Introduccin al Diseo de SoC (Systems On Chip)

Manuel J. Bellido Daz

Febrero de 2016

1
 Guin del Tema

Introduccin a los SoCs

(Tomado del Curso SoC

Design/Microprocessors in FPGAs del

programa Universitario de ARM)

Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

Contenidos de la Asignatura SoCBASA

2
 What is a System-on-Chip
A System-on-Chip (SoC) is a integrated circuit that packages basic computing
components into a single chip.
A SoC has most of the components to power a computer.

ARM
ARM cores
cores

AMBA
AMBA buses
buses

Physical
Physical IPs
IPs

Mother board of a PC System on a Chip

Picture source: http://thecustomizewindows.com/, http://www.adafruit.com/

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 3
 Advantages of SoC
Higher performance benefiting from:
Less propagation delay since internal wires are shorter;
Less gate delay as internal transistors have lower electrical impedance;

Power efficiency benefiting from:

Lower voltage required (typically < 2.0 volts) compared with external chip voltage (typically >3.0
volts);
Less capacitance;

Lighter footprint:
Device size and weight is reduced;

Higher reliability:
All encapsulated in a single chip package, less interference from the external world;

Low cost:
The cost per unit is reduced since a single chip design can be fabricated in a large volumes.

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 4
 Limitations of SoC
Less flexibility

Unlike a PC or a laptop, which allows you to upgrade a single component, such as RAM or
graphic card, a SoC cannot be easily upgraded after manufacture;

Application Specific

Most SoCs are specified to particular applications thus they are not easily adapted to other
applications.

Complexity

A SoC design usually requires advanced skills compared with board-level development.

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 5
 SoC Vs. Microcontroller Vs. Processor
All implemented on a single chip package, differences include:

Processor (CPU)

Is a single processor core;

Normally can be used for general purpose, but needs to be supported with Memories and IOs;

Microcontroller (MCU)

Typically has a single processor core;

Has Memory blocks, basic IOs and other basic peripherals;

Mainly used for basic control purpose, such as embedded applications;

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 6
 SoC Vs. Microcontroller Vs. Processor
SoC System on Chip

Can have a single or multiple powerful processor cores;

Has larger Memory blocks, a variety of IOs, and other peripherals;

Normally integrated with more powerful blocks, e.g. GPU, DSP, video/ audio encoder/
decoder;

Usually capable of running operating systems, e.g. Windows, Linux, iOS and Android;

Mainly used for advanced applications, such as the main chip of a digital device (smart
phones, tablets).

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 7
 Commercialized SoCs
Benefiting from its power efficiency, SoCs have been widely used in mobile devices, such
as smartphones, tablets and digital cameras.

A number of SoCs have been developed by a large eco-system of design companies, eg-,
SnapdragonTM by Qualcomm, Tegra by Nvidia, Ax by Apple, OMAPTM by Texas
Instruments, etc

Most mobile SoCs use ARM-based microprocessors since they deliver high performance
with less power consumption.

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 8
 SoC Example: NVIDIA Tegra 2
Designer NVIDIA
Year 2010
Processor ARM Cortex-A9
(dual-core)

Frequency Up to 1.2 GHz

Memory 1 GB 667 MHz LP-DDR2
Graphics ULP GeForce
Process 40 nm
Package 12 x12 mm (Package on
Package)

Used in Acer Iconia Tab A500

tablets Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Motorola Xoom
Motorola Xoom Family Edition
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Toshiba Thrive

Picture source: http://www.anandtech.com/, http://www.nvidia.com/

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 9
 SoC Example: Apple SoC Families
SoC Model No. CPU CPU ISA Technology Die size Date Devices

N/A APL0098 ARM11 ARMv6 90 nm N/A 6/2007 iPhone

iPod Touch (1st gen.)

A4 APL0398 ARM Cortex-A8 ARMv7 45 nm 53.29 mm2 3/2010 iPad, iPhone 4,

Apple TV (2nd gen.)

