VLSI stands for Very Large Scale integration is the art of integrating millions of transistors on a Silicon Chip. Researchers are working to incorporate large scale integration of electronic devices on a single silica chip “Integrated Circuit or IC” to fulfill the market demand. Here, in this presentation we will learn introduction and history of VLSI, VLSI Design Style and Flow, VLSI Design Approaches, CPLD, FPGA, Programmable Logic Arrays, Xilinx vs. Altera Design tools, flow and files.
5. www.ScientechWorld.com
Digital Design Process
A B C D X
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 0 1
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 1
1 0 1 0 1
1 0 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1
Logic
2 or >2 I/P = 1 then O/P 1
1. Design Specifications 2. Truth Table
0 0 1 0
0 1 1 1
1 1 1 1
0 1 1 1
/CD 00 01 11 10AB
00
01
11
10
Boolean Eq. -> X = AB + CD + BD + BC + AD + AC OR X’ = A’B’C’ + A’B’D’ + A’C’D’ + B’C’D’
3. Reduce
Expression
A
B
C
D
O/P = X
6. www.ScientechWorld.com
Digital Design Process
1. Design Specifications
2. Truth Table
3. Reduction using Boolean
or K Map
Boolean Eq. -> X = AB + CD + BD + BC + AD + AC --> 2 - 7408, 3 - 7432, 3 level of logic
1 - 7474 for synchronization
4. Minimize of Device or No. of Level i.e. Cost Vs Performance (Min Prop. Delay)
5. Examine Available Inventory
6. Eqn Re-written in NAND-
NAND implementation
Few Device and Few logic i.e. Less Cost and Better Performance
Boolean Eq. -> X = {(AB)’. (CD)’ . (BD)’ .(BC)’. (AD)’ .(AC)’ }’ --> 2 - 7400, 1 - 7430, 2 level of logic
1 - 7474 for
synchronization 1
2
7. www.ScientechWorld.com
Basics of VLSI ………..
• VLSI Introduction
• History of VLSI.
• Why VLSI …. ?
• VLSI Design Styles
• VLSI Design Flows
• VLSI Design Approaches
• Xilinx Vs Altera
9. www.ScientechWorld.com
“ A device called a transistor, which has several applications
In radio where a vacuum tube ordinarily is employed, was
demonstrated for the first time at Bell Telephone
Laboratories, 463 West Street, where it was invented.”
23 December 1947
The First Transistor
First point contact transistor (germanium), 1947
John Bardeen and Walter Brattain
Bell Laboratories
History of IC Design
10. www.ScientechWorld.com
- Evolution of ICs -
Vacuum tubes
Transistors
Gates
ICs
?
High Performance
High Reliability
High complexity or small Area
High applicability
Low Power Dissipation
Low power consumption
Low Cost
Fast Design time
Simple Design Process
Integrated Circuits
IC is a collection of Electronic Circuits made by simultaneously forming individual
Transistors, Diodes and Resistors on a small chip of Semiconductor material, typically
silicon that are interconnected to one another with a metal, such as aluminum, deposited
on the chip surface.
11. www.ScientechWorld.com
The Progressive Trend of IC Technology
Integration Level Number of TransistorsYear
SSI - Individual Gates
MSI - Counter, Shift Reg.
LSI - Small Logic Function
VLSI - Large Logic Function
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Less than 10^2
10^2 – 10^3
10^3 – 10^5
10^5 – 10^7
10^7 – 10^9
Over 10^9
13. www.ScientechWorld.com
Moore’s Law
http://www.intel.com/technology/silicon/mooreslaw/
In 1965, Intel co-founder
Gordon Moore
saw the future.
His prediction, now popularly
known as Moore's Law,
states that
“The number of transistors on a
chip doubles about every two
years”
Transistor Count – Number of Transistor doubles every 2-3 Yrs
Clock Frequency – Clock Frequency doubles every 2.168 Yrs
Other Trends-
Features Size – Gate Length is divided by 2 every 5.43 Yrs
14. www.ScientechWorld.com
VLSI Technology - CMOS Transistors
Key feature:
transistor length L
p+ p+
n substrate
channel
Source Drain
p transistor
G
S
D
SB
Polysilicon Gate
SiO 2
Insulator L
W
G
substrate connected
to VDD
Polysilicon Gate
SiO 2
Insulator
n+ n+
p substrate
channel
Source Drain
n transistor
G
S
D
SB
L
W
G
S
D
substrate connected
to GND
2002: L=130nm
2003: L=90nm
2006: L=65nm
15. www.ScientechWorld.com
2002 and beyond ?
