capabilities, processing power, and speed often matter the most. But as you generally focus on the processor, there are more complex things happening. In fact, there is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) within these devices offering more complex functionalities.

 

 

 

What Is SoC?

 

The fact that mobile devices are basically smaller computers, they have the same components as do desktops and laptops. Therefore, they are able to do amazing things just as your computers normally do.

 

However, these tiny computers are not able to provide the same capacity as your desktop or laptop for different components needed. Such would include the graphics card, processor, and RAM.

 

 

 

Components of A SoC

 

There are a number of components you can find inside an SoC chip that you may need to know in order to understand how they work. Here are the general details so that you may be able to get an idea of what goes on inside a system-on-a-chip.

 

• Central Processing Unit (CPU) – This component makes everything possible when you use your smartphone. CPUs can be single- or multiple-core processor, which is mostly based on ARM technology.

 

• Memory – A computer has the memory required to perform different tasks, which is also what you can find in an SoC in your smartphone or tablet. An SoC basically has different memory architectures inside to fulfill its tasks efficiently.

 

• Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) – Another important part you can find on the SoC is the GPU. It is responsible for handling complex 3D games on your mobile devices. There are many GPU architectures available in the market just as you might expect.

 

• Northbridge – A component that is capable of handling communications between a CPU and other components of the SoC is called a Northbridge or Southbridge.

 

• Southbridge – Another component capable of handling various input/output functions is the second chipset called the Southbridge. This component is found inside the SoC in some cases.

 

• Cellular Radios – There are certain modems that you can find in a system-on-a-chip needed by mobile operators. This is the case for the Snapdragon S4 from Qualcomm, which has an embedded LTE modem on board. This will be responsible for the 4G LTE connectivity.

 

• Other Radios – You may also find other types of connectivity that SoCs use, including Bluetooth, GPS/GLONASS, or Wi-Fi.

 

 

 

Different Types Of SoC

 

There are different types of SoC chips used by various manufacturers of mobile devices. They are not entirely similar, so here are a few of the most popular system-on-a-chip found in your mobile devices.

 

• NVIDIA Tegra 3
• Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
• Samsung Exynos 4 Quad
• Intel Medfield
• Texas Instruments OMAP 4
• ST-Ericsson NovaThor

 

 

Apple also has its own system-on-a-chip which is the popular line of AX chips, namely the A9X, A10X, and A12X. These chips have been many of the iOS devices of Apple starting with the iPad. Its flagship Apple SoC is the A10X, but its newest model iPad Pro utilizes the A12X SoC chipset.

 

 

 

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Linear MicroSystems, Inc. is proud to offer its services worldwide as well as the surrounding areas and cities around our Headquarters in Irvine, CA: Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Orange County, Fullerton, and Los Angeles.