ASICs...THE COURSE (1 WEEK) 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs An ASIC (“a-sick”) is an application-specific integrated circuit A gate equivalent is a NAND gate F = A ? B (IBM uses a NOR gate), or four transistors History of integration: small-scale integration (SSI, ~10 gates per chip, 60’s), medium- scale integration (MSI, ~100–1000 gates per chip, 70’s), large-scale integration (LSI, ~1000–10,000 gates per chip, 80’s), very large-scale integration (VLSI, ~10,000–100,000 gates per chip, 90’s), ultralarge scale integration (ULSI, ~1M–10M gates per chip) History of technology: bipolar technology and transistor–transistor logic (TTL) preceded metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) technology because it was difficult to make metal-gate n-chan- nel MOS (nMOS or NMOS); the introduction of complementary MOS (CMOS, never cMOS) greatly reduced power The feature size is the smallest shape you can make on a chip and is measured in λ or lambda Origin of ASICs: the standard parts, initially used to design microelectronic systems, were gradually replaced with a combination of glue logic, custom ICs, dynamic random- access memory (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM) History of ASICs: The IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC) and IEEE Inter- national ASIC Conference document the development of ASICs Application-specific standard products (ASSPs) are a cross between standard parts and ASICs 1.1 Types of ASICs ICs are made on a wafer. Circuits are built up with successive mask layers. The number of masks used to define the interconnect and other layers is different between full-custom ICs and programmable ASICs Key concepts: The difference between full-custom and semicustom ASICs ? The difference between standard-cell, gate-array, and programmable ASICs ? ASIC design flow ? Design economics ? ASIC cell library 1 2 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE 1.1.1 Full-Custom ASICs All mask layers are customized in a full-custom ASIC. It only makes sense to design a full-custom IC if there are no libraries available. Full-custom offers the highest performance and lowest part cost (smallest die size) with the disadvantages of increased design time, complexity, design expense, and highest risk. Microprocessors were exclusively full-custom, but designers are increasingly turning to semicustom ASIC techniques in this area too. Other examples of full-custom ICs or ASICs are requirements for high-voltage (automobile), analog/digital (communications), or sensors and actuators. 1.1.2 Standard-Cell–Based ASICs In datapath (DP) logic we may use a datapath compiler and a datapath library. Cells such as arithmetic and logical units (ALUs) are pitch-matchedto each other to improve timing and density. A silicon chip or integrated cicuit (IC) is more properly called a die A cell-based ASIC (CBIC—“sea-bick”) ? Standard cells ? Possibly megacells, megafunctions, full- custom blocks, system-level macros (SLMs), fixed blocks, cores, or Functional Standard Blocks (FSBs) ? All mask layers are customized—transistors and interconnect ? Custom blocks can be embedded ? Manufacturing lead time is about eight weeks. silicondie (a) (b)0.1 inch 4 5 standard-cellarea 2 fixedblocks 3 0.02in500 μm 1 ASICs... THE COURSE 1.1 Types of ASICs 3 1.1.3 Gate-Array–Based ASICs A gate array, masked gate array, MGA, or prediffused array uses macros (books) to reduce turnaround time and comprises a base array made from a base cell or primitive cell. There are three types: ? Channeled gate arrays ? Channelless gate arrays ? Structured gate arrays Looking down on the layout of a standard cell from a standard-cell library pdiff n-well p-well ndiff pdiff ndiff VDD GND via cell bounding box (BB) m1 contact poly A1 B1 Z 10λ (AB) cell abutment box pdiff metal2 4 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE Routing a CBIC (cell-based IC) ? A “wall” of standard cells forms a flexible block ? metal2 may be used in a feedthrough cell to cross over cell rows that use metal1 for wir- ing ? Other wiring cells: spacer cells, row-end cells, and power cells A note on the use of hyphens