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Road Map, 1998 Update
1999 2002 2014
Technology (nm) 180 130 35
Wafer diameter (mm) 300 300 450
Memory-samples (bits) 1G 4G 1T
Transistors/cm2
(µP) 6.2M 18M 390M
Wiring levels (maximum) 6-7 7 10
Clock, local (MHz) 1250 2100 10000
Chip size: DRAM (mm2
) 400 560 2240
Chip size: µP (mm2
) 340 430 901
Power supply (V) 1.5-1.8 1.2-1.5 0.37-0.42
Maximum Power (W) 90 130 183
Number of pins (µP) 700 957 3350
IEEE Spectrum, July
1999
Special report: “The
100-million transistor
IC”
These scaling trends will allow the electronics market to growth at 15% / year
16. www.ScientechWorld.com
Power & Clock Frequencies
Power Consumption, Clock frequency, Supply Voltage are related as follows :-
Capacitance Supply Voltage Clock Frequency
17. www.ScientechWorld.com
Why VLSI Design ?
• Large Scale Integration -
Size ….. <<<
Speed …. >>>
Power …. <<<
• Integration reduce manufacturing costs
(almost) no manual assembly
• Money Vs Performance
21. www.ScientechWorld.com
1. Programmable Logic (PLDs, FPGAs)
• Pre-manufactured components with programmable interconnect
• CAD tools greatly reduce design effort
• Low Design Cost
• Low NRE Cost
• High Unit Cost
• Lower Performance as compared to ASIC better than General digital design
22. www.ScientechWorld.com
Logic Circuits
Standard Logic Circuits Programmable Logic Circuits
• Realize single function or set of
functions
• No possibility of changing.
• More Debugging Time
• More Interconnections and I/Os
• High Standby and Switching current
• No Design Security
• Not Flexible
• No Tools for Automation
• More NRE & Time to Market
Single Change require – redesign
• Possibility of realizing various
functions
• Re-configurable
• Less Debugging Time
• Fewer total I/Os & Switching O/P-
• Lower Standby & Switching Currents
• Design Security
• Flexibility …….. Greatest Advantage
• Automation is Possible
• Less NRE & Less Time to market
only reprogramming is required
…… FPLD
24. www.ScientechWorld.com
What is a CPLD ?
Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLD) are another way to extend
the density of the simple PLD.
CPLD uses less board space, improve reliability, and reduce cost.
CPLD contains multiple logic block, which communicate with one another
using Signals routed via a programmable interconnect.
Easily Routed.
CPLDs are great at handling wide and complex gating at blistering
speeds
e.g. 5ns which is equivalent to 200MHz.
27. www.ScientechWorld.com
Why use a CPLD ?
Ease of Design
Lower Development Costs
More Product Revenue
Reduced Board Area
Reconfigurable
Flexible
28. www.ScientechWorld.com
Evolution of PLD: FPGA
• Difficult extending CPLDs architectures to higher densities
-
a different approach is needed
• FPGAs comprise an array of uncommited circuit elements,
called logic blocks, and interconnect resources
• FPGA configuration is performed through
programming by the end user.
Xilinx FPGA Configuration
contains a set of
basic functions
(gates, FFs,
memory cells)
30. www.ScientechWorld.com
FPGAs -- Pros
• Reasonably Cheap at low volume
– Good for low-volume parts, more expensive than IC for high-volume parts
– Can migrate from SRAM based to fuse based when volume ramps up
• Short Design Cycle (~1sec programming time)
• Reprogrammable
– Can download bug fix into units you’ve already shipped
• Large capacity (100 million gates or so .….
