Pushing The Envelope : Mobile/Wireless Design And The Advancement Of ASIC Design

At a high level, the metric space for an ASIC design consists of:

• Performance (Timing)
  
• Area
• Power
• Effort
  
• Schedule
• Unit cost

Depending on the application of the end device, each ASIC project has important metrics and some not-so-important metrics driven by the business concerned. Every ASIC design is sitting somewhere in the n-metric space as per the importance of each metric. For example:

• Supercomputer applications : Performance is everything. The nature of the business (low volume, high margins, controlled device environment) is such that the other metrics don't really matter (within (relaxed) limits).
• Desktop Processors : High performance and unit cost matter. Schedule and effort are very high (think of the teams to spend a year or two doing nothing else but designing the next-generation desktop processor) but that's ok because, with a low unit cost and high volumes, the business will still generate a profit.
• Memories : Area and unit cost matter. The objective is to create the densest memories possible such that you can hit a performance standard at the least unit cost possible.

In contrast to the above, consider the driving forces of the mobile and wireless business:

• Short product cycles
• High volumes
  
• Cost-driven business
• Power-sensitive
• High performance
• Smaller/slimmer mobile devices
• Increasing functionality (multiple interfaces(Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SD), on-device memory ..)
  

Here's what the metrics look like for the space:

• Performance : high performance (increasing functionality)
  
• Area : ultra-low area (smaller die, smaller footprint)
  
• Power : ultra-low power (very power-sensitive)
  
• Effort : Low effort (small teams, fast turnaround time)
  
• Schedule: Very short (shrinking product cycles, market windows)
  
• Unit Cost : Very low (high volume, low margins)

The mobile/wireless space works to satisfy almost impossible (and conflicting) requirements. There is no slack on any front. This is a good thing. The effect of the all-round pressure is that the techniques and methodologies used in the mobile/wireless space are required to push the state-of-the-art all the time and in all directions. Sophisticated power management, advanced mixed signal design, high-yield techniques, the list goes on and on.

Performance-driven businesses (supercomputers, processors) usually receive the largest mindshare but it is mobile/wireless design that has been (and will be) quietly advancing ASIC design on all fronts.

Tags : ASIC, VLSI