and dashes in the spelling (orthography) of compound nouns: Be careful to distinguish between a “high-school girl” (a girl of high-school age) and a “high school girl” (is she on drugs or perhaps very tall?). We write “channeled gate array,” but “channeled gate-array architecture” because the gate array is channeled; it is not “channeled-gate array architecture” (which is an array of chan- neled-gates) or “channeled gate array architecture” (which is ambiguous). We write gate-array–based ASICs (with a en-dash between array and based) to mean (gate array)-based ASICs. expanded viewof part of flexibleblock 1 rows of standard cells terminal250λ 50λ VDDVSSZ cell A.11 cell A.132 I1 VDDVSS metal1metal2 power cell row-endcells spacercells to powerpads metal2 metal1 cell A.23cell A.14 to powerpads metal2metal1noconnection connection 1 feedthrough ASICs... THE COURSE 1.1 Types of ASICs 5 1.1.4 Channeled Gate Array 1.1.5 Channelless Gate Array 1.1.6 Structured Gate Array A channeled gate array ? Only the interconnect is customized ? The interconnect uses predefined spaces between rows of base cells ? Manufacturing lead time is between two days and two weeks A channelless gate array (channel-free gate array, sea- of-gates array, or SOG array) ? Only some (the top few) mask layers are customized— the interconnect ? Manufacturing lead time is between two days and two weeks. array ofbase cells(not allshown) base cell array ofbase cells(not allshown) base cell 6 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE 1.1.7 Programmable Logic Devices An embedded gate array or structured gate array (masterslice or masterimage) ? Only the interconnect is customized ? Custom blocks (the same for each design) can be embedded ? Manufacturing lead time is between two days and two weeks. Examples and types of PLDs: read-only memory (ROM) ? programmable ROM or PROM ? electrically programmable ROM, or EPROM ? An erasable PLD (EPLD) ? electrically eras- able PROM, or EEPROM ? UV-erasable PROM, or UVPROM ? mask-programmable ROM ? A mask-programmed PLD usually uses bipolar technology Logic arrays may be either a Programmable Array Logic (PAL?, a registered trademark of AMD) or a programmable logic array (PLA); both have an AND plane and an OR plane A programmable logic device (PLD) ? No customized mask layers or logic cells ? Fast design turnaround ? A single large block of programmable intercon- nect ? A matrix of logic macrocells that usually consist of programmable array logic followed by a flip-flop or latch embeddedblock array ofbase cells(not allshown) macrocell programmableinterconnect ASICs... THE COURSE 1.2 Design Flow 7 1.1.8 Field-Programmable Gate Arrays 1.2 Design Flow A design flow is a sequence of steps to design an ASIC 1. Design entry. Using a hardware description language (HDL) or schematic entry. 2. Logic synthesis. Produces a netlist—logic cells and their connections. 3. System partitioning. Divide a large system into ASIC-sized pieces. 4. Prelayout simulation. Check to see if the design functions correctly. 5. Floorplanning. Arrange the blocks of the netlist on the chip. 6. Placement. Decide the locations of cells in a block. 7. Routing. Make the connections between cells and blocks. 8. Extraction. Determine the resistance and capacitance of the interconnect. 9. Postlayout simulation. Check to see the design still works with the added loads of the interconnect. 1.3 Case Study SPARCstation 1: Better performance at lower cost ? Compact size, reduced power, and quiet operation ? Reduced number of parts, easier assembly, and improved reliability A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or complex PLD ? None of the mask layers are customized ? A method for programming the basic logic cells and the interconnect ? The core is a regular array of programmable basic logic cells that can implement combina- tional as well as sequential logic (flip-flops) ? A matrix of programmable interconnect sur- rounds the basic logic cells ? Programmable I/O cells surround the core ? Design turnaround is a few hours programmablebasic logiccell programmableinterconnect 8 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE