Issue 109, August 1999
Using System-on Chip Design with Virtual components

Works in progress

Design reuse, including licensing of commercial IP, is key to SOC design. And a significant industry has arisen to provide a wide range of VC products. Several industry initiatives are addressing the needs of VC suppliers and users.

The IEEE Test Technology Technical Committee Embedded Core Test Study Group has also been working on VC test issues, and this has led to the proposed IEEE P1500 specification.

It’s important not to minimize the issues and concerns involved in VC use. Recognizing this, two industry groups focus on the business and legal aspects of VC license and use.

Many VC suppliers are members of the RAPID trade association, which works on common VC license agreements and catalog methods. RAPID cooperates with the Virtual Component Exchange (VCX), which is developing a structure for simplified VC transactions.

The immaturity of EDA tools for VC integration and SOC design is one challenge to design reuse. Also, new suppliers may underestimate the difficulty of designing for reuse across a diverse customer base. Some VC types (e.g., interconnect cores, embedded processors) need a vertically integrated supplier that supports software and hardware.

Despite these issues, virtually every major system and semiconductor manufacturer has licensed external IP and employs internal reuse. Commercial VC products are incorporated into thousands of chip designs, and the many successful products on the market prove the value of this approach.

Thomas Anderson is director of engineering in the Semiconductor IP Group at Phoenix Technologies. He is also a member of the PCI special interest group steering committee and chairperson of the 1394 Developers’ Conference. You may reach him at tom_anderson@phoenix.com.