• More flexible than PLDs -- can have internal state
• More compact than MSI/SSI
31. www.ScientechWorld.com
FPGA’s -- Cons
• Lower capacity, speed and higher power consumption than building an ASIC
– Sub-optimal mapping of logic into CLB’s – often 60% utilization
– Much lower clock frequency
– Less dense layout and placement and slower operation due to
programmability
• Overhead of configurable interconnect and logic blocks
• PLDs may be faster than FPGA for designs they can handle
• Need sophisticated tools to map design to FPGA
32. www.ScientechWorld.com
Key Factors For Comparing FPGAs
• Logic density
• Clock management
• On-chip memory
• DSP capabilities
• I/O compatibility
• Software support & other design services
33. www.ScientechWorld.com
Programmable Logic (PLDs, FPGAs)
• Pre-manufactured components with programmable interconnect
• CAD tools greatly reduce design effort
• Low Design Cost / Low NRE Cost / High Unit Cost
• Lower Performance
Medium Type Design, Combinational CLB – LUT, MUX, FF, I/Os, PI, DLL, Sequential
34. www.ScientechWorld.com
ADVANTAGES OF PROGRAMMABLE LOGICS
• Save Valuable Board Space
• Power Requirement is low
• Increases Performance
• Design Security
• Lower Standby and Switching Current
• Integration increases Design Reliability
• I/Os Delay Reduces
• Flexibility
• No NRC Cost
• Low Time to market
• Process Automation
• High Density ……… or Complex Design
35. www.ScientechWorld.com
How to Cope with Complexity ?
Electronic Design Automation (EDA)
• Computer Aided Design (CAD) …. Front - end
• Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) …. Back - end
Simulation –
H-Spice (Synopsis), Spector (Cadance), Spector RF, H-Sim (Synopsis for Digital), DA
(Design Architect Mentor), Co-Sim (Synopsis for Mixed), FineSim SPICE, Fine Wave (Megma)
Synthesis & Implementation - DC
(Synopsis), ISE (Xilinx), Quartus (Altera), Blast – Integrated RTL-to-GDSII Flow (Megma)
Timing Analysis & Verification –
Prime Time, Formality – (Synopsis), DRC & LVS (Magma), Modelsim – Mentor,
Physical Design – Astro, Layout – Vertuoso (Cadance), Magic, L-Edit
38. www.ScientechWorld.com
2. Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)
• Constrained design using pre-designed (and sometimes pre-
manufactured) components
• Also called semi-custom design
• CAD tools greatly reduce design effort
• Low Design Cost / High NRE Cost / Med. Unit Cost
• Medium Performance
39. www.ScientechWorld.com
• Designs must be sent
for expensive and time
consuming fabrication
in semiconductor foundry
• Bought off the shelf
and reconfigured by
designers themselves
Two competing implementation approaches
ASIC
Application Specific
Integrated Circuit
FPGA
Field Programmable
Gate Array
• Designed all the way
from behavioral description
to physical layout
• No physical layout design;
design ends with
a bitstream used
to configure a device
41. www.ScientechWorld.com
ASICASIC == AApplicationpplication SSpecificpecific IIntegratedntegrated CCircuitsircuits
tailor-made on demand for specific applicationstailor-made on demand for specific applications
FPGAFPGA == FFieldield PProgrammablerogrammable GGateate AArrayrray
flexibility of software + speed of hardware designflexibility of software + speed of hardware design
Which way to Go
42. www.ScientechWorld.com
3. Full Custom Design
• Each circuit element carefully “handcrafted”
• NO use of any Library.
• Huge design effort.
• High Design & NRE Costs
• High Performance
• Typically used for high-volume applications
• Design Productivity is Very Low
43. www.ScientechWorld.com
4. System-on-a-chip (SOC)
• Idea: combine several large
blocks
– Predesigned custom cores
(e.g., microcontroller) -
“intellectual property” (IP)
– ASIC logic for special-purpose
hardware
– Programmable Logic (PLD,
FPGA)
– Analog
• Open issues
– Keeping design cost low
– Verifying correctness of
design
46. www.ScientechWorld.com
• Microelectronic system
• ASICs
• System partitioning
• ASIC floorplanning
• Placement
• Routing
• A City
• Buildings
• City planner
• Architect
• Builder
• Electrician
Physical design vs. Building a City
47. www.ScientechWorld.com
Programmable Logic Vendors
Xilinx - Xilinx Foundation Series.