ASIC design flow. Steps 1–4 are logical design, and steps 5–9 are physical design The ASICs in the Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 1 SPARCstation 1 ASIC Gates (k-gates) 1 SPARC integer unit (IU) 20 2 SPARC floating-point unit (FPU) 50 3 Cache controller 9 4 Memory-management unit (MMU) 5 5 Data buffer 3 6 Direct memory access (DMA) controller 9 7 Video controller/data buffer 4 8 RAM controller 1 9 Clock generator 1 design entry systempartitioning floorplanning placement routing logic synthesis VHDL/Verilog chip block logic cells netlist prelayoutsimulation circuitextraction postlayoutsimulation back-annotatednetlist finish start physicaldesign logicaldesign A B A 14 2 3 59 6 78 ASICs... THE COURSE 1.4 Economics of ASICs 9 1.4 Economics of ASICs We’ll compare the most popular types of ASICs: an FPGA, an MGA, and a CBIC. The fig- ures in the following sections are approximate and used to illustrate the different compo- nents of cost. 1.4.1 Comparison Between ASIC Technologies Example of an ASIC part cost: A 0.5μm, 20k-gate array might cost 0.01–0.02 cents/gate (for more than 10,000 parts) or $2–$4 per part, but an equivalent FPGA might be $20. When does it make sense to use a more expensive part? This is what we shall examine next. The CAD tools used in the design of the Sun Microsystems SPARCstation 1 Design level Function Tool ASIC design ASIC physical design LSI Logic ASIC logic synthesis Internal tools and UC Berkeley tools ASIC simulation LSI Logic Board design Schematic capture Valid Logic PCB layout Valid Logic Allegro Timing verification Quad Design Motive and internal tools Mechanical design Case and enclosure Autocad Thermal analysis Pacific Numerix Structural analysis Cosmos Management Scheduling Suntrac Documentation Interleaf and FrameMaker 10 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE 1.4.2 Product Cost In a product cost there are fixed costs and variable costs (the number of products sold is the sales volume): In a product made from parts the total cost for any part is For example, suppose we have the following (imaginary) costs: ? FPGA: $21,800 (fixed) $39 (variable) ? MGA: $86,000 (fixed) $10 (variable) ? CBIC $146,000 (fixed) $8 (variable) Then we can calculate the following break-even volumes: ? FPGA/MGA ≈ 2000 parts ? FPGA/CBIC ≈ 4000 parts ? MGA/CBIC ≈ 20,000 parts total product cost = fixed product cost + variable product cost × products sold total part cost = fixed part cost + variable cost per part × volume of parts Break-even graph cost of parts number of parts or volume $10,000 $100,000 $1,000,000 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 break-evenFPGA/MGAFPGA MGACBIC break-evenFPGA/CBIC break-evenMGA/CBIC ASICs... THE COURSE 1.4 Economics of ASICs 11 1.4.3 ASIC Fixed Costs Spreadsheet, “Fixed Costs” Examples of fixed costs: training cost for a new electronic design automation (EDA) sys- tem ? hardware and software cost ? productivity ? production test and design for test ? programming costs for an FPGA ? nonrecurring-engineering (NRE) ? test vectors and test-program development cost ? pass (turn or spin) ? profit model represents the profit flow during the product lifetime ? product velocity ? second source FPGA MGA CBIC Training: $800 $2,000 $2,000 Days 2 5 5 Cost/day $400 $400 $400 Hardware $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 Software $1,000 $20,000 $40,000 Design: $8,000 $20,000 $20,000 Size (gates) 10,000 10,000 10,000 Gates/day 500 200 200 Days 20 50 50 Cost/day $400 $400 $400 Design for test: $2,000 $2,000 Days 5 5 Cost/day $400 $400 NRE: $30,000 $70,000 Masks $10,000 $50,000 Simulation $10,000 $10,000 Test program $10,000 $10,000 Second source: $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Days 5 5 5 Cost/day $400 $400 $400 Total fixed costs $21,800 $86,000 $146,000 12 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE Profit model delay to market, d peak sales end ofproduct life sales perquarter, s timeQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 $10M $20M productintroduction t1 t2 t3 s1 s2 lost sales ASICs... THE COURSE 1.4 Economics of ASICs 13 1.4.4 ASIC Variable Costs Spreadsheet, “Variable