Gaps Emerging In System Integration
By Brian Bailey, Semiconductor Engineering
Integration used to be a functionality problem, but global issues such as power are changing that.
The system integration challenge is evolving, but existing tools and methods are not keeping up with the task. New tools and flows are needed to handle global concepts, such as power and thermal, that cannot be dealt with at the block level. As we potentially move into a new era where IP gets delivered as physical pieces of silicon, this lack of an accepted flow will become a stumbling block.
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“System integration tasks need automation and fast turnaround more than dedicated languages,” says Sergio Marchese, technical marketing manager for OneSpin Solutions. “A key aspect is IC integrity verification. SoC developers need to make sure that the chip functions correctly, for example that it is free from deadlocks and that IPs are wired up correctly. They also need to ensure that security and safety requirements are met. Accellera is working on standards that will enable leveraging IP-level safety and security information to make integration tasks more automated. Nowadays, formal technology can address many SoC-level verification tasks, and a lot of companies are taking advantage of that to reduce chip development cost.”