A5 APL0498 ARM Cortex-A9 ARMv7 45 nm 122.6 mm2 3/2011 iPad 2, iPhone 4S

APL2498 ARM Cortex-A9 ARMv7 32 nm 71.1 mm2 3/2012 Apple TV (3rd gen.)

APL7498 ARM Cortex-A9 ARMv7 32 nm 37.8 mm2 3/2013 AppleTV 3

A5X APL5498 ARM Cortex-A9 ARMv7 45 nm 162.94 mm2 3/2012 iPad (3rd gen.)

A6 APL0598 Swift ARMv7s 32 nm 96.71 mm2 9/2012 iPhone 5

A6X APL5598 Swift ARMv7s 32 nm 123 mm2 10/2012 iPad (4th gen)

A7 APL0698 Cyclone ARMv8-A 28 nm 102 mm2 9/2013 iPhone 5S, iPad mini
(64- (2nd gen)
bit)
APL5698 Cyclone ARMv8-A 28 nm 102 mm2 10/2013 iPad Air

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_(system_on_chip), as of 10/2013

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 10
 SoC Design Flow
IP Vendors:
Hardware
Hardware Software
Software core design
IP
IP cores
cores Purchase Purchase drivers
drivers
HW cores SW drivers

SoC
SoC
Integrated
Integrated Design
Design specifics
specifics Integrated
Integrated
Hardware
Hardware Software
Software
HW/SW partitioning

Fabless Vendors:
Functional
Functional Software
Software SoC design
Prototype
Prototype on
on platforms
platforms
Simulation
Simulation e.g. Simulation
Simulation
e.g. FPGA
FPGA

Physical
Physical optimization
optimization HW/
HW/ SWSW Application
Application development
development
and
and fabrication
fabrication co-verification
co-verification and
and test
test

Foundries:
Volume
Volume manufacture
manufacture Chip fabrication
and
and ship
ship

Device vendors:
PCB
PCB manufacture
manufacture Final products
and
and device
device assembly
assembly

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 11
 What is inside of a SoC
The basic components of a SoC include:
A system master, such as a microprocessor or DSP;
System peripherals, such as Memory block, timer, external digital/ analog interfaces;
A system bus that connects master and peripherals together using a specific bus protocol.

More sophisticated modules are integrated in modern SoCs, such as multicores, DSPs,
GPUs, and multiple buses connected by bus bridges.

A simple system on Chip System Master

(Processor)

System Bus

Program Data
Timer DAC GPIO Watch dog
Memory Memory

ARM University Program

Copyright ARM Ltd 2013 12
 Guin del Tema
Introduccin a los SoCs
(Tomado del Curso SoC Design/Microprocessors in
FPGAs del programa Universitario de ARM)

Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

Contenidos de la Asignatura SoCBASA

13
 Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

A grandes rasgos:
Diseo de la arquitectura del sistema:
microprocesador y perifricos
Desarrollo del software de aplicacin especfica que
va a ejecutarse (sobre SO o modo stand-alone)
Diseo de perifricos de propsito especfico para
la aplicacin. Incorporar el perifrico al Sistema
global
Si hay S.O.: Desarrollo del driver para el nuevo
perifrico.
Sntesis e implementacin sobre FPGA
Testado del sistema sobre placas de desarrollo
Diseo e implementacin del PCB final del SE

14
 Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

Dos metodologas diferentes para el diseo de SoC en

FPGAs:
Con soporte del fabricante de la FPGA
SoC desarrollados por otros que no son el fabricante
Con soporte del Fabricante:
Para facilitar el proceso de diseo, el fabricante pone a
disposicin de los diseadores entornos de desarrollo tanto
hardware como software (ej. XILINX: EDK (VIVADO), SDK)
Basada en microprocesadores propios del fabricante o
licenciados para su uso en las FPGAs
Los Microprocesadores pueden ser soft-core o hard-core
Soft-core: Se implementan empleando la lgica programable del
dispositivo, codificados en HDLs
Hard-core: estn implementados en la pastilla de silicio en la
FPGA
Soft-Core: XILINX: MicroBlaze; ALTERA: Nios; LATTICE: mico32
Hard-Core: Power-PC , ARM (Xilinx, Altera)
15
 Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

Evolucin en la alternativa Hard-core:

Diseo mixtos SoC FPGA: Chips que incluyen un SoC
generalmente basado en ARM
XILINX: Familia Zynq
http://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/epp/zynq-7000/index.htm

ALTERA: SoC FPGA

http://www.altera.com/devices/processor/soc-fpga/proc-soc-fpga.html

Cambio en el concepto de diseo del SOC por parte de los

fabricantes de FPGAS:
Estos chips son realmente SoCs operativos (implementa uno o
dos cores de ARM) con toda una funcionalidad completa. Pero
aaden un espacio de lgica programable conectado al SoC a
travs del bus del sistema.

16
 Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

SoC desarrollados por otros que no son el fabricante

Son soft-cores, basados en microprocesadores abiertos, o
cerrados
Generalmente estos SoCs estn preparados para que puedan
implementarse en cualquier tecnologa: ASIC o FPGA
La plataforma FPGA es utilizada generalmente por los
desarrolladores de estos SoC para realizar pruebas,
modificaciones ejemplos de diseo y buen funcionamiento a un
coste relativamente bajo comparado con el coste de fabricacin
de ASIC.
Ejemplo de SoC cerrado:
ARM University Program:
http://www.arm.com/support/university/educators/soc-fpga/index.ph
p

17
 Metodologa de diseo de SoC sobre FPGAs

SoC desarrollados por otros que no son el fabricante

SoCs abiertos:
Basados en microprocesador OPENRISC: http://openrisc.io/
- ORPSOC (fusesoc): http://opencores.org/or1k/ORPSoC
-MINSOC: http://www.minsoc.com/
Basados en microprocesador LEON (ARQUITECTURA SPARC V8):
http://www.gaisler.com/index.php/products/processors
- GRLIB: http://www.gaisler.com/index.php/downloads/leongrlib
Basado en procesador ZPU: http://opensource.zylin.com/zpu.htm
- ZPUino, http://papilio.cc/index.php?n=Papilio.ZPUinoIntroduction
http://www.alvie.com/zpuino/
- Ventajas: se podran implementar en cualquier plataforma
- Inconveniente: las herramientas de desarrollo no estn bien
preparadas (alguna excepcin en el caso de procesadores
soportados por alguna empresa)

18
 Contenidos de la Asignatura SoCBASA

SoC Basados en Sistemas Abiertos

Ejemplo de implementacin de plataformas abiertas
para SoC:
Plataforma abierta lowRISC: http://www.lowrisc.org/

lowRISC is creating a fully open-sourced, Linux-

capable, RISC-V-based SoC, that can be used either
directly or as the basis for a custom design. We aim
to tape out our first volume chip this year.

RISC-V: http://riscv.org/
(pronounced "risk-five") is a new instruction set architecture
(ISA) that was originally designed to support computer
architecture research and education and is now set become a
standard open architecture for industry implementations under
the governance of the RISC-V Foundation. RISC-V was originally
developed in the Computer Science Division of the EECS
Department at the University of California, Berkeley. 19
 Organizacin de la Asignatura SoCBASA

Metodologa docente principal: Laboratorio.

Desarrollo de ejemplos prcticos de diseo e implementacin
Utilizacin de plataformas hardware basadas en FPGAs:
Evaluacin de la asignatura:
Asistencia a las clases
Comprobacin del desarrollo del trabajo propuesto en las
sesiones
Se podr valorar trabajos desarrollados fuera de las sesiones
de clases
Test la ultima sesin de clases
Los dos ltimos aspectos servirn para graduar la nota
Documentacin y seguimiento de la asignatura:
Www.dte.us.es --> Docencia Mster Universitario en
Ingeniera de Computadores y Redes SoC Basados en
Sistemas abiertos (SOCBASA)

20