Robert J. Devins

SOC — The IBM Microelectronics Approach

System-on-a-chip (SoC) designs represent a rapidly growing segment of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and application-specific standard products (ASSP) designs. The Worldwide Design Center (WWDC) in IBM Microelectronics’ ASIC organization has been designing SoCs for both internal and external customers since the mid-1990s. The experience gained over the past several years has led to methodology refinements that greatly reduced time-to-market for designs of increasing complexity. The key factors to reducing SoC time to market include standard interconnects, verification methods, the development of reusable platforms, and the enabling of concurrent software development. These factors — and the impact of the methodology on development cycles and resource requirements — will be discussed. Remaining challenges are highlighted in the conclusion.