Costs” Factors affecting fixed costs: wafer size ? wafer cost ? Moore’s Law(Gordon Moore of Intel) ? gate density ? gate utilization ? die size ? die per wafer ? defect density ? yield ? die cost ? profit margin (depends on fab or fabless) ? price per gate ? part cost FPGA MGA CBIC Units Wafer size 6 6 6 inches Wafer cost 1,400 1,300 1,500 $ Design 10,000 10,000 10,000 gates Density 10,000 20,000 25,000 gates/sq.cm Utilization 60 85 100 % Die size 1.67 0.59 0.40 sq.cm Die/wafer 88 248 365 Defect density 1.10 0.90 1.00 defects/sq.cm Yield 65 72 80 % Die cost 25 7 5 $ Profit margin 60 45 50 % Price/gate 0.39 0.10 0.08 cents Part cost $39 $10 $8 14 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE Example price per gate figures 0.01 0.10 1.00cents/gate 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 CBIC 2 μmCBIC 1.5 μm CBIC 1 μmCBIC 0.6 μm FPGA 1μmFPGA 0.6 μm –32%/year ASICs... THE COURSE 1.5 ASIC Cell Libraries 15 1.5 ASIC Cell Libraries You can: (1) use a design kit from the ASIC vendor (2) buy an ASIC-vendor library from a library vendor (3) you can build your own cell library (1) is usually a phantom library—the cells are empty boxes, or phantoms, you hand off your design to the ASIC vendor and they perform phantom instantiation (Synopsys CBA) (2) involves a buy-or-build decision. You need a qualified cell library (qualified by the ASIC foundry) If you own the masks (the tooling) you have a customer-owned tooling (COT, pro- nounced “see-oh-tee”) solution (which is becoming very popular) (3) involves a complex library development process: cell layout ? behavioral model ? Ver- ilog/VHDL model ? timing model ? test strategy ? characterization ? circuit extraction ? pro- cess control monitors (PCMs) or drop-ins ? cell schematic ? cell icon ? layout versus schematic (LVS) check ? cell icon ? logic synthesis ? retargeting ? wire-load model ? rout- ing model ? phantom 16 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE 1.6 Summary 1.7 Problems Suggested homework: 1.4, 1.5, 1.9 (from ASICs... the book) 1.8 Bibliography EE Times (ISSN 0192-1541, http://techweb.cmp.com/eet), EDN (ISSN 0012-7515, http://www.ednmag.com), EDAC (Electronic Design Automation Companies) (http://www.edac.org), The Electrical Engineering page on the World Wide Web (E2W3) (http://www.e2w3.com), SEMATECH (Semiconductor Manufacturing Technol- ogy) (http://www.sematech.org), The MIT Semiconductor Subway (http://www- mtl.mit.edu), EDA companies at http://www.yahoo.comunder Business_and_Economyin Companies/Computers/Software/Graph- ics/CAD/IC_Design, The MOS Implementation Service (MOSIS) (http://www.isi.edu), The Microelectronic Systems Newsletter at http://www- ece.engr.utk.edu/ece, NASA (http://nppp.jpl.nasa.gov/dmg/jpl/loc/asic) Types of ASIC ASIC type Family member Custom mask layers Custom logic cells Full-custom Analog/digital All Some Semicustom Cell-based (CBIC) All None Masked gate array (MGA) Some None Programmable Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) None None Programmable logic device (PLD) None None Key concepts: ? We could define an ASIC as a design style that uses a cell library ? The difference between full-custom and semicustom ASICs ? The difference between standard-cell, gate-array, and programmable ASICs ? The ASIC design flow ? Design economics including part cost, NRE, and breakeven volume ? The contents and use of an ASIC cell library ASICs... THE COURSE 1.9 References 17 1.9 References Glasser, L. A., and D.W. Dobberpuhl. 1985. The Design and Analysis of VLSI Circuits. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 473 p. ISBN 0-201-12580-3. TK7874.G573. Detailed anal- ysis of circuits, but largely nMOS. Mead, C. A., and L. A. Conway. 1980. Introduction to VLSI Systems. Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley, 396 p. ISBN 0-201-04358-0. TK7874.M37. Weste, N. H. E., and K. Eshraghian. 1993. Principles of CMOS VLSI Design: A Systems Per- spective. 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 713 p. ISBN 0-201-53376-6. TK7874.W46. Concentrates on full-custom design. 18 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO ASICs ASICS... THE COURSE