Altera - Max Plus – II
Lattice - ISP Expert Compiler
Actel - Actel’s Designer Series FPGA Development System
Lucent - ORCA Foundry Development System
Cypress - Warp2
Atmel - FPGA Integrated Development System ( IDS )
QuickLogic - QuickWorks
Gatefield - ASIC master
48. www.ScientechWorld.com
XILINX Vs ALTRA
Design Flow, Tools and Files
• Key players: Xilinx, Altera, Lattice, Actel
• PLD market estimated at $57 billion and rapidly growing
• The goal is to expand the market:
– by lowering per-unit cost to attack the low-end market
– by increasing speed capabilities to attack the high-end market
PLD market sharePLD market share
49. www.ScientechWorld.com
• Virtex and Stratix families are direct opponents, as are Spartan and CycloneVirtex and Stratix families are direct opponents, as are Spartan and Cyclone
XILINX Vs ALETRA
Altera Xilinx
Cyclone Spartan
Stratix Virtex
Stratix Kintex
Max10 Artix
50. www.ScientechWorld.com
FPGA Design Flow – Xilinx - ISE
Design Entry
Design
Synthesis
Design
Implementation
Download to
Device
Functional
Simulation
Static Timing
Analysis
Timing
Simulation
In Circuit
Verification
Design Verification
*Translate
*Mapping
*P & R
*Fitting
*Bit stream
Generation
•Schematic editor
•HDL (.v or .vhd)
Text – (EDIF, XNF)
XST + GUI = NGC UCF
Net list + Constraints
= NGD
NCD – Native Circuit
Description
VM6 -------- CPLD
.BIT or .JED
Library
51. www.ScientechWorld.com
Xilinx Devices at a Glance
FPGAs
CPLDs
Vertex
Spartan
Cool
Runner
XC9500
XC9500, 5V, 36 to 288 Macrocells
Low Cost
XC9500XL, 3.3V, 36 to 288 Macrocells
XC9500XV, 2.5V, 36 to 288 Macrocells
XCR3000XL, 3.3V, 36 to 512 Macrocells
XC2Cxxx, 1.8V, 32 to 512 Macrocells
Low Power, High
Speed, Low Cost
Spartan, 5V, 5000 to 40000 Max System Gates
Spartan II E, 1.8V, 50000 to 300000 Max System Gates
Vertex, 2.5V, 50000 to 1 Mil. Max System Gates
VertexII, 1.5V, 40000 to 10 Mil. Max System Gates
VertexE, 1.8V, 50000 to 3.2 Mil. Max System Gates
Spartan II , 2.5V, 15000 to 200000 Max System Gates
Spartan XL, 3.3V, 5000 to 40000 Max System GatesLow Cost
Feature Rich, High
Density
52. www.ScientechWorld.com
Altera Devices at a Glance
• Programmable Logic Families
– High & Medium Density FPGAs
• Stratix™
II, Stratix, APEX™
II,
APEX 20K, & FLEX®
10K
– Low-Cost FPGAs
• Cyclone™
& ACEX®
1K
– FPGAs with Clock Data Recovery
• Stratix GX & Mercury™
– CPLDs
• MAX®
7000 & MAX 3000
– Embedded Processor Solutions
• Nios™
, ExcaliburT™
53. www.ScientechWorld.com
TTL Logic
Design Specification
Truth Table
Boolean Expression
Available
Inventory
Cost and
performance
requirement
Logic minimization
and multilevel
logic optimization
Implementation
Design Specification
Design Description
Design Software
Fuse Map
Programmable Logic
Compare Design Process ….
Device
54. www.ScientechWorld.com
The Goal of IC Designer
Meet the market requirement
Satisfying the customers needs
- Beating the competition
- Increasing the functionality
- Reducing the cost
Achieved by
- using the next generation Silicon Technologies
- new design concepts & tools
- high level integration
Can be permanent (often used for mass production by gang programmers) or SRAM based. Manufacturing environment easily translates between the two. For example, if you do a design in our SRAM Xilinx Virtex, can be converted to fuse-type part, laser or masked programmed array, or even ASIC by software only. Justification: purely volume driven
“Cheap” means from $2-3 at low end up to $1000 for newest (densest) parts
Why start a new design with a $1K part? Prices fall very rapidly such that any outlay at beginning of design cycle (which might save converting a partitioned part to single unit later) is often justified by price drop when entering production. Example: start engineering on a $1K 4M gate part and you might be going to production 8 months later on a $200 part.
Major wins: cheap and quick to use
Key point: You share production costs with all other users of the part; it’s as if you got together with every other FPGA designer and agreed upon a common format (e.g. CLBs) and chipped in to have millions of wafers made.
CPLDs always faster. Tip: using same vendor CPLD, say Xilinx, aids merging and simulating mixed design.
Cons nearly always deal with size and performance, which are two factors geometrically diminishing with feature size.
Because the pros, price and design cycle times, continue to drop, and the cons, size and speed, increase with technology, the trends favor FPGAs for future design work and FPGA designers for future employment.