CICC 2000 Ed Sessions: Session 2

Selected Topics in System-on-a-Chip

Moderator: Henry Chang, Cadence Design Systems Inc.
Assistant: Steve Wilton, University of British Columbia

E2-1 - 8:00-9:50

Wireless System-on-a-Chip
Syed Aon Mujtaba, Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs

The last decade has witnessed a revolution in wireless communications, fueled primarily by advances in semiconductor technology, thus allowing miniaturization of form and integration of functionality. Due to this trend, the analog-based systems of the early 80s (such as AMPS, NMT etc.) were able to migrate to 2nd-generation digital systems (such as GSM, IS-136 etc.), leading to increased system capacity, better voice quality, and secure communications. It is anticipated that 3rd-generation wireless systems, that are currently in the standardization phase, would be fully "multimedia-ready", allowing subscribers to browse the internet at speeds of 2Mbps and higher, at anytime, from anywhere. Considering the complexity of such systems, it is a forgone conclusion that a cost-effective solution would entail significantly higher levels of integration than currently found today.

The purpose of this tutorial is three fold: (a) to understand what constitutes a wireless system, (b) to identify the various building blocks in a wireless system, and (c) to examine the approaches that are being taken to implement wireless systems on an SoC platform. The tutorial will focus on the signal processing requirements of 2nd- and 3rd- generation systems and examine various implementation strategies. Wireless solutions typically include a combination of Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Microcontrollers and Radio-Frequency (RF) Circuits. While current solutions integrate these building blocks on a printed circuit board (PCB), future implementations are expected to realize them on an SoC to achieve lower cost and higher performance.

E2-2 - 10:10-12:00

Embedded RAM Design and Application
Betty Prince, Memory Strategies International

This seminar covers system problems solved by embedded RAM and considers the types of applications most efficiently integrated. Technical challenges and benefits from integration are detailed focusing on design considerations including design strategies, tools including cell and block compilers, and the foundry model. The cost and benefits of various alternatives to integration are discussed. Examples of innovative embedded RAM design are given by an analysis of the features and technology of embedded RAM chips from various manufacturers.

E2-3 - 1:00-2:50

Functional Verification : Challenges and solutions for today's SoC devices
Peter Paterson, Cadence Design Systems Inc.

This seminar will discuss the challenges to functional verification brought about by today's deep sub-micron System on Chip (SoC) devices. It will provide an overview of the technologies available to today's design teams and guidelines as to how and where these technologies can be used to manage the complexities of SoC devices and the shrinking time-to market cycles for commercial devices. Key methodologies to meet these time to market pressures will include applying a single system level test suite to multiple abstractions of the SoC and the concept of re-usable Functional Verification Intellectual Property (IP).

E2-4 - 3:10-5:00

Issues in SOI CMOS Technology and Design
Ghavam Shahidi, IBM Microelectronics Division

Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology is becoming mainstream because of its performance gain and scalability. The key feature of the SOI is that the device body is floating, which leads to the so-called "floating body" effects. In this short course, first an overview of the unique features of the SOI technology that must be considered when developing the technology, is given. Next, unique SOI device effects that can impact the circuit design are reviewed. Circuit techniques that are used to mitigate the effect of the floating body are reviewed next. Finally applications of SOI in a high-performance microprocessor and low-power application are reviewed.