3. May 1, 2013
IP Content Growing Rapidly
• IP: Represents 60% -70%+ of
today’s SoC content
• 90%+ in the near future?
• SoC differentiated by value-
added content
4. May 1, 2013
It’s the System That Counts
• Performance and low power are key metrics … but,
• System reliability and robustness is critical!
• Poor reliability leads to
– Poor sales / no profits/ doomed product line
5. May 1, 2013
Variation – 2 Flavors
• Static variations
– Due to imperfect manufacturing
– No two devices exactly alike
• Dynamic variations
– Due to fluctuations in system environment and operating
conditions
• Temp / Voltage / Application
6. May 1, 2013
System Design Challenges
• No two components behave exactly alike
– SoC
– Package
– PCB
– Discretes
• System operating environments
may vary widely
System variation is difficult or impossible to predict in advance!
7. May 1, 2013
Other Considerations
• The SoC may be targeted for multiple systems
and applications
System
Company 1
System
Company 2
System
Company n
8. May 1, 2013
Adaptive IP
• Concept of adaptive IP
– Each system is unique
– IP adapts itself for optimal performance and
stability in context of the system
• Requirements
– Must improve system stability and yield
– Must be self-contained and automatic
– Cannot degrade system performance
9. May 1, 2013
Adaptive IP Example
• DDR subsystem
– Often highest speed
interface in system
– Failure or instability =
inoperative system
• SoC spends majority of
time accessing DDR
DDRx
SDRAM
SoC
PCB
Storage
70% - 80%
~ 20%
Other Peripherals
~ 10%
10. May 1, 2013
DDR Challenge
• Clock domain crossing problem on reads is toughest
problem
– Latency (from read cmd to read data)
– Phase relationship (between DQS and System Clk)
• Typical solution is to bench test many parts and find a
solution that works
– Time consuming / cannot predict all possible behaviors
11. May 1, 2013
Applying Adaptive IP
• Adaptive “self-calibrating logic” added to DDR PHY
• Precisely measures round-trip read timing “in-situ”
– Adjusts DDR timing interface
– At power-on and during system operation
Round Trip Timing Solved!
12. May 1, 2013
Key Benefits – Adaptive IP
• Better system reliability
– Mitigates both static and dynamic variations
• Increases system performance
• Improves device yield
• Drastically reduces system bring up time
