Articles

An online Assisted Design Environment (ADE) allowing the design of digital signal processing (DSP) system-on-a-chip (SoC) over the Internet has been introduced by 3DSP Corporation at the Design Automation Conference. 3DSP is a provider of DSP IP (intellectual property) solutions. Called HiFI (for highly flexible, integrated), the new design environment is focused on OEM companies and fabless semiconductor companies. At a fraction of the cost usually associated with customer-owned tools and virtually eliminating development risk, HiFI enables the creation of a highly customized DSP SoC design over the Internet. HiFI is available at www.3dsp.com.

As its name suggests, HiFI is a completely integrated Web-based design environment where engineers can customize:

• High-performance, configurable DSP cores
• Choose from an array of instruction-set options
• Add new application-specific instructions
• Add or delete functional units
• Configure register file size
• DSP subsystem design
• Memory size and configuration
• Interrupt options and timers
• Program cache options
• SoC level design
• Number and type of peripherals
• Number of DMA C controller channels
• Microprocessor or other processors
• Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) blocks
• And much more

HiFI provides an optimum combination of templatized environments with a large number of customizable access points. This allows engineers to easily design an SoC tailored to their application and achieve fast time-to-market. The engineer defines the SoC specification, then defines the hardware and software requirements using online design tools available through HiFI. A cycle-accurate C-simulator of the custom SoC design, an assembler/linker and a C-compiler for the configured DSP core, plus estimates of SoC die size and performance are provided via the Internet.

HiFI outputs can be used to determine if the design meets product requirements. When the design is finalized, RTL (registered transfer level) code ready for synthesis is generated and sent to the customer. In addition, a test bench, synthesis scripts and timing constraints are provided. Phase II HiFI capabilities will include an option to take the design all the way to netlist. The finished design can be manufactured at any Wafer Fab in the world.

Pricing for HiFI is intended to provide the customer with the most benefit at the least risk. Prior to generation of the RTL, the customer company pays only a modest fee for use of HiFI. Not until the spec is met and the design is finalized does the customer enter into a licensing agreement with 3DSP. Additional services such as project management, test tooling and design consulting are available to the customer at an additional cost.

A beta version of HiFI will be available to customers in June 2000.

Edited by David Maliniak

Free ElectronicsWeb Newsletter