IP Core Design

1. IP Core Design Patrick Longa

2. Outline • Intellectual Property (IP) Core: basics • IP Core classification • IP Core standardization • Standard buses/interfaces for IP Cores • IP Cores in the market • Example with FIR Filter Compiler

3. IP Core: basics Intellectual Property (IP) core: “Macro” structures with specific industrial-standard function that can be flexibly be adapted and reused in SoC designs. From “sea of cells” to “sea of hard macros” * Figures extracted from [2].

4. IP Core classification IP Classification: hard cores and soft cores * Partially extracted from [1].

5. IP Core standardization VSI Alliance (VSIA)  Open, international organization  Specify standards for IP and reuse in SoC designs  Quality IP (QIP) Metric v2.0 Open Measure of Reuse Excellence (OpenMORE) assessment program  Donated by Mentor Graphics / Synopsys to VSIA  Evaluate the reusability level of hard/soft IP cores Open Core Protocol International Partnership (OCP-IP)  Non-profit organization that promotes the Open Core Protocol (OCP)  Specify standards for IP cores in SoC designs  Payment to have access to specifications Structure for Packaging, Integrating and Re-using IP within Tool-flows (Spirit) Consortium  Create standards for IP interoperability: • Standard for describing IP cores • Standard for creating an IP tool integration API

6. IP Core standardization Technology-dependent company-based certifications: Altera  SOPC Builder ready AMPP Approved Stamp Xilinx  AllianceCore qualification Lattice  ISPLeverCore Approved

7. Standard bus/interface for IP Cores Wishbone: created by Silicore • Open bus/interface for IP cores in SoC designs. • Supports 8,16, 32 and 64-bit data bus, synchronous. • Free of charge. Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA): created by ARM • Supports 32, 64 and 128-bit data bus with 32-bit address bus. • Includes 3 buses: • Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB). • Advanced System Bus (ASB). • Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB). CoreConnect: created by IBM • Supports 32, 64 and 128-bit data bus, extendable to 256 bits. • Includes the next elements: • Procesor Local Bus (PLB). • On-chip Peripeheral Bus (OPB). • A bus bridge. • DCR bus. * Figure extracted from [12].

8. IP Cores in the market • ALTERA: Altera MegaCore functions and AMPP Megafunctions • Embedded processor cores supported by SOPC Builder •  NIOS, NIOS II, several 16, 8, 4-bit microcontrollers. • Interfaces and peripherals  SRAM memories, interrupt controllers, UARTs, USB, I2C, DMA controllers, PCI, PCI-X buses, Ethernet controllers, LCD and smart card interfaces, etc. • Communications  standard-based communication protocols and interfaces such as UTOPIA, HDLC, Bluetooth, FlexBus, and others. • DSP  supported by DSP Builder tool • Filtering and modulation: FIR, IIR filters, Up-converters, NCOs. • Transforms: FFT, IFFT, DCT and DWT. • Error correction: Reed Solomon encoder/decoder, Viterbi encoder/decoder • Image and Video processing: color space converter, JPEG and JPEG2000 • encoder/decoder.

9. IP Cores in the market Altera MegaCores and AMPP Megafunctions for DSP

10. IP Cores in the market XILINX: Xilinx LogicCORE functions and AllianceCORE IP cores Similar IP alternatives in interface / peripherals and Communications. Embedded processor cores supported by Platform Studio  PicoBlaze, MicroBlaze, 16, 8, 4-bit microcontrollers. DSP  supported by System Generator for DSP tool PDSP soft cores Soft processor cores

11. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Create a new project and open the MegaWizard Plug-In Manager

12. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Create a new Megafunction unit and select FIR Compiler 3.3.0 from the IP MegaStore

13. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Options in the IP Toolbench:

14. Example with FIR Filter Compiler 1.- Parameterize step: New/edit coefficient set Plot options: fixed / floating coefficients, frequency response / time response and coefficients Coefficients bitwidth: 2 to 32 Coefficient scaling Device family Filter structure: fully-serial, fully parallel, multi-bit serial (DA) Pipeline level Data/coefficient storage: logic cells, memory blocks Output/ Input specifications

15. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Coefficient generator: Rate: single, interpolation, decimation Filter type: low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, band reject. Number of coeficients. Cutoff freq. Sample rate. Window type: rectangular, Hamming, Hanning, Blackman

16. Example with FIR Filter Compiler

17. Example with FIR Filter Compiler • 2.- Simulation Step: • Simulation model: • VHDL and Verilog • Quartus II • Matlab M-file generation 3.- Generation Step

18. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Instantiation Compilation results:

19. Example with FIR Filter Compiler Simulation results:

20. References [1] International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), 2001. [2] “Hard Macros will revolutionize SoC Design”, E. Wein, EE Design, 2004. [3] Virtual Socket Interface Alliance (VSIA), website: www.vsi.org [4] Open Core Protocol International Partnership (OCP-IP), website: www.ocpip.org [5] The Structure for Packaging, Integrating and Re-using IP within Tool-flows (Spirit) Consortium, website: www.spiritconsortium.com [6] Altera Corporation, website: www.altera.com [7] Xilinx Corporation, website: www.xilinx.com [8] Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, website: www.latticesemi.com [9] QuickLogic Corporation, website: www.quicklogic.com [10] OpenCores Project, website: www.opencores.com [11] AMBA Home Page, website: www.arm.com/products/solutions/AMBAHomePage.html [12] CoreConnect Home Page, website: www-03.ibm.com/chips/products/coreconnect/