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Open PDK Key Challenge Springsoft Perspective

The document discusses the Open PDK Key Challenge hosted by SpringSoft. It notes that SpringSoft creates PDKs using two development flows and is a member of the OPDK Technical Steering Group. Openness leads to innovation, which drives productivity growth. Verilog started as a proprietary language but was opened, allowing multiple companies to innovate and grow the market. A challenge for Open PDK is how to support interoperability across multiple PDK development flows.

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Virendra Mehta
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
40 views

Open PDK Key Challenge Springsoft Perspective

The document discusses the Open PDK Key Challenge hosted by SpringSoft. It notes that SpringSoft creates PDKs using two development flows and is a member of the OPDK Technical Steering Group. Openness leads to innovation, which drives productivity growth. Verilog started as a proprietary language but was opened, allowing multiple companies to innovate and grow the market. A challenge for Open PDK is how to support interoperability across multiple PDK development flows.

Uploaded by

Virendra Mehta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Open PDK Key Challenge

SpringSoft Perspective
DAC 2010
SpringSoft

Custom IC physical implementation based on


OpenAccess
Heavily involved with IPL
Creates PDK’s based on two development
flows (only EDA vendor with two PDK flows)
• IPL iPDK: PyCell & iCDF
• Laker PDK: tcl PCells & callbacks

Member of OPDK TSG


Value of Openness

Openness leads to innovation


Innovation leads to dramatically higher
productivity (and high EDA market growth)

Let’s take one example in EDA


Verilog – the beginning

1989 Gateway Design Automation has a


proprietary logic design language called
Verilog
Gateway sales are about $12M and the
language-based logic design ecosystem
(VHDL, HiLo, etc) totals about $20M
Since it is proprietary, Gateway has 100%
of the Verilog market
Verilog ramps up

1990 Cadence buys Gateway and


contributes Verilog language specification
to Accelera
1998 Verilog sales (now from multiple
companies) reaches $150M
There is a lot of innovation
• Verilog emulation
• SystemVerilog test benches
• Formal methods
• Verdi debugger

Source: www.verilog.com
Verilog growth explodes

2007 Verilog sales reach $420M and the


logic design ecosystem (formal,
emulation, test bench, etc) is $720M
Cadence market share has dropped from
100% to ~30%. But CDNS logic revenue
has gone from $12M to ~$240M!
Obviously designers found a lot of value!

Source: EDAC
Good decision?

Did Cadence make the right decision in 1990?


Interoperability

SpringSoft sees interoperability as a


critical dimension of openness
Members of Interoperable PDK Library
(IPL) have demonstrated it is possible to
have truly interoperable PDK’s
One of the Open PDK’s multiple goals is to
support interoperability
Simplified Open PDK scope

Open PDK Description

PDK Dev. PDK Dev. PDK Dev. PDK Dev.


Flow #1 Flow #1 Flow #1 Flow #1

Device (polygons) in OA
SpringSoft Perspective
A single PDK description is good
for foundries – only have to Open PDK Description
build one description!

Multiple PDK development


flows are good for EDA PDK Dev. PDK Dev. PDK Dev. PDK Dev.
companies and IDM’s – Flow #1 Flow #1 Flow #1 Flow #1
only have to support my
favorite development flows!

Interoperable devices are good


for users – PDK’s are portable Interoperable devices in OA
between development flows!
Open PDK key challenge

One of the key challenges that SpringSoft


sees for Open PDK is a how to develop a
standard that supports interoperability
given multiple PDK development flows?
The current Request for Technology
solicits contributions to address